April 2025 Spin Challenge – Well, this is puzzling…

Day 24 - Merch match day! Spin any artist and post a photo of the record with a piece of band merch that you own (t-shirt, cups, poster, program etc)

Bonus post for today!

Back in college I spent a summer reading fan mail for a few celebrities, through the company that managed their fan clubs - Michael Jackson, Pee-Wee Herman, Don Johnson and Lionel Richie. I had posted a (auto-pen) autographed version of Moonwalker over on the What's Spinning thread a week or so ago, and told @TenderLovingKiller® I'd post a picture of some prized Pee-Wee Herman memorabilia at some point. This seems like the appropriate time to do so, given the trailer for the documentary on Paul Ruebens that just got released yesterday.

Paul was great, he was the only one out of the folks we read for that wanted things passed along to him - specifically foil and rubber bands for the tin foil ball and rubber band ball he used on the show. Nothing else would go to the artists, which made sense for legal reasons.

Anyway, one of the things Pee-Wee offered for merch was Giant Underpants which I still have a pair of. The inception of them was the clip linked below. So @TenderLovingKiller® , here are my giant underpants. Turntable for scale.

Danny Elfman ~ Pee-Wee's Big Adventure OST

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Day 24 - Merch match day! Spin any artist and post a photo of the record with a piece of band merch that you own (t-shirt, cups, poster, program etc)

Bonus post for today!

Back in college I spent a summer reading fan mail for a few celebrities, through the company that managed their fan clubs - Michael Jackson, Pee-Wee Herman, Don Johnson and Lionel Richie. I had posted a (auto-pen) autographed version of Moonwalker over on the What's Spinning thread a week or so ago, and told @TenderLovingKiller® I'd post a picture of some prized Pee-Wee Herman memorabilia at some point. This seems like the appropriate time to do so, given the trailer for the documentary on Paul Ruebens that just got released yesterday.

Paul was great, he was the only one out of the folks we read for that wanted things passed along to him - specifically foil and rubber bands for the tin foil ball and rubber band ball he used on the show. Nothing else would go to the artists, which made sense for legal reasons.

Anyway, one of the things Pee-Wee offered for merch was Giant Underpants which I still have a pair of. The inception of them was the clip linked below. So @TenderLovingKiller® , here are my giant underpants. Turntable for scale.

Danny Elfman ~ Pee-Wee's Big Adventure OST

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A thing of beauty!! Thanks for sharing!
 
Day 24 - Merch match day! Spin any artist and post a photo of the record with a piece of band merch that you own (t-shirt, cups, poster, program etc)

Stereolab - Mars Audiac Quintet
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I love band merch! Most of the time I go for a concert t-shirt (preferably one with the tour dates listed) occasionally I will spring for a poster or a record though carrying those things throughout the remainder of the show can be a bit nerve wracking. I do enjoy the less common band merch. I will always pick up an enamel pin with they are being sold and I once picked up a Night Lite at an Aqueduct show about a decade ago which lit up our bathroom from a solid decade until the light burned out with no way to replace it sadly. Which brings me to Stereolab which kinda split the difference. We caught Stereolab on their first tour after nearly a decade away from touring and was very excited to pick up som band merch. I grabbed 2 t-shirts, a magnet and this…
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My Stereolab enamel mug that has been holding a bunch of pens on the corner of my desk ever since.
 
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Day 19 - Spin any soundtrack - tv or film


Keiji Kawai (川井憲次) - Ghost in the Shell Original Soundtrack

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Wholly transformative and influential. Animation in the 90s was transcendent. The content within the Ghost in the Shell franchise is incredibly horrifying, beneath the cyberpunk surface.

 
Day 25 - New release Friday! Spin any record released today, this month or early this year.

Choses Sauvages "Choses Sauvages III" (2025 Audiogram)
I briefly talked about this new release in the Canadian content thread a few months ago. The album was released on March 28 and I had pre-ordered. I was already a fan upon the release of their 2nd record, and this follow-up doesn't disappoint. Choses Sauvages hail from Montreal and play a sort of funky krautrock and post-punk hybrid that's backed by analogue synths. The track "Faux départ" ("False start") has Talking Heads vibes, which is definitely up my alley. There are a couple collaborations with local bands, which makes them a great introduction in what's happening in the Montreal underground right now. The highlight to me is "Cours toujours" ("Always run"). Vinyl packaging is fun - comes with a sticker sheet to be used to decorate the cover (I haven't applied any on my copy). I'm adding a couple tracks since this will be new to most. 🍁

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Combining yesterday and today since I was nervous about my dog's blood test results and missed merch match.
Day 24/25 - Merch match / New release Friday!

Goose - Everything Must Go! Released today. Funny story - I had texted one of my locals who said he had one copy of the purple variant in, so he set it aside for me and I got there at opening. Got home only to discover it is the standard black! Messaged him and it's all good. Told him I'll keep it anyway and ordered the purple from Plaid Room.

This bucket hat is one of our fave pieces of Goose merch (and we have a f*ck ton of it!)

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Day 21 - Band / Song that you heard played at a record store or anywhere in public, or one that you’ve had stuck in your head recently


Sade - Diamond Life

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While killing time waiting for the Jan Jelinek concert yesterday, I went to Music Millennium with no intention to purchase anything. I heard "Your Love is King," "Smooth Operator," and "Hang On to Your Love" while roaming the store.

 
Day 22 - Earth Day is 4/22 - spin a record on recycled vinyl or one with a earth related image on its cover

Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump

For the cover and the environmentally related track "Broken Household Appliance National Forest."

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Day 24 - Merch match day! Spin any artist and post a photo of the record with a piece of band merch that you own (t-shirt, cups, poster, program etc)

Wilco - A Ghost Is Born

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Took my 9-year-old to the Wilco show in lower Alabama last night and it was a great time. He’s a shy kid but surprised me by walking up to Jeff Tweedy to just say hello as we were walking in and that really made our night. The band sounded better than ever.

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Day 26 - Sleeve face day! If you’re willing to, post a sleeve face or spin any record that has a face on its cover.

Dan Boeckner "Boeckner!" (2024 Sub Pop)
After featuring in a bunch of bands, notably Wolf Parade, Divine Fits, Handsome Furs and Operators, Montreal's Dan Boeckner finally released his first proper solo record through Sub Pop in 2024. The record is pretty much the sum of influences from all these other projects. There is a certain darkness to the themes but the lyrics are catchy as always, the use of synths remains and the songs have that glam feel that is characteristic of Boeckner's singing voice. This record seemed to fly under the radar in 2024, but for me, it managed to have a ton of staying power on my turntable. There are layers to the songs that reward repeat listens. I mean, that saxophone at the end of "Lose"! The nod to Springsteen on "Ghost In The Mirror". I hear some Depeche Mode on "Return To Life", and "Euphoria" is just beautiful. The centerpiece is "Dead Tourists", which is classic Boeckner with its simple but grim melody. Oh, and Dan's face is on the cover. Adding the videos for the two singles. 🍁

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