One of those albums that has become part of my personality over the last 10 years. It's got a sound that was made for vinyl, and finally, thought it would never happen, but just got an email today and it's almost here, so jumped over to Thrill Jockey and got my order in. Can't wait, this one probably won't stick around very long, the CD even went OOP for quite awhile. Snooze, ya looze. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mail Order [[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 11:00 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Califone "Roomsound" now available on vinyl! Hello! Since you've purchased music from Califone from us in the past, we thought you'd like to know that we are offering Roomsound on vinyl for the very first time as part of our ongoing 20th Anniversary celebration. Califone - Roomsound LP w/ silk-screened jacket - $16.00 Roomsound is presented in a deluxe custom silk-screened jacket with an art- worked inner sleeve and free download coupon. Photos cannot do this jacket justice! The metallic silkscreen is simply gorgeous -- to finally see this artwork in the LP format is really a dream come true for all of us here at Thrill Jockey. This one is gonna go fast. This is a pre-order for October 16th street date. This debut full length from Califone certainly is an album that needs little introduction for Thrill Jockey fans. Originally released on CD in April of 2001 by Perishable, it was re-issued on CD only in 2006 by Thrill Jockey. Roomsound covers the same rustic, slightly ramshackle back forty that Tim Rutili had been ploughing through since his previous band Red Red Meat, but Roomsound is perhaps the most vividly colored, luring crop of songs Rutili has ever harvested. This is a hauntingly unique and distinctive record of crafted and sculpted beauty. Roomsound has an ethereal, soothing quality to it equally at home on your turntable, or with the free download coupon, in your car on a roadtrip. No one does country- blues picking and autumnal backwoods melodies interspersed with splashes of electronic tone color, obsolete keyboards and off-kilter percussion like Califone. Over the past eleven years, this is a record that has become as seminal and well-loved as any in the Thrill Jockey catalog. -- Thrill Jockey Mailorder PO Box 08038 Chicago, IL 60608 Califone Roomsound at Thrill Jockey
In the top tier of favorite albums I've heard in my life. Fans of slower country rock have to check it out. It amazes me as much as it ever has, hasn't lost a bit of magic in its life. Great band and my favorite album of theirs. I don't do vinyl but I really like album cover and I bet it's extra awesome in vinyl size.
I now own this. Excellent mastering. Incredible reproduction of the original artwork. A must have. "Good Weather" come out early Nov.
Yea, agreed, the Roomsond vinyl is very good. Also got my pre-order in for Good Weather too... http://jealousbutcher.com/JB100.html ... I'd love to see a reissue of the Quicksand/Cradlesnakes vinyl.
I have Quicksand/Cradlesnakes on vinyl. Well worth hunting down. Probably my favorite release by Califone. If you are persistent I bet you can get a copy for around $45. I have the original 45 EP, Califone, which makes up one half of "Good Weather" and I have to admit they are pretty close. Jealous Butcher did an excellent job with this reissue. The 3 of the B-sides could ace out some of the material that has made it onto proper Califone albums.
I can't believe I hadn't heard about these being cut to vinyl until just now. Picked up 'Good Weather' today, and it's fantastic...really enjoyed the unreleased tracks, particularly "Bath Water." Now I'm just waiting on 'Roomsound' to arrive at my local store. VERY excited, to say the least.
Pick it up if it is still out there, then keep a keen eye for Quicksand/Cradlesnakes, and grab it when you see it. Don't hesitate. I know I won't. And grab Stitches when it hits the store soon.
Stoked about Stitches! Jealous Butcher has also decided to reissue Loftus, a Califone/Orso/Tortoise/Red Red Meat, side project. Definitely a side project-y sounding record, but one I'm looking forward to hearing on vinyl. Fans of any of these bands should pick it up. Loved Jealous Butcher's reissue on Good Weather... http://jealousbutcher.com/JB108.html
Loftus from Jealous Butcher arrived a few days ago, and it has yet to leave the turntable. Absolutely outstanding kick-back, front porch music. The sleeve is great - numbered, metallic gold screen print on black, with a SANDPAPER jaw print pasted on the cover. On top of that the wax looks great - assorted clear or maroon, mine being the latter. Definitely a labor of love from JB, and I'm hoping they get to reissue Quicksand/Cradlesnakes. To be honest, if they put together a subscription series, I'd be on it immediately.
Just listened to the Loftus reissue today. JB has done another masterful job! I have the original Loftus album on cd and this vinyl reissue blows it away. The cd was always very harsh and brittle sounding. Those problems have now been resolved.
Wow, some good Califone family friends around here. Really hope they re-release it all on vinyl, but gotta confess that I do love this leakage, gives us all time to gather up the funds between these golden moments. Still hoping for Quicksand/Cradlesnakes on the upcoming. Kicking myself still, but we all know that feeling. This new one sounds pretty right to me on the MP3, can't hardly wait for the real thing.
Love the new Califone. Really nice record, been listening to it a lot. Pretty good sounding, and a fun listen too with all those layers of sound, little noises move in and out of the scenes, almost go unnoticed at times, but still seem to play important roles in building the landscape for the songs. Interesting music. I think when those horns first come in during "We Are A Payphone" may be one of my favorite moments, really brilliant touch. Just the right amount of everything on this one, at least for me, at least for now... Nice interview at Aquarium Drunkard not too long ago for those not into the Califone mania ... Rutili should really sit down and write a novel with all these characters... http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2013/09/10/catching-up-with-califone-the-ad-interview/ Just as distinct as the sound of the songs are the characters that inhabit Rutili’s landscapes, like Five Easy Pieces/Nashville actress Karen Black (who “forgets the words, like Memphis when the rapture breaks”) and an assortment of Biblical characters: the warring brothers Esau and Jacob, the “old wizard freak” Moses, who led the Israelites to the Promised Land – but couldn’t enter himself. “[Moses] takes a whole tribe of people through the desert, gets them where they’re going, and then this f ucking weird God tells him he can’t go in, because he screwed up,” Rutili says. “I was just thinking about this guy watching everybody cross the river, when he can’t. I think, in a lot of ways, everybody thinks that they’re that victim.” And while the God of the Old Testament, “a wild animal,” Rutili says, “petty and with very human jealousies,” watches over most of Stitches, Rutili steers toward the New Testament with “Magdalene,” named for the character the Gnostic Gospels purport to be the wife of Christ – though she’s more commonly defined by the “whore archetype.” “In the Gnostic texts, she’s the wife of Jesus, and the other apostles are jealous of her,” Rutili says. “’Why does he kiss her on the mouth? Why does he pay more attention to her?’ There are a lot of those weird arguments in the Gnostic texts that I thought were pretty interesting. I thought about this character that was edited out of this fake history for political reasons, you know? All of those ideas sort of triggered that song, and took it back to this strange woman and what happened. It’s about someone that gets written out of history, and where they go.”
Love this thread, been picking up all of these gems. If any of you hear about a vinyl reissue of Quicksand/Cradlesnakes, please post here before they are all gone!
More great news from Jealous Butcher for fans of what came before Califone with Red Red Meat ... first up the amazing There's a Star Above the Manger Tonight, sooooo looking forward to this one ... http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...hat-i-need-to-hear.115483/page-2#post-2608505 http://jealousbutcher.com/JB114_Press/RRM_PressRelease.pdf
Btw, I did get copies of both There's a Star Above the Manger Tonight and Bunny Gets Paid, and just checked and they are both still available for $22 + $4 shipping along with the other 2 in the RRM series, and I also just read where Tim Rutili said last year that after these Red Red Meat reissues are all done that they would work on getting Quicksand/Cradlesnakes available again this year, so that's really good news. I'm not sure which label will handle it, it was originally released on Thrill Jockey in 2003, and might've gotten a small repress at some point, not sure, but Jealous Butcher is sure doing a nice job with all of these Califone-related issues.
New Califone EP up for preorder ... looking forward to this ... they are back doing a living room tour again in Apr/May, so check the schedule if you wanna see em. NEW CALIFONE EP "INSECT COURAGE" Insect Courage comes from that twilight peripheral; somewhere on the edge of lucidity and the dream realm. Weaving together the haunting familiarity of night noises and borrowed words with uncharted frontiers, Insect Courage is a study of attics, crawl spaces, of trails through woods an hour past dusk. There is no superfluous record in Rutili's catalog, every release is intentional. The six tracks on this record carry Tim's guitars into an ethereal realm, something on the rural outskirts of the material from Stitches. Still visible, worlds away. Songs distinct, rusty strings - Peter Gabriel; Tim Hurley's beautiful words overgrown with ivy. This limited run is built on passion, on papercuts. Plays at 45 rpm. Each record comes with a letterpress insert, each jacket run through an industrial press labeled boldly, this is Califone. Included, as well, is a wooden token which can be used to access a digital download of the songs, because you should be able to touch digital downloads, too. 1. tripped on your cape 2. burn the sheets.bleach the books 3. insect courage #14 4. mother of violence 5. easter82 6. insect courage #33 PRE-ORDER VINYL FROM FUTURE OAK RECORDS The digital version will be available directly iTunes, Amazon and Undertow on March 30. More news on that soon.
Insect Courage is a very good ep. It is pressed at Pirates Press with no mastering info in the deadwax. I think it sounds really good. So, if you like Califone, I would recommend you pick it up.
Totally agree - Insect Courage is fantastic! Everything about the release is well done to boot. Love the wooden coin/download ticket - I've always kept download slips after they've been used, and wasn't sure why. This one actually makes sense to hold onto. And I don't look crazy for it. Right? Right. Thank you.
Some song notes on the Insect Courage EP for those that like these artist insights (I love them, and agree with @jimhb and @edisdead above, this EP is pretty nice, and any time Michael Krassner is involved, that's a big bonus) ... tripped on your cape. this is a cover of a sin ropas song from their first record 3 cherries. i absolutely love this song. it’s been stuck to my brain since i first heard it all those years ago. this song reminds me of game of thrones but microscopic. this was recorded at home with Griffin Rodreguez, Joe Westerlund on percussion and mixed by Michael Krassner. burn the sheets.bleach the books. this is a section cut from an hour long abstract improvised piece recorded with Joe Westerlund and 2 mics in my living room. almost immediately a melody and words came. again, small against the sky. night time, squinting down from up here makes the city look like embers. we wish on every passing light in the sky. insect courage #14. the red electric guitar that’s not plugged in recorded with the telephone outside on my back porch. the bugs are exaggerated and the piano notes are an overdub. mother of violence. this is a peter gabriel song. I first heard it when i was in was a kid hanging out in loftus’ room smoking weed. i got an education in how to hear music in that room. this song scared the daylights out of me and also struck me as beautiful and true. too high, getting hit in the belly by a song and trying not to cry in front of people. layers and layers of top with no safe bottom in sight. this one floats by. added recordings of my neighborhood’s fourth of july celebration to the end to mix with Joe Westerlund’s beautiful fragmented percussion work. easter 82. bug song. spring-feverish. migration song. panic when the seasons change. started with layers of melodica amped and treated through guitar effects. recorded partly at home and partly in phoenix with Michael Krassner. instinct vs reason.stupidity as a survival mechanism. wanting what you have and loving who loves you. fear. bug dreams. how we get along and stay together.i dont know. insect courage #33. another section of that long improvised piece that became burn the sheets. me & Joe Westerlund in the living room. i can hear the sliding glass doors. Michael Krassner added a layer of beautiful guitar playing and mixed this in phoenix.
Was just listening to Insect Courage and got pretty wrapped up in it, as usual, so did a Califone search and wow, just saw this news from Tim Rutili on the Califone Facebook... those look to be some amazing shows... --------------------------------------------- to celebrate the 15th anniversary re-issue of our debut album- roomsound we will be performing Roomsound in full. band will be: Tim Rutili, Ben Massarella and Brian Deck, with Wally Boudway, Ross Andrews and some other very special guest musicians. Thu. Sept. 22 & Fri. Sept. 23 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall + Schubas Sat. Sept. 24 – Brooklyn, NYC @ Rough Trade NYC Thu. Oct. 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ Highland Park Ebell w/ Slow Moses Fri. Oct. 7 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel w/ Slow Moses Fri. Oct. 14 – Seattle, WA @ The Sunset w/ Slow Moses Sat. Oct. 15 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios w/ Slow Moses I will have more words about this very soon because I have words & more info about the deluxe re-release & vinyl coming very soon via Dead Oceans peace & love, TR --------------------------------------------- BTW, the new Miski record is out on Dead Oceans too, and while nothing like Califone, she is pretty cool
Some more info on the upcoming Roomsound reissue, such a great record, and the band was in such a cool place musically then too, what a timeless sound, hope they also get a nicely mastered Quicksand/Cradlesnakes vinyl reissue out too, I think Dead Oceans is now the label controlling it. ANNOUNCE // Califone Celebrates 15th Anniversary of ‘Roomsound’ With Tour & Re-issue News :: Dead Oceans »
Has anyone heard the 2016 Roomsound reissue? How's it sound? I'm probably gonna see them this week and might pick it up at the show if I don't need to worry about pressing quality.
I got the Roomsound reissue on Dead Oceans. I also have the Thrill Jockey version released a couple years back as well. I did NOT do a A/B comparison between the two, but both sound excellent! I'd be happy with either one. The Dead Ocean release does have 5 bonus tracks, 2 of which should have made it onto a proper album IMHO.
