But first we wanted to thank you for your part in making 2011 such a great year for us.  Your support feeds our families, and it puts more of your hard-earned spending money back into the community… and to say we appreciate it is beyond an understatement.  Thanks.

What was so great about 2011?  There were a huge amount of happy Hood-happenings in 2011, but these are our Top 10 (we love making lists):

• Celebrating our 13th Birthday in October (10 at ASU, 3 at Tempe Square).
• Rejoining our friends (and the best indie record stores in America) in the Coalition of Independent Music Stores.
• Achieving our single biggest sales day ever on Record Store Day.
• Shattering our weekend record for Black Friday (thanks to Indie Black Friday).
• Raising $3,200 for the kids of Broadmor Elementary with our Hoodstock Festival (our second year over $3K).
• Being awarded a New Times “Best of Phoenix” for our Hoodstock Festival.
• Being voted “Best Record/Music Shop” in the East Valley Tribune’s Best of East Valley poll
• Successfully hosting in-store performances with Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, Abigail Washburn, and over 25 tremendous local artists.
• Tripling our previous year’s sales record for local art sales (almost 300 pieces sold, including our biggest single-artist show with Jeff McDaniel).
• Setting a new special order record with over 1,300 special orders filled in 2011 (and not one extra charge).

We hope your 2011 was equally awesome… and that both of our 2012s will be even better.  Again, our thanks to you.  Steve, Kristian, and the hoodlums at Hoodlums.

Favorite Albums of 2011 

1. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Here We Rest

2. Manchester Orchestra ­­- Simple Math

3. The Horrible Crowes  – Elsie 

4. City & Colour – Little Hell

5. Nick 13  – Nick 13 

6. Ryan Adams  – Ashes & Fire

7. Kasey Anderson + The Honkies – Heart Of A Dog

8. Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones

9. Dawes – Nothing Is Wrong

10. Kinch – The Incandenza

Top Songs of 2011

1. Jason Isbell – “Codeine”

2. Manchester Orchestra – “Simple Math”

3. Ryan Adams – “Lucky Now”

4. Jason Isbell + the 400 Unit- “Stopping By”

5. Moonshine Matinee – “Postcards From Salem”

6. Kasey Anderson + the Honkies – “Exit Ghost”

7. Nick 13 – “Carry My Body Down”

8. The Horrible Crowes – “Behold The Hurricane”

9. Ladylike – “Cinema Kiss”

10. Ryan Adams – “Invisible Riverside”

11. Dawes – “Fire Away”

12. Dead Man Winter – “Nicotine”

13. Less Than Jake – “Life Lived Out Loud”

14. My Morning Jacket – “Holding On To Black Metal”

15. David Bazan – “Wolves at The Door”

16. City & Colour – “Little Hell”

17. Kinch – “That’s Just The Mess That  We’re In”

18. Abigail Washburn – “Burn Thru”

19. Big Talk – “Katzenjammer”

20. Ben Harper – “Don’t Give Up On Me Now”

21. Childish Gambino – “Firefly”

22. The Head & The Heart – “Down In The Valley”

23. City & Colour – “Weightless”

24. Dave Hause – “Melanin”

25. Frank Turner – “Redemption”

26. Decemberists – “January Hymn”

27. Blink-182 – “Up All Night”

28. Social Distortion – “Machine Gun Blues”

29. Dropkick Murphys – “Going Out In Style”

30. Death Cab For Cutie – “Underneath The Sycamore”

TV Shows

Community

Workaholics

Wilfred

Louie

South Park

The League

Top 10 of 2010 Redux

1.  The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang

2. Justin Townes Earle – Harlem River Blues

3. The National – High Violet 

4. Punch Brothers – Antifogmatic

5. Jakob Dylan – Women + Country

6. AM Taxi – We Don’t Stand  A Chance

7. Trampled By Turtles – Palomino

8. Eminem – Recovery

9.  Josh Ritter – So Runs The World Away

10.  Fitz & The Tantrums – Pickin’ Up The Pieces

He won’t add a bunch of rambling like I do, but he’s as serious about his Top 10 as anyone, especially because 2011 had so much great music.  The only thing he included beyond the list was the note that it was listed alphabetically.

RYAN ADAMS – ASHES & FIRE

DECEMBERISTS – KING IS DEAD

GOAT RODEO SESSION – THILE/MEYER/MA/DUNCAN

JASON ISBELL – HERE WE REST

SARAH JAROSZ – FOLLOW ME DOWN

LOW ANTHEM – SMART FLESH

NOAM PIKELNEY – BEAT THE DEVIL & CARRY A RAIL

CHRIS THILE & MICHAEL DAVES – SLEEP W/ ONE EYE OPEN

ABIGAIL WASHBURN – CITY OF REFUGE

GILLAIN WELCH/DAVID RAWLINGS – HARROW & HARVEST

Stay tuned for more Hoodlums lists soon.  Happy Holidays

Wow, that’s a big task.  But if you’ve followed Hoodlum’s social media sites, or my little Random Babblings of a Record Store Geek blog, you’ve probably read blogs or seen video explaining “why I own a record store”… and you know I’m constantly analyzing my whacky little world… so I’ll give it a shot.

Random observations and opinions from a Record Store Geek:

It takes more than one hoodlum to run an indie business in a corporatocracy.  Luckily, my partner Kristian has been here for thirteen years to share the load.  Because I write, tweet, post, and do the marketing, I tend to be the more-visible of the hoods, but anyone who really knows the store knows that Kristian is a music-lovin’ force-of-nature. I could do a whole article on his talents and hard work alone.  I can never thank him enough.   (Big thanks also to Joe, Andy, and the many other hoodlums who make up our Hood Hall of Fame.)

The rise of digital music has had a far-less negative affect on the music industry than the idiotic decision-making of the record labels. High-prices, customer lawsuits, substandard artist development, corporate-retail subsidies, and a continual overdose of hype have killed off a ton of indie record stores and an entire generation of potential customers.  If the major labels would have embraced digital music, and found a way to monetize it, rather than waiting for Apple to change the rules of the game, the music business would be infinitely more healthy.

I personally think digital-only music is a rip-off.  Although Kristian and I have never been on a crusade to stop illegal downloading, I don’t do it.  So if I want to own a piece of music, I pay for it by buying the CD or the LP/mp3 combo.  I’m a collector.  If I like an album, I want to have it in my collection, and to me “owning” a file is like owning air. The music in my iTunes, iPhone, and iPod is an important part of my collection, but that part is about convenience.  I still get the files with a CD, so to me it’s a win-win.  When Hoodlums was on hiatus after the M.U. Fire, I went to the other indie stores to shop, because I need a record store.  Kristian did too.  That’s why we reopened… because we’re not the only ones that feel like this.

Not giving in to the fear of a digital future has allowed us to feed our families for thirteen years.  Thanks, thanks, thanks to each and every person that has spent a cent in our store for making that possible. I still recall our Sony rep warning us about Napster before we started.  Little did he know that Napster was just the tip of the digital iceberg… and yet we are still here.

I wish I could have another conversation with Brad Singer.  Brad was my old boss at Zia; the guy who started it.  As GM, I would go into his office daily and report on the stores, and then he and I would discuss/debate/argue about our ideas for the company.  A lot of our debate centered around my opinion that some of the things he felt most strongly about applied to owning/running one store, but not eight.  His unfortunate passing led to the formation of Hoodlums, and since then, as the co-owner of one store, I have come to understand his feelings a lot better.  I wish I could tell him that, as well how thankful I am for saving me from corporate hell (and a thousand other things).

Downloading has weened the “lightweight” music fans out of record stores.  You know, people that just want singles, the ones who “like the song but don’t know who sings it”… that sort of music fan.  Don’t get me wrong, we don’t have anything against music lightweights (every good party needs lightweights), in fact we understand.  The labels have falsely inflated album sales for years by not giving them the option to just buy the song, so the new digital world is perfect for them.  If they get turned on and want the album (or they don’t want to download for whatever reason), we’re here to help them, but the majority of the people we serve these days are serious music fans.  Junkies like us.

Most of my fellow record store geeks feel that at this point the economy is tougher to deal with than the industry and technology.  We feel that way too.  Ask almost any other type of shopkeeper, and they’ll tell you how much of a battle it is these days.  The only good side of the sad economy is that the guys in the Ivory Towers (Label bean counters, errr, Presidents) have finally started dropping prices.

I still love music more than any non-human thing on this Earth.  It is my passion. It is a part of my soul and my spirituality. I feel that spreading music to my fellow Earthlings is a very important job, because without it this would be a pretty sad place to live.  I couldn’t sell you cars, or homes, or clothes… because although those things are important, I’m not passionate about them.  But I can sell you music, because I believe in music.  I spread it around when I was younger, so Hoodlums is just a “business continuation” of what I was already doing.

I’ll stop there, although I could give you impressions all day (buy me a drink after the birthday party and I’ll answer whatever questions you’ve got).  Thanks again to everyone for your support.

Random Hood Facts: 

Steve/Favorite In-store: Michael Franti and Spearhead (although I was radically hung over from the Bowie show the night before… I loved the album, my 6-year old son was in the front row, and Michael was a free-spirited champ.)

Kristian/Favorite in-store: Ben Kweller (playing piano in the store with Jason Schwartzmann of Phantom Planet, making up songs and goofing around)

Andy’s Favorite in-store: Greg Graffin of Bad Religion (hanging with Professor Graffin was super-cool, especially for the store’s biggest BR fan).

Most people in an autograph line at an in-store: Weezer (650 preorders was all we could do in their allotted time)

Biggest single-day sales on a record: Format – Dog Problems (500 copies, all we had, during a street-date in-store performance).

Biggest single sales day: Record Store Day 2011.

Some things never change… and the poor major label decision-making continues with the new Kanye/Jay-Z release (in this case, exclusivity windows for corporate joints).  As the video says, it’s not like we think things are going to change now… but we got a package in the mail this week that was just too stupid not to mock.  I threw on the glasses and made it “Music 101″ because I’m a goof.

To those of you that have only shopped at our current location, and haven’t heard us speak out on industry issues, a small explanation:

We used to speak out all the time about crazy industry decisions and policies (some examples are still linked on our press page) .  While our complaints and observations, and those of our fellow outspoken indie friends, often garnered attention and perhaps even slowed down the complete corporate takeover of our industry, they really didn’t stop any of the practices we opposed (inflated list prices, exclusive releases, multiple versions, suing customers, not monetizing file-trading, etc.)

At the time, we were a member of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS), so we were more involved in the industry.  When our ASU store closed, we were no longer in CIMS, so when reopened as a “coalition-less” indie, we were sort of “not in the industry”.  That was totally fine, because as I said, the industry hadn’t shown any signs of sanity, and we had thrown our hands up in terms of trying to change things.  We figured we’d just do our thing and take care of the customers in the store.

Three years later, we’re back in the Coalition (see the blog for more info).  That puts us back in the industry.  As our industry “reps”, our leaders at CIMS made us aware of the Kanye/Jay-Z hilarity, or I’m not sure we’d have even known, to be honest.  Of course, we instantly said we were in agreement with the indie-store letter to the label and artists… but we didn’t have any plans to speak out directly.

Then we got that silly banner in the mail… and I couldn’t contain myself.

Have a great day.

Steve, Kristian, and the hoodlums at Hoodlums

Music: “Move on Up” by Curtis Mayfield.  Available at Hoodlums.

Here are the Top Ten of 2010 lists that we received from our wonderful, creative, opinionated customers.  Just like our Hoodlums’ Staff Picks for 2010, if the list picker numbered ‘em, we left the numbers.  If not, we used bullets.  If our customer wrote comments, we left ‘em.

We hope you enjoy looking at ‘em as much as we do.  We certainly do appreciate the participation from each and every one of you… and we absolutely appreciate the tremendous music that we had to choose from in 2010.

Congratulations to Ian Murphy, the winner of a $50 Hoodlums’ Gift Card in our Top 10′s of 2010 Contest.  We’ll start with his Top 10 and then do ‘em in the order they were received.  Please excuse the formatting “differences”, but just had to do a straight “cut and paste” to save time.  As it is… it took long enough this way.  Oh well, it’s great to get so many, and you live and learn (next year, they’ll ALL be Facebook comments).

Ian Murphy

1- Titus Andronicus: “The Monitor”

2- The National: “High Violet”

3- Sufjan Stevens: “All Delighted People EP”

4- Jonsi: “Go”

5- Mumford & Sons: “Sigh No More”

6- Gaslight Anthem: “American Slang”

7- Sufjan Stevens: “Age of Adz”

8- The Roots:”How I Got Over”

9- Gorillaz: “Plastic Beach”

10- Balkan Beat Box: “Blue Eyed Black Boy”

Kenneth Ballard

1.  Ben Folds/Nick Hornby – Lonely Avenue

2.  Good Old War – Self Titled

3.  Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s – Buzzard

4.  Jonsi – Go

5.  The Black Keys – Brothers

6.  The Coral – Butterfly House

7.  Circa Survie – Blue Sky Noise

8.  Guster – Easy Wonderful

9.  Aqualung – Magnetic North

10.  The Dear Hunter – The Branches EP

Dean Ballard

1) Harlem River Blues — Justin Townes Earle

2) Come Around Sundown — Kings of Leon

3) The Big To-Do — Drive-By Truckers

4) You Get What You Give — Zac Brown Band

5) The Guitar Song — Jamey Johnson

6) Sea of Cowards — The Dead Weather

7) Heaven Is Whenever — The Hold Steady

Country Music — Willie Nelson

9) The Promise — Bruce Springsteen

10) The Suburbs — Arcade Fire

Kerry Ann

10. Gaslight Anthem “American Slang”, only thing I don’t like about this album is that I can’t listen to it all at once, it starts to sound poundy and monotonous. As singles, it’s great. They really remind me of the Replacements (but not as good).

9. Florence + the Machine, “Lungs”, I agree she sounds like Bjork (who I think is tolerable) and Kate Bush (who I like a lot) and overall, I really like this album. Fun mash up of Florence with Dizzee Rascal (

8 Avett Brothers I and Love and You makes me want to get in the car and drive for a long time by myself, makes me feel twenty years younger. Now I have to go back to the beginning and get Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions

7 Broken Bells: Broken Bells, electronic great beats, different from most other albums on this list. Just picked this up today after trying it out on Pandora ready to get to know it better.

6 Mavis Staples “You are not Alone” I don’t like to listen to it in it’s entirety, too much of the same thing but mixed up in playlists it is great. She performed with Jeff Tweedy at the Rally to Restore Sanity.

5 Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses “Junky Star” love the song Hallelujah the best. This is probably not his best album, but I want to learn more about this artist. He is talented and has qualities I love, country, spare, great lyrics, can’t put my finger on it with words but when I listen to Hallelujah the short story journey this song takes me on is unique, very cool and magical.

4. Glee 4: Love Gwyneth Paltrow’s cover of Cee Lo Green, Forget You, it’s still catchy and I can play it around my kids. Love “one love” love Glee

3. Kanye My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy listen to it from start to finish, love to hear an album as an album instead of a collection of singles

2. Vampire Weekend: Contra Love this group, love them, love the bits that remind me of Paul Simon, world beat and Talking Heads. Super group. Totally worth the hype.

1. Mumford and Sons “Sigh No More” this album has not gotten old. Love it. Play it all the time.

Garrett Neese

1. Titus Andronicus – The Monitor

2. Big Boi – Sir Lucious Left Foot … The Son of Chico Dusty

3. Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest

4. Roc Marciano – Marcberg

5. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists – The Brutalist Bricks

6. LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening

7. Ty Segall – Melted

8. Marnie Stern – s/t

9. Das Racist – Sit Down, Man

10. Ceo – White Magic

Gerald Schoenherr

1 – Grinderman “2″ LP

2 – Sparklehorse, etc “Dark Night of the Soul” LP

3 – Gospel Claws “C-L-A-W-S” (full disclosure, I was assistant engineer on this but that doesn’t stop it from being awesome) CD

4 – Neil Young “Le Noise” CD

5 – Budos Band “Cobra (III)” LP

6 – Sharon Jones & the Dapkings “I Learned the Hard Way” LP

7 – Various “Said I Had a Vision: Songs & Labels of David Lee 1960-1988″ LP

8 – Snake! Snake! Snakes! “self titled” (another full disclosure situation) CD

9 – LCD Soundsystem “This Is Happening” CD

10 – Boris & Ian Astbury – “BXI” CD

Zach Mitchell

10. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More

9. Dr. Dog – Shame, Shame

8. Broken Bells – Broken Bells

7. Bad Books – Bad Books

6. Vampire Weekend – Contra

5. The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You

4. Blitzen Trapper Destroyer of the Void

3. Good Old War – Good Old War

2. Steel Train – Steel Train

1. fun. – Aim and Ignite (technically came out in 2009…but it’s my favorite album ever)

Trevor Green

Top 10 Catchy-Ass Albums

• Sleigh Bells “Treats”
• Kanye West “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”
• Best Coast “Crazy For You”
• Robyn “Body Talk”
• Girl Talk “All Day”
• The Roots “How I Got Over”
• Black Keys “Brothers”
• Erykah Badu “New Amerykah Part Two”
• Bruno Mars “Doo-Wops and Hooligans”
• Cee Lo Green “The Lady Killer”

Top 10 Worst Movies to Willingly Pay Money to See

• Knight and Day
• The Last Airbender
• Jonah Hex
• The Nutcracker 3D
• Vampires Suck
• Burlesque
• Extraordinary Measures
• Sex and the City 2
• Prince of Persia
• Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore

Laura Wooster-Leyva

1. Brothers- The Black Keys
2. Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager – Kid Cudi
3. Sigh No More- Mumford & Sons
4. Have One On Me- Joanna Newsom
5. The Suburbs- Arcade Fire
6. The Colossus- RJD2
7. Habits-Neon Trees
8. …Featuring Norah Jones- Many artists
9. To The Sea- Jack Johnson
10. Transference- Spoon

TOP TEN ALBUMS (Released in 2010):

10) My Best Friend Is You // Kate Nash

9) Fang Island // Fang Island

Something for Everybody // DEVO

7) B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray

6) I’m Having Fun Now // Jenny and Johnny

5) My Dinosaur Life // Motion City Soundtrack

4) Romance is Boring // Los Campesinos!

3) Contra // Vampire Weekend

2) Scott Pilgrim vs the World OST

1) Sidewalks // Matt and Kim

-

TOP TEN ALBUMS (older but new to me in 2010)

10) Grand // Matt and Kim

9) The Con // Tegan  and Sara

Far // Regina Spektor

7) Voxtrot // Voxtrot

6) Say Anything // Say Anything

5) It’s Never Been Like That // Phoenix

4) Sticking Fingers into Sockets EP // Los Campesinos!

3) Aim and Ignite // fun.

2) Rockin’ the Suburbs // Ben Folds

1) Leaving Through the Window // Something Corporate

Marc Hansen

1. The National – High Violet
2. Tame Impala – Innerspeaker
3. Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
4. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
5. Beach House – Teen Dream
6. The Walkmen – Lisbon
7. Spoon – Transference
8. Radio Dept. – Clinging to a Scheme
9. Surfer Blood – Astro Coast
10. Vampire Weekend – Contra

Cesar “Astro” Ruiz

• No Age – Everything In Between
• Infinite Body – Carve Out The Face Of My God
• Taylor Swift – Speak Now
• Owen Pallett – Heartland
• Girl Talk – All Day
• Grinderman – Grinderman 2
• Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
• Girls – Broken Dreams Club EP
• Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma
• Various Local Musicians – The Chronicles of Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Bret Helm

10. Current 93 – Baalstorm, Sing Omega
09. Katy Perry – Teenage Dream
08. Beach House – Teen Dream
07. Best Coast – Crazy For You
06. Brandon Flowers – Flamingo
03. Of Montreal – False Priest
04. Les Savy Fav – Root For Ruin
03. Robyn – Body Talk
02. The National – High Violet
01. James – The Morning After The Night Before

Joshua Buckley

• Frightened Rabbit – The Winter of Mixed Drinks
• Minus the Bear – Omni
• Band of Horses – Infinite Arms
• Wolf Parade – Expo 86
• Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings – I learned the Hard Way
• Good Morning Magpie – Murder by Death
• The Dark Leaves – Matt Pond PA
• Los Campesinos! – Romance is Boring
• Castevet – The Echo and the Light
• The Extra Lens – Undercard

Joe Milanes

• lcd soundsystem-this is happening
• caribou-swim
• gil scott heron-im new here
• arcade fire-the suburbs
• deerhunter-halcyon digest
• menomena-mines
• royksopp-senior
• laettia sadier-the trip
• sufjan stevens-age of adz
• the black keys-brothers

Adam Studer

• Band of Horses
• Kings of Leon
• The Roots
• Ray LaMontagne
• Black Keys
• Widespread Panic
• Tom Petty
• Neil Young
• She & Him
• The Beatles Remasters

Keith Dellinger

1. Kirkwood Dellinger, Gold
2. Shakira, Sale el Sol
3. The Necronauts, Gauche et Droite
4. Bruno Mars, Doo-Wops and Hooligans
5. Gorillaz, Plastic Beach
6. Gin Blossoms, No Chocolate Cake
7. Juanes, P.A.R.C.E.
8. Dirty Filthy Mugs, All Yobs In
9. Elvis Costello, National Ransom
10. Devo, Something for Everybody

Thomas P.

1. Dinosaur Feathers – Fantasy Memorial

2. Corpus Callosum – Corpus Callosum

3. Fang Island – Fang Island

4. Maps & Atlases – Perch Patchwork

5. MGMT – Congratulations

6. Holy F*ck – Latin

7. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

8. Tera Melos – Patagonian Rats

9. Tame Impala – Innerspeaker

10. The Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt

Hoodlums’ Top 100 LPs of 2010

1. Bad Religion – The Dissent of Man (in-store appearance)
2. Beatles – Abbey Road
3. Jimi Hendrix – Live at Clark University (Record Store Day limited LP)
4. Gorillaz – White Flag (Record Store Day limited LP)
5. Phoenix – Fences (Record Store Day limited LP)
6. Black Keys – Brothers
7. Muse – Exogenesis (Record Store Day limited LP)
8. Flaming Lips – Dark Side of the Moon (Record Store Day limited LP)
9. R.E.M. – Chronic Town (Record Store Day limited LP)
10. Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
11. National – High Violet
12. Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More
13. Fela Kuti – My Lady Frustration (Record Store Day limited LP)
14. MGMT – Siberian Dreams (Record Store Day limited LP)
15. Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream
16. XX – XX
17. Arcade Fire – Suburbs
18. Radiohead – Kid A
19. Jimi Hendrix – Merry Christmas (Indie Black Friday limited LP)
20. Fun – Aim & Ignite (Record Store Day limited LP)
21. Rolling Stone – Exile in Main Street (cover artist autographed)
22. Jimi Hendrix – Valleys of Neptune
23. Modest Mouse – Moon and Antarctica
24. Vampire Weekend – Contra
25. Broken Bells – Broken Bells
26. Velvet Underground – Andy Warhol (Record Store Day limited LP)
27. Cure – Disintegration
28. Bob Dylan- Highway 61 Revisited
29. Fleet Foxes – S/T
30. Vampire Weekend – S/T
31. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
32. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
33. Them Crooked Vultures – Mind Eraser (Record Store Day limited LP)
34. Pantera – Far Beyond Driven (Record Store Day limited LP)
35. Beach House – Teen Dream
36. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion
37. Dr. Dre – The Chronic
38. Velvet Underground – Loaded
39. Clash – London Calling
40. Bon Iver – For Emma Forever Ago
41. Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
42. Panda Bear – Person Pitch
43. Radiohead – OK Computer
44. Radiohead – In Rainbows
45. Roky Erickson/Okkervil River – True Love Cast Out All Evil
46. George Harrison – All Things Must Pass (Indie Black Friday Exclusive)
47. Doors – Doors (Indie Black Friday Exclusive)
48. Josh Ritter – So Runs the World Away
49. Monsters of Folk – S/T
50. Drive-By Truckers – Thanksgiving Filter (Indie Black Friday)
51. Dr. Dog – Shame Shame
52. Black Keys – Thickfreakness
53. Ramones – Ramones Mania
54. Pantera – Cowboys from Hell (Record Store Day limited LP)
55. Shins – Oh Inverted World
56. Shines – Chutes Too Narrow
57. Band of Horses – Everything All The Time
58. Sonic Youth – Hits are for Squares (Record Store Day limited LP)
59. Strokes – Room on Fire
60. MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
61. Joe Strummer – Streetcore (Record Store Day limited LP)
62. Metallica – Live at Grimeys (Indie Black Friday)
63. Blackroc – Blackroc
64. Velvet Underground – Loaded (Colored Vinyl)
65. Velvet Underground – S/T
66. Grandmaster Flash – Message
67. Black Keys – Attack and Release
68. T-Rex – Electric Warrior
69. Pantera – Vulgar Display of Power (Record Store Day limited LP)
70. Sonic Youth – Evol (Record Store Day limited LP)
71. Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
72. Arcade Fire – Funeral
73. Spoon – Transference
74. New Pornographers – Together
75. Animal Collective – Fall Be Kind
76. Budos Band – Budos Band II
77. Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
78. MGMT – Congratulations
79. Ray LaMontagne – God Willin’ and the Creek Will Rise
80. Band of Horses – Infinite Arms
81. Gil Scott-Heron – I’m New Here
82. Mississippi John Hurt – Today
83. Tom Waits – Mule Variations (Record Store Day limited LP)
84. Devo – Fresh (Record Store Day limited LP)
85. Beach House – Zebra
86. Soundgarden – Telephantasm (Record Store Day limited LP)
87. Yeasayer – O.N.E.
88. Deerhoof – Green Cosmos (Record Store Day limited LP)
89. Velvet Underground – S/T (colored vinyl)
90. Otis Redding – Pain in My Heart
91. Velvet Underground – Andy Warhol (colored vinyl)
92. Black Sabbath – Paranoid
93. Velvet Underground – White Light White Heat
94. Meat Puppets – Meat Puppets II
95. Misfits – Compilation
96. Spoon – Kill the Moonlight
97. Tom Waits – Swordfishtrombones
98. Sonic Youth – Confusion is Sex (Record Store Day limited LP)
99. Iron & Wine – Creek Drank the Cradle
100. Iron & Wine – Woman King

Thank you for buying your LPs at Hoodlums.  Have a great 2011!

Hoodlums’ Top CDs of 2010

1. Black Keys – Brothers
2. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
3. Arcade Fire – Suburbs
4. Broken Bells – S/T
5. Jimi Hendrix – Valleys of Neptune
6. JJ Grey and Mofro – Georgia Warhorse (in-store performance)
7. National – High Violet
8. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Mojo
9. Ray LaMontagne – God Willin’ and the Creek Will Rise
10. Florence & The Machine – Lungs
11. Spoon – Transference
12. Bad Religion – Dissent of Man (in-store performance)
13. Dry River Yacht Club – Ugliest Princess (in-store performance)
14. LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
15. She & Him – Volume Two
16. Justin Townes Earle – Harlem River Blues
17. Jack Johnson – To the Sea
18. What Laura Says – Bloom Cheek (in-store performance)
19. Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street (cover artist autographed)
20. Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
21. Vampire Weekend – Contra (special edition)
22. Vampire Weekend – Contra (not special edition)
23. Fun – Live at Fingerprints (Record Store Day)
24. Mgmt. – Congratulations
25. Band of Horses – Infinite Arms
26. Bruce Springsteen – Promise
27. Sufjan Stevens – Age of Adz
28. Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
29. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
30. Johnny Cash – American VI
31. Sharon Jones and Dap-Kings – I Learned the Hard Way
32. Norah Jones – Featuring Norah Jones
33. Edward Sharpe & Magnetic Zeroes – Up From Below
34. John Legend and The Roots – Wake Up
35. Dead Weather – Sea of Cowards
36. Ryan Bingham & The Mescaleros – Junky Star
37. Kings of Leon – Come Around Sundown
38. Sade – Soldier of Love
39. Carolina Chocolate Drops – Genuine Negro Jig
40. Cee-Lo Green – Lady Killer
41. Gaslight Anthem – American Slang
42. Ray LaMontagne – Trouble (our highest charting catalog CD)
43. Drive-By Truckers – Big To-Do
44. Grace Potter and The Nocturnals – Live in Skowhegan (Record Store Day)
45. Robert Plant – Band of Joy
46. Jimmy Eat World – Invented
47. New Pornographers – Together
48. Avett Brothers – I and Love and You
49. Manchester Orchestra – Live at Park Avenue (Record Store Day)
50. Neil Young – Le Noise
51. Sleigh Bells – Treats
52. B. B. King – Indianola Mississippi (Blues Blog)
53. Grace Potter & The Nocturnals – S/T
54. Bob Dylan – Witmark Demos
55. Mavis Staples – You Are Not Alone
56. Roots – How I Got Over
57. Dr. Dog – Shame Shame
58. Devo – Something for Everybody
59. Massive Attack – Heligoland
60. Rolling Stones – Exile Deluxe (Cover artist autogaphed)
61. Belle & Sebastian – Write About Love
62. Metric – Fantasies
63. Big Mama Thornton – With the Muddy Waters Blues Band (Blues blog)
64. Roky Erickson/Okkervil River – True Love Cast Out All Evil
65. Beach House – Teen Dream
66. Peter Gabriel – Scratch My Back
67. Yeaslayer – Odd Blood
68. Budos Band – Budos Band III
69. Cage the Elephant – Cage the Elephant
70. Crazy Heart – O.S.T.
71. Jeff Beck – Emotion and Commotion
72. Jerry Garcia – Jerry Garcia Collection, Volume Two: Let it Rock
73. Lady Gaga – Fame Monster
74. Elton John/Leon Russell – Union
75. XX – XX
76. Charlotte Gainsbourg – Irm
77. Ray LaMontagne – Till the Sun Turns Black (big year for Ray on our charts!)
78. Derek Trucks – Roadsongs
79. Paul Butterfield Blues Band – Butterfield Blues Band (Blues blog)
80. They Might Be Giants – Here Comes the Science
81. Jenny & Johnny – I’m Having Fun Now
82. White Stripes – Under Great White North
83. Eric Clapton – Clapton
84. Hold Steady – Heaven is Whenever
85. National – Boxer
86. Ratatat – LP4
87. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
88. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion
89. Los Campesinos – Romance is Boring
90. Mgmt. – Oracular Spectacular
91. Ozzy Osbourne – Scream (in-store autographs next door)
92. Gogol Bordello – Trans-Continental Hustle
93. Jakob Dylan – Women and Country
94. Preservation: Album To Benefit Preservation Hall
95. Susan Boyle- Dreamed a Dream
96. Cee-Lo Green – F**k You (Record Store Day)
97. Weezer – Weezer Ratitude (Record Store Day)
98. Robert Plant/Alison Krauss – Raising Sand
99. Frank Zappa – Hot Rats
100. Grinderman – Grinderman 2

I’d add a bunch of cool graphics and things like that, but I’ve got to go type the Top LP list.  Happy New Year.  Thanks for the biz.

It was Tuesday morning, and I answered the phone, and the nice lady on the phone explained that she has some LPs she would like to bring down.  I began to explain the procedures for used LP buying and selling, and she said “No, you don’t understand, I want to give them to you”.  ”That’s great, I said… we appreciate it”.

She went on to explain that she was coming all the way down from Scottsdale because she had read the article in the Arizona Republic that morning.  Now usually I read the newspaper every morning (that’s right, I listen to CDs and read books and newspapers… cause I’m old school, and I can only mainline so much digital info), but I hadn’t gotten a chance to do so that morning, thanks to some sort of kid-related morning excursion. Because I had sent out a press release about our free J.J. Grey show, which was the next day, I assumed she saw something about that.

“I didn’t see the Republic this morning, was it something about our show tomorrow?”

“No, it’s an article about Social Networking.  It’s on the front page of the Arizona Living section”.

Cool.  There had a been a story about Valley record stores using social media to reach customers on AzCentral about two weeks earlier, but we had no idea it was going to run Valley-wide.   Anyway, she went on:

“There’s even a picture.  Is it you?”

“I don’t think so… they didn’t take any pictures during the interview… but they could have some sort of shot on hand”.

“Are you a hippy?”

“Uh, yeah… sorta”

“Do you have a beard?”

“Hmmm.  Not officially, but I don’t like to shave very much.”

At this point, I just figured it was Kristian (that’s his cartoon, although the boy has shaved off the beard recently) because, well, we are both kind of hippies. It wouldn’t be the first time.  Kristian once had a customer tell him that he was referred to Hoodlums with the reference that both of the owners look “a little like Jesus” (who’s pretty much the most famous bearded hippy of all time).

A little later in the day, our friend Brandon from Changing Hands brought a copy of the paper in, so I was able to check out the picture.

It wasn’t Kristian or me.  It was Dario from Stinkweeds, our central Phoenix indie colleagues, the other store featured in the article. I guess most (I say “most”, because we must remember Joe) of the remaining record store guys fit the profile (although Joe has a different record store guy profile).

Let’s face it: I am a bearded hippy.   I have been ever since I was old enough to grow a beard and do the things that hippies do.  Which is just another reason I own a record store. There’s just not many jobs where I can be my bearded hippy self.  Kristian either.

Both of us hippies thank you for your support.

We’ve decided to make September “Blues Month” here at Hoodlums. That’s because we can pretty much make up whatever we want – and we love the Blues.  That means all Blues CDs, DVDs, and LPs are 10% off regular price.

Now, just like all the other genres, all the hoodlums at Hoodlums have different tastes and specialties within the genre. Kristian loves that Delta, acoustic-sounding stuff more than I do (although I have my share of Delta Blues). Joe and the pups (Andy, Becky, Mandel) don’t play the blues very much… so I’m not sure about where they stand (except if there is such thing as avant-garde blues, Joe probably has a big collection).

Which bring us to our blog author, yours geekly.  I tend to play, love, and promote stuff that’s a little quicker, a little more electric. OK… that’s probably an understatement (I hear some of my former colleagues out there saying, “Steve played three kinds of music: Rock, Blues, and Blues/Rock”).  Although over the past fifteen years I have been responsible for plenty of jazz, soul, and world in-store play, for the first ten years of my Record Store Geekdom that description was pretty close to being right on. Either way, for close to 25 years, I have been listening to the blues and peddling blues to customers.

Those are the qualifications I bring to this table: Love and experience.  So using that love and experience, combined with my desire to spread the blues (in a good way), I have decided to make up a little guide entitled,Blues for Rockers. (NOTE: If you want to read another list, from a man who’s way more qualified than I am, check out “Essential Chicago Blues Albums” by Valley Blues legend and guest blogger Bob Corritore.)

Just like I did with the How to Build Your Jazz Collection blog, I’ll clarify a bit of the logic that went into the list of amazing albums you see below you.  That way, I won’t get harassed by blues purists out there because there’s no Robert Johnson or Son House on the list (I can hear Kristian talking about Leadbelly now). You see, those artists are all in my collection, and I do like, understand, and appreciate their foundational contributions, this isn’t a blog on starting a well-rounded blues collection… it’s a blog to help rockers (like all the goofs I hung with in High School) diversify into another genre.  The genre that gave rock and roll it’s start.

Here’s are the factors that contributed to the list:

Smokin’ Price. It’s a lot easier to turn someone on to something new if the price is right… and every one of these classic titles is under $10 on CD.  I would like to make a list of ten great new blues releases too, but the damn things are all priced in the fifteen dollar zone.  Do we stock them? Yes (or we can special order for nothin’). Am I going to use them to promote blues-conversion? No.

Tempo. Most of these CDs kick a little ass.  You don’t get to be a blues/rock/blues junkie like me without craving the sound of a wailin’ guitar, and these are some of the greatest guitar players (I’m listening to Albert King as I write… the man just kicks) of all time.  There’s more than a few tunes to which you can drink a glass of wine (see Simone, Nina), but don’t expect a ton of puppy stuff.

Love. Amazingly, considering the same idiots still run the music industry, there were so many great blues classics under $10 that I had to really narrow it down to stuff that I know and love the most.  As it is, I wanted to at least get to twenty, but I couldn’t do it.  If you click on the allmusic reviews (linked on each title) you’ll see that most of the albums are critical darlings, but a few aren’t.  I pay that no matter… I love each and every one.  Hell, I wrote down the titles before I started writing anything else.

So if you love the Allman Brothers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, or Eric Clapton… if you dig the Black Keys or Kings of Leon… and you’re ready to take a step back on the chain of rock and roll evolution, here we go.

21 Blues Albums for Rockers (in no particular order)

1. Willie Dixon – I Am the Blues ($6.99) Why not start with Willie?  The dude wrote a truckload of the songs on many of these blues albums, and literally every single song on this CD has been famously covered by rock bands.  Don’t believe me?  How ’bout “Back Door Man” (Doors); “I Can’t Quit You, Baby” (Led Zep), and “Little Red Rooster” (Stones)… just to cite three.  He’s the one they call the seventh son.
2. Muddy Waters/Howlin’ Wolf – Muddy and the Wolf ($9.99).  Blues meet rock as the rock stars (who helped revive the blues in the first place) team up with my two favorite blues artist of all time (First Wolf, then Muddy).  This CD isn’t Wolf and Muddy together, it is a combo of the Muddy’s Fathers and Sons album, with Butterfield, Bloomfield, Sumlin and more, and Howlin’ Wolf London Sessions, featuring Clapton, Winwood, and the Stones rhythm section of Watts and Wyman.  I would have recommended both albums separately, but the actual Muddy CD is closer to fifteen bucks (the Wolf is $9.99).  I’d still truly recommend both.
3. Butterfield Blues Band – Butterfield Blues Band ($7.99)
4. Butterfield Blues Band – East-West ($7.99)  I could listen to these stinkin’ Butterfield CDs once a week.  They just never get old.  Let’s face it, Mike Bloomfield was one hell of a guitar player, and his impact is long considering his short life.  The self-titled album is my favorite thing he’s ever done, but East/West is a close second.
5. Albert Collins – Truckin’ with Albert Collins ($9.99)  I love Collins’ blistering style and gritty voice, and I had been digging back through his catalog, and I found his first recording at a sweet price, and I was sold.  He’s the master… of the telecaster (Don’t believe me? He’ll tell you himself. Over and over again).
6. Robert Cray Band – Strong Persuader ($9.99)  Along with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Couldn’t Stand the Weather, this is the first blues album I ever owned.  It helped me cross the bridge to the blues.  I had to pick one, and Stevie is in the rock and soul section at the store, so Cray was the choice. This album is smooth and sweet and Robert is a talented dude.  ”She was right next door… and I’m such a strong persuader”.
7. Lightin’ Hopkins – Lightnin’.  Like many of my favorite albums, this album was traded in by a customer.  That’s the great thing about used buying – you get to test all sorts of stuff you wouldn’t have thought to try otherwise.  I tried this and loved it.  Come down to the store and hear it in the listening post and see for yourself.
8. Howlin’ Wolf – Back Door Wolf ($6.99) Another “used buy find” for me (Michael, was that you?).  Once I discovered the price, I brought it right in.  When I play it; it sells.  You need a lot more Howlin’ Wolf than this (Moanin’ in the Moonlight, etc.), but this is a cheap way to start.  From the allmusic bio on Wolf: “no one could match him for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits”.  Wow.  Watching Wolf in his prime in a juke joint would be time-machine journey for me.
9. Albert King – Born Under a Bad Sign ($9.99)  Unquestionably, this is one of the greatest electric blues albums of all time.  Featuring Booker T. and the MGs as a band, Albert’s Stax debut lays down some blistering guitar licks on some of the most recognizable songs in blues history.  One of the most consistent “play it and sell it” albums in Hoodlums’ history.  Great cover too.
10. T-Bone Walker – T-Bone Blues ($9.99)  Even though I try to avoid greatest hits compilations when I’m recommending stuff… it’s hard to avoid comps when you are dealing with the Blues.  This comp is amazing.  The best way to get a dose of T-Bone, who is a blues-rockin’ fool, writing some of the most rock-covered blues songs ever (which this CD proudly sports).
11. Nina Simone – Nina Simone Sings the Blues ($9.99)  This is an album that you might want to play if you are hanging out with a wonderful girl and you want the mood be right (that’s not the way I would have put it in high school). If it doesn’t do the trick, I’d say that wonderful girl may not be that into you. Smart, sassy, sultry, snappy… if there’s an cool adjective that starts with “S”… Nina probably fits the description with this album.  It’s an Allmusic Album Pick – and the review is completely glowing.  ”Do I Move You?” asks Nina on the very first song.  You got that right, sister.
12. Muddy Waters – Hard Again ($9.99) From the opening growl of “Mannish Boy”, you know you are in the presence of awesome blues power.  That testosterone-laced masterpiece alone is worth twenty bucks, and there’s not a bad song behind it.  Johnny Winter leads a top-notch band as Muddy returns to form in all his cocky glory.
13. Freddie King – Burglar ($6.99)  As I type, I am listening to Freddie just tear it up in the wicked “Texas Flyer”, off this fine, inexpensive little masterpiece by one of the three Kings of the Blues.  Here’s a game to play: Try naming rock musicians that have made a living playing like Freddie King.  There’s more than a few riffs on this album to give you a hint or two.  By the way, saying Eric Clapton doesn’t count, since he’s playing on this album on “Sugar Sweet”. (Trivia: What song quotes this about Freddie: “I got to tell ya that poker’s his thing”?)
14. Johnny Winter - Second Winter ($9.99) Long before helping resurrect Muddy’s career, Johnny was tearin’ it up on his own.  Not exactly alone, he has brother Edgar and a great rhythm section behind him.  I still can’t believe all these unbelievable albums are so damn cheap.  That’s why both Johnny and Edgar’s CD still sell so well (that, and they are great).
15. John Lee Hooker – Endless Boogie ($6.99)  Even though allmusic beat this title up a bit, I don’t really care.  The exact reason they didn’t like it, the contributions from guest guitarists like Jesse Ed Davis, Mel Brown, and Steve Miler, is the exact reason I do like it.  Lotsa tasty guitar, lotsa that Hooker growl.
16. Taj Mahal – Taj Mahal ($9.99)  This could possibly be my number one fave of this whole list.  It’s like it just keeps getting better with age.  From the first strains of harmonica on “Leaving Trunk”, you just know this album is gonna be good.  Featuring Jesse Ed Davis and Ry Cooder on guitar, you absolutely need this CD.  (I had its successor, the five-star Natch’l Blues, on the list as well… but I had to include Johnny Winters).
17. Etta James – At Last ($9.99)  Honestly, I listen to Tell Mama a bit more, but it’s still more than ten bucks.  Oh well, including her Chess debut, At Last, wasn’t a tough task.  You gotta have some Etta.  Etta is a bad-ass.  Chicks dig Etta too.  High or low; fast or slow.  Etta can do it all.
18. Rising Sons - Featuring Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder ($6.99)  ”Want to see me sell this album?”.  I don’t revere High Infidelity or anything, but anyone who works in a record store knows that some CD just have power.  Add an “it’s only 6.99″ to the conversation, and you’ve got a sale. This Rising Sons album just walks that walk. It jumps right on the customer and makes them walk up and ask. This is the only compilation from the Rising Sons brief career, and it is top notch.
19. Big Mama Thornton – With The Muddy Waters Blues Band ($9.99)  The newest addition to the list.  Like many of the great albums in my collection, Kristian found it and turned me on.  The allmusic bio used phrases like “menacing growl” and “hefty belter”… and her name is Willie Mae… and this is Muddy’s band… so how can you not be curious?
20. BB King – Indianola Mississippi Seeds ($6.99)  Let me see… Kristian found the LP and listened to it.  Then we checked the CD, and it was only 6.99, so he bought it.  Then I listened to it and bought it.  Then we put it in a listening post and sold a bunch. Now we are telling you.  You just gotta have some B.B. King, and although this album is hardly enough to represent such a master, it’s a good one to have.
21. Buddy Guy – I Was Walking Through the Woods ($9.99)  Buddy is the new Muddy, the reigning king of the Chicago Blues.  I saw him at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert, and he is still tearing up. This a comp of Buddy’s early Chess recordings… another in a long line of beautiful albums discovered through a customer trade-in.

There it is… a place to start.  Come down to the store during September, and we can discuss it more.  If these albums aren’t already in a listening post, I will pull them from my personal play list and let you listen to whatever you want.  Thanks for reading.  Long live the Blues.

Five CDs I probably would have included, except they cost more than $10: