We cut and pasted exactly what they sent us, including comments and extra picks.  We thank all of you that participated.

Micheal Pang

1. Jay Z & Kanye West – Watch the Throne
2. Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx – We’re New Here
3. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy
4. They Might Be Giants – Join Us
5. Charles Bradley – No Time for Dreaming
6. The Beach Boys – The Smile Sessions
7. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
8. Fucked Up – David Comes to Life
9. Little Dragon – Ritual Union
10. Danny Brown – XXX

Anthony Martinez

1. Bon Iver, Bon Iver
2. Strange Mercy, St. Vincent
3. Watch The Throne, Jay-Z & Kanye West
4. Wounded Rhymes, Lykke Li
5. The Big Roar, The Joy Formidable
6. Elsie, The Horrible Crowes
7. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, M83
8. The King Of Limbs, Radiohead
9. Helplessness Blues, Fleet Foxes
10. Metals, Feist

Mimi Ringness

Best Albums (Defined here as: the albums that I bought and loved, not including those which I sadly missed and/or did not purchase and listen to endlessly.)

1. Oh Fortune, Dan Mangan 2. We Are The Tide, Blind Pilot 3. The Rip Tide, Beirut 4. Codes And Keys, Death Cab For Cutie 5. Mine Is Yours, Cold War Kids 6. 12 Desperate Straight Lines, Telekinesis! 7. 21, Adele 8. Actor-Castor, Generationals 9. It’s A Corporate World, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. 10. No Color, The Dodos

Best Songs (Defined here as: the songs that I played over and over and over again.)

“Rolling In The Deep,” Adele “Oh Fortune,” Dan Mangan “Get It Out,” Blind Pilot “Bulldozer,” Cold War Kids “What About Us,” Handsome Furs “Come Closer,” Miles Kane “Woods,” The Rosebuds “Gotta Get It Right Now,” Telekinesis! “Black Night,” The Dodos “Some Boys,” Death Cab For Cutie “Goshen,” Beirut “Ash/Black Veil,” Apparat “Abducted,” Cults “I Know You Don’t Love Me,” Peter Bjorn & John “Ritual Union,” Little Dragon “Simple Girl,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. “Truth,” Alexander

Deals of 2011 (Defined here as: ultimate prices that exemplify Hoodlums)

DVDs: Stranger Than Fiction, $3.47 Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow, $3.99 Strangers On A Train, $5.21

CDs: Gimme Some, Peter Bjorn & John, $2.78 with a $10 gift certificate It’s A Corporate World, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., $5.39 Sigh No More, Mumford & Sons, $6.95 Loud Planes Fly Low, The Rosebuds, $7.99

Vinyl: “Dirty Thing” 7”, Telekinesis! $5.39

Posters: Useless Creatures, Andrew Bird, $8.69

Emma Ringness

Albums

1) King of Limbs, Radiohead

It’s Radiohead. Seriously, enough said.

2) Blood Pressures, The Kills

I ignored The Kills for years, until I became hooked on “Future Starts Slow.” The album doesn’t disappoint. You can hear their experience in the songwriting without any loss of spark…or gritty sexiness.

3) Suck It and See, Arctic Monkeys

With the exception of the singles, which I personally feel are the weakest tracks on the album, the Arctic Monkeys deliver their strongest songwriting since Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. They are older and wiser, and while this experience might have made them a little jaded, it has certainly not made them redundant.

4) Codes and Keys, Death Cab for Cutie

I was pretty indifferent to Codes and Keys from what I heard before the album was released, but I, like many people, forgot that Death Cab are some of the modern masters of the album format. It must be heard as a whole.

5) El Camino, The Black Keys

This one made it on suuuuper last minute, but I’m pretty sure it’s one I’ll be spinning heavily in 2012. My early assessment? Better than Brothers. No one hate me for that, please.

Honorable Mention: Angles, The Strokes

I feel like Angles—and all The Strokes albums since 2002, for that matter—gets disregarded by people comparing it to Is This It. Understandable, but not fair.

Songs

Here are my favorite songs from 2011 that aren’t on my top five albums. Note: the version of “Piledriver Waltz” on this list is different from the one on Suck It and See.

“Ten-Twenty-Ten,” Generationals (Actor-Caster)
“Civilian,” Wye Oak (Civilian)
“Techno Fan (acoustic),” The Wombats (non-album track)
“Piledriver Waltz,” Arctic Monkeys (Submarine OST)
“Cruel,” St. Vincent (Strange Mercy)

Jeremy P.

1. Steven Wilson – Grace For Drowning
2. Abigail Washburn – City of Refuge
3. Ma/Edgar/Duncan/Thile – The Goat Rodeo Sessions
4. The Decemberists – The King Is Dead
5. Laura Marling – A Creature I Don’t Know
6. Okkervil River – I Am Very Far
7. Steve Earle – I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive
8. Pain of Salvation – Road Salt Two
9. Bela Fleck and the Flecktones – Rocket Science
10. The Roots – Undun

Connor Descheemaker

10. The Mountain Goats-All Eternals Deck
9. Chuck Ragan-Covering Ground
8. Frank Turner-England Keep My Bones
7. Andrew Jackson Jihad-Knife Man
6. Explosions In the Sky-Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
5. Fucked Up-David Comes To Life
4. Doomtree-No Kings
3. The Roots-undun.
2. The World/Inferno Friendship Society-The Anarchy & The Ecstasy
1. Bomb The Music Industry!-Vacation

Mitch Goyette

1. Fair to Midland – Arrows and Anchors
2. The Dear Hunter – The Color Spectrum
3. Puscifer – Conditions of My Parole
4. Hotel of the Laughing Tree – Terror and Everything After
5. Dredg – Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy
6. Opeth – Heritage
7. Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa – Don’t Explain
8. Deep Dark Robot – 8 Songs About a Girl
9. Manchester Orchestra – Simple Math
10. Frank Turner – England Take My Bones

And because 10 isn’t enough, here’s few (er, another 10) honorable mentions that certainly could be in the top 10 if I was in a different mood today:

Redemption – This Mortal Coil
Symphony X – Iconoclast
Amplifier – The Octopus
The Decemberists – The King is Dead / Long Live the King (yeah, cheating and putting the two together)
Long Distance Calling – s/t
Jeff Martin – The Ground Cries Out
Three – The Ghost You Gave to Me
Erland and the Carnival – Nightingale
Riverside – Memories in My Head
Jolly – The Audio Guide to Happiness Pt. 1

Tammy H.

1. Explosions in the Sky – Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
2. Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation
3. Panda Bear – Tomboy
4. Beirut – The Rip Tide
5. Handsome Furs – Sound Kapital
6. Tapes n Tapes – Outside
7. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks – Mirror Traffic
8. The War On Drugs – Slave Ambient
9. Cut Copy – Zonoscope
10. Okkervil River – I Am Very Far
11. Wye Oak – Civilian
12. Yuck – Yuck
13. Akron/Family – S/T II: The Birth and Cosmic Journey of Shinju TNT
14. The Strokes – Angles
15. Portugal. The Man – In the Mountain In the Clouds

We think it’s a pretty cool list of stuff, and we are really proud of (and thankful to) our great customers for buying such quality art from their local hoods.  Like the Top-selling CDs of 2011 List, this one is loaded with a diverse group of titles (I love to see the differences and similarities between the two configurations).  If you are a fan of the art, there’s probably something on here you need to add to your collection.

As you can see from the numbers, CD still outsells vinyl… but we are still selling more vinyl all the time (especially as more titles hit the market).

Note: RSD means the title is from Record Store Day or Indie Black Friday.

Hoodlums Top 99 Vinyl Titles of 2011

1. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
2. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
3. Bruce Springsteen – Gotta Get That Feeling (RSD)
4. Black Keys – El Camino (one of the only stores in the US to get a bunch)
5. White Stripes – Let’s Shake Hands (RSD)
6. Beatles – Abbey Road (amazingly, the only Beatles LP available)
7. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
8. Roger Clyne & Peacemakers – Unida Cantina (in-store performance)
9. Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar/Bitch (RSD)
10. Mumford and Sons – Dharohar Project  (RSD)
11. White Stripes – LaFayette Blues (RSD)
12. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
13. Foo Fighters – Medium Rare (RSD)
14. Wilco – Whole Love
15. Ryan Adams – Ashes and Fire
16. Bob Dylan – Bob Dylan in Concert
17. Doors – Riders on the Storm (RSD)
18. Kings of Leon – Holy Roller Novocaine (RSD)
19. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Havana Affair (RSD)
20. Tom Waits – Bad As Me
21. Tom Petty – Kiss My Amps
22. Black Keys – Brothers
23. Decemberists – King is Dead
24. Clash – London Calling
25. Florence & The Machine – Lungs
26. Radiohead – OK Computer
27. Black Keys – Lonely Boy (RSD)
28. Beatles – Singles (RSD)
29. Ray LaMontagne – Live Fall (RSD)
30. Iron & Wine – Kiss Each Other
31. Bon Iver – For Emma
32. Radiohead – King of Limbs
33. Radiohead – In Rainbows
34. Adele – 21
35. Wu-Tang Clan – Enter Wu-Tang
36. Black Angels – Another Nice Pair (RSD)
37. Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
38. Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning
39. Pixies – Doolittle
40. Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over The Sea
41. What Laura Says – Talk
42. Regina Spektor – Four from Far (RSD)
43. Sharon Jones & Dapkings – Soul Time (RSD)
44. Social Distortion – Hard Times & Nursery Rhymes
45. Black Keys – Magic Potion
46. Strokes – Is This It?
47. Godspeed You Black Emperor – F#A# (infinity)
48. Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step
49. Strokes – Angles
50. Jimi Hendrix – Are You Experienced?
51. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
52. John Coltrane – Love Supreme
53. Built to Spill – Ripple
54. Rush – Caravan Blues (RSD)
55. Shins – Oh! Inverted World
56. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
57. Amy Winehouse – Back to Black
58. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
59. Tool – Opiate
60. Pixies – Surfer Rosa
61. She & Him – Volume one
62. Elliot Smith – Either/Or
63. Pearl Jam – Vs.
64. Nas – Illmatic
65. Black Angels – Phosgene Nightmare
66. Mayall/Clapton – Lonely Years (RSD)
67. Beach Boys – Good Vibrations (RSD)
68. Sonic Youth – Oz Tour 1993 (RSD)
69. Lady Gaga – Born This Way (RSD)
70. Velvet Underground – Loaded
71. Black Keys – Thickfreakness
72. Ryan Adams – Gold
73. Tool – Undertow
74. Flaming Lips – In a Priest-Driven Ambulance
75. Cursive – Ugly Organ
76. Arcade Fire – Suburbs
77. Guns N’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction
78. Radiohead – Kid A
79. Radiohead – Bends
80. Jason Isbell & 400 Unit – Here We Rest
81. Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker
82. Johnny Cash – American VI: Ain’t No Grave
83. Junior Kimbrough – All Night Long
84. O’ Brother Where Art Thou? Soundtrack
85. Bad Brains – Pay to Cum
86. John Lennon – Imagine 40th Anniversary box (RSD)
87. Soundgarden – Before the Doors Live (RSD)
88. Phish – Party Time? (RSD)
89. Dream Theater – Metropolis 2 (RSD)
90. Gil Scott-Heron – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
91. Air – Moon Safari
92. Tom Waits – Swordfishtrombones
93. Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
94. Tom Waits  – Heart of Saturday Night
95. White Stripes – White Blood Cells
96. Iron & Wine – Creek Drank the Cradle
97. Shins – Chutes Too Narrow
98. Beach Boys – Smile Session
99. Whiskeytown – Stranger’s Almanac (8 copies!)

(RSD) = Record Store Day or Indie Black Friday

Wanna take a look at what you bought? Let’s do it. As a store owner, I’m pretty proud of you guys. That’s a solid list of quality music (as is the Top-selling Vinyl List) and you should be proud of your taste and diversity.

What influences the chart? In addition to noted in-store performances, I’ve included a little “legend” of a few of the notable influences, namely the opinions of the hoodlums at Hoodlums (click here for our Top 10 of 2011 lists), at the bottom.

Hoodlums Top 99 CDs of 2011

1. Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers – Unida Cantina (in-store performance)
2. Adele – 21
3. Decemberists – King is Dead (S, K)
4. Black Keys – El Camino (S)
5. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
6. Abigail Washburn – City of Refuge (in-store performance, K)
7. Ryan Adams – Ashes and Fire (A, K)
8. Tom Waits – Bad As Me
9. Black Keys – Brothers
10. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
11. Wilco – Whole Love
12. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
13. Danger Mouse/Daniele Luppi – Rome (S)
14. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
15. Jason Isbell and 400 Unit – Here We Rest (A, S, K)
16. Gillian Welch – Harrow and the Harvest (K)
17. Social Distortion – Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes (A)
18. Radiohead – King of Limbs
19. Florence & the Machine – Lungs
20. Dawes – Nothing Is Wrong (A)
21. Cake – Showroom of Compassion
22. Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What
23. Sarah Jarosz – Follow Me Down (K)
24. Ma/Duncan/Meyer/Thile – Goat Rodeo Sessions (K)
25. Iron & Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean
26. My Morning Jacket – Circuital
27. Tedeschi/Trucks – Revelator
28. Fitz & The Tantrums – Pickin’ Up the Pieces
29. Amos Lee – Mission Bell
30. Florence & The Machine – Ceremonials
31. Foster the People – Torches
32. Civil Wars – Barton Hollow
33. Chris Isaak – Beyond the Sun
34. REM – Collapse Into Now
35. M83 – Hurry Up We’re Dreaming
36. Adele – 19
37. Small Leaks Sink Ships – Oak Street Basement (in-store performance)
38. Gregg Allman – Low Country Blues
39. Charles Bradley – No Time for Dreaming (S)
40. Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys
41. Neil Young – Treasure
42. Flogging Molly – Speed of Darkness
43. Bright Eyes – People’s Key
44. Primus – Green Naugahyde
45. She & Him – Very She & Him Christmas (in a post… who knew?)
46. Red Hot Chili Peppers – I’m With You
47. Amy Winehouse – Lioness: Hidden Treasures
48. Bill Evans – Piano Player
49. Daptone Gold – Various Artists
50. Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee
51. Ben Harper – Give Till It’s Gone
52. Edward Sharpe & Magnetic Zeros – Up From Below
53. Arctic Monkeys – Suck It and See
54. Bruno Mars – Doo Wops & Hooligans
55. John Hiatt – Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns
56. Drive-By Truckers – Go Go Boots
57. Kooper/Bloomfield – Fillmore East: Lost Tapes
58. Strokes – Angles
59. Manchester Orchestra – Simple Math (A)
60. Taj Mahal – Taj Mahal
61. Avett Brothers – I & Love & You
62. Aloe Blacc – Good Things
63. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
64. Eddie Vedder – Ukulele Songs
65. Feist – Metals
66. St. Vincent
67. Vaccines – What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?
68. Steve Martin & Steep Canyon Rangers – Rare Bird Alert
69. Black Carl – Borrowed (in-store performance)
70. Jayhawks – Mockingbird Time
71. Nick 13 – Nick 13 (A)
72. Tinariwen – Tassili
73. Beach Boys – Smile Sessions
74. Coldplay – Mylo Xyloto
75. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
76. Delaney & Bonnie – D & B Together
77. Cults – Cults
78. Wanda Jackson – Party Ain’t Over
79. Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’ (S)
80. Loudon Wainwright III – Album 3
81. Rave on Buddy Holly – Various Artists
82. Decemberists – Live at Bull Moose (RSD)
83. Sharon Jones & Dapkings – Soul Time (RSD)
84. Dry River Yacht Club – Family Portraits
85. William Elliot Whitmore – Field Songs
86. Old Crow Medicine Show – OCMS
87. Local Natives – Gorilla Manor
88. Fucked Up – David Comes to Life
89. Kills – Blood Pressures
90. Ryan Adams – III & IV
91. Warren Haynes – Man In Motion (S)
92. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
93. Etta James – At Last
94. Ahmad Jamal – Pittsburgh
95. Taj Mahal – Natch’l Blues
96. Mergence – Those Vibrant Young People Are Dead (S)
97. City and Colour – Little Hell (A)
98. Kinch – Incandenza (A)
99. Beatles – Abbey Road (15 copies!)

S = Steve’s Top 10 of 2011 pick

K = Kristian’s Top 10 of 2011 pick

A = Andy’s Top 10 of 2011 pick

RSD = Record Store Day or Indie Black Friday title

We do these lists to share our love of music… which is pretty much the reason we opened a record store in the first place.  The reason we are still here sharing thirteen years later is because you, and thousands of other music, movie, and art fans, have supported us by purchasing your favorite albums at Hoodlums.

The depth of our appreciation for this support cannot truly be expressed.  Thanks.

Now, without further rambling, my Top 10 lists for 2011 (in no particular order).

Steve’s Top Ten Albums of 2011

Decemberists – King is Dead
Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi – Rome
Charles Bradley – No Time for Dreaming
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Here We Rest
Sharon Jones & Dap-Kings – Soul Time
Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’
Mergence – Those Vibrant Young People Are Dead
Black Keys – El Camino
JC Brooks and Uptown Sound – Want More
Warren Haynes – Rivers Gonna Rise

Ten More 2011 Albums That I Really Dig

Cults – Cults
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
Vaccines – What Did You Expect From the Vaccines?
Dawes – Nothing is Wrong
Ryan Adams – Ashes and Fire
Kooks – Junk of the Heart
My Morning Jacket – Circuital
Tedeschi Trucks Band – Revelator
Steve Cropper – Dedicated
Steve Miller Band – Let Your Hair Down

Five 2011 Records Andy & Kristian are playing into my collection

City and Colour – Little Hell
Big Talk – Big Talk
Gary Clark Jr. – Bright Lights EP
Dead Man Winter – Bright Lights
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – S/T

Top Ten Rock Catalog Discoveries of 2011

Laura Nyro – Smile
Laura Nyro – Nested
Big Star – #1 Record/Radio City
Atlanta Rhythm Section – Live at the Savoy
Marshall Tucker Band – Where We All Belong
Country Joe and the Fish – Electric Music for the Mind
Graham Nash – Songs for Beginners
Josh Rouse – Subtitulo
Electric Light Orchestra – Face the Music
Nick Drake – Bryter Layter

Top Ten Jazz/Blues/Soul Catalog Discoveries of 2011

Aretha Franklin – Aretha Now
The Meters – Rejuvenation
Wilson Pickett – Hey Jude
Lou Rawls – Soulin’
Buddy Guy/Junior Wells – Drinkin’ TNT, Smokin’ Dynamite
Luther Allison – Love Me Mama
Freddie Hubbard – Blue Spirits
Barbara Dane & Chambers Brothers – Smithsonian Archival Recordings
Jimmy Dawkins – Fast Fingers
Art Blakey – Mosaic

Happy New Year to you and your family.

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

Good question, eh?

The reason I pose it is due to two factors: 1) My pal Munzy Cat alerted me to the fantastic video (labeled “The Greatest Guitar Solo Ever”) I’ve attached, in which Prince just absolutely goes off on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (along with awesome vocals by Tom Petty and ELO’s Jeff Lynne); and 2) My new iPhone, combined with Garageband, allows me to use any song in my database to create ringtones for my buddies.

So I’m going with the idea of using guitar solos for ringtones, at least for my more rockin‘ friends (hmm, the rockin’ list seems to be heavily composed of guys, which raises another series of questions regarding gender and guitar solos, but I won’t digress, for once). Seriously though, why listen to frogs, horns, and bells when you can do some wankin’?

So what would you want your guitar solo to be?

I’m not talking about the Greatest Ever. I could never put one at the top. The Prince solo on this video is really fantastic (check out the Hendrix-like way he connects with his guitar), but like some of the comments say, “Greatest ever?”. It’s too bold of statement to even make. Hell, I’m not sure I could even decide between the Allman Brothers solos, let alone the rest of the rock and roll (or jazz) landscape.

I’m talking about one that you love.  A solo that lifts your soul… moves your butt… causes you to make rock star faces. If you’re like me, then you know what I mean. I can air-guitar hundreds of solos note for note (as I’ve mentioned previously, I’m a one-man air band).

For now, I went with Jeff “Skunk” Baxter off of Steely Dan’s “Night by Night” as my general ringtone (one thing you can count on in almost every Steely Dan song is a guitar solo, one reason they are my all-time fave).  My son and I agreed to use to part of Rik Emmett’s first solo off of Triumph’s “Fight the Good Fight” for his ringtone.  Cliche as it may be (because it applies to the contact), I went with the mighty Jimmy Page on the double-necked finale of “Stairway to Heaven” for one of the pals with whom I most connect (sorry Bieber, I couldn’t find any solos by Selena Gomez’s guitarist, er, computer).

The point is: I want the solo to represent the caller. It might take me a while, but it’s a task I relish.

Fortunately, I’ve got a ways to go to finish off the contact list. Of course, I don’t have nearly as many friends as I have solos to consider (although many of the solos are like friends to me), so I’ll need to jam my way through a few more decisions.

Luckily, it’s my day off (although it seems a lot like what I do every day, thank God) so I can stay on it.

So now that you’ve had time to think… which solo would you choose for yourself?  We’d love to see your response on Facebook or Twitter.

(Except for you, Disney Boy, you have to call so I can jam some Zep).

In fact, with my recent acquisition of my new iPhone, you could say I am officially Apple’s cyberslave. I started with the initial 40 gig iPod, which was eventually replaced by my current 160 gig iPod classic (which I actually use to walk the dog). Then last year, I finally switched from PC to Mac (which allowed me to customize my rambling videos). Now the iPhone. As Kevin Bacon would say, “Thank you sir, may I have another!”

It goes beyond Apple. I’ve got a Sony 3D Blu-ray player that streams youtube, Pandora, Slacker (which I like better), and about eight zillion movies. The digital cable has umpteen music channels.

It’s awesome. Entertainment everywhere. It makes a guy wonder about the need for record stores, that’s for sure.

So why do I own one?

Obviously, it’s a question I’ve asked myself (and fielded from many of you) countless times over the past thirteen years, and continue to ask myself to this day. I know that I can listen to music from morning until night, and hear tons of great shit, without paying a cent outside of my phone and cable bills, which I already have to pay. So why not just go with the electronic flow?

The answer: I still personally like to own and have control of my music. Collecting CDs (and to a smaller extent, LPs) is my ultimate hobby.

Our old partner, Lloyd, sent me a Spotify invite last month. So I logged on and created an account.  I dialed up Paul Pena’s “New Train” as my first search, to see what sort of depth they had (it was the very first album we ever played at this store). While they didn’t have “New Train”, they did have an album I’ve never seen, his self-titled album. New Pena tracks? Cool.

I started to listen to the album, and of course, it was tasty. But rather than rejoice at my new digital find, I immediately dialed up my distributor to see if it was available (it wasn’t… and I couldn’t even find evidence of it’s existence on Amazon or Ebay).

Because I want to OWN it. I want it to be mine. I want to know it’s in my collection, and that it isn’t going to disappear at the whim of some company or at the surge of some electrical current. I want to be able to make a ringtone out of it, or use it in a video. I want total control.

Yes, I want to have it on my computer, in my phone, and on my iPod… but unless I’ve got that original digital file (otherwise known as the CD) back there on the wall, in my collection, I don’t really feel like I really own it. Plus, I want to be able to listen to it in high quality at my house, at the store, and in my car.

You see, I’m not a “casual” music fan, like for instance, my lovely wife. Music has always been enormously important to me, and I take my collection very seriously. I generally listen to albums (in fact, I never just drag a song into one of my devices). I don’t (and have never) buy singles (unless it’s a rare song and that’s the only way to get it). I rarely rip a CD and then trade it. If I do, I feel like I made a decision to relegate whatever the album is to a lower status… an almost not-worthy status.

I’m not saying that I’m personally down on casual fans. My wife loves her music very much. Nothing is more important than the amazing spiritual vibe music provides almost all of us, so to each their own. I’m just saying that’s not my way.

So while I’ve got the files to John Hammond’s “Southern Fried”, and I can listen to Lee Michael’s self-titled album on Spotify, but until I  get the CD or LP, those two albums are not really mine.

In a nutshell, I’m a guy that needs a record store.

Luckily, I still own one.

You start helping a guy or girl by asking questions, and you find out some info about them.  You throw out some info of your own (usually more rambling than is necessary in my case), and they find out a bit about you.

Usually it’s music-based info, but you can find out a lot about a person by talking music.  Hell, ever since I was a wee pup, one of the first things I did when I got to know someone was take a look at their record collection (or their CD collection, although I must note that I’ve never taken a look at someone’s hard drive… but that’s another blog).  After all these years of record store geekdom, I’m like Sherlock Holmes in terms of tying personality traits to musical tastes.

Anyway, if a person likes your service, and your conversation, or whatever, they come again.  And again.  And you bullshit some more with each visit.  You discuss the last purchases and play some music.  Maybe the guy burns you something to listen to… or you bring something in from your house… and maybe you talk a little politics or sports.. and the next thing you know, a bond is built.  A person that was originally just some dude (or dudette) that walked in to check out the store with the MUSIC sign has become your friend.

Since I write once in a while, and make videos more than I probably should, I sometimes think in terms of “you should write about this” or “you should do a video about that”.  When our old customer-turned-friend Ben Erlandson graduated (see pic, congrats Ben) and headed for Northern Cal last year after shopping at our store for almost the duration of our existence, I decided to write a blog about how Ben had grown into a friend.  How much he had gotten to know all of the main hoodlums, how we had a nickname for him (based on biking accidents), how much fun we had interacting with him online, and how much we were going to miss him… most of all how that missing went beyond the loss of a great customer.

A Tribute To One of Our All-time Champion Customer-Friends

So here I am with that my “customer-friend” blog, but it isn’t about Ben.  Sorry pal, but there’s a good reason for it:

A few months before Ben left, I had already put another “I should do this customer video” thought in progress.  I had the ol’ video camera in the store so I could record Record Store Geek: The Reason It’s Always Me in the Videos, and one our great customer-friends, Craig Pinson, happened to be in the store shopping (and bullshitting about music). In addition to helping spice up the RSG video with his fantastic and supportive laughter, he allowed me to turn the camera on him to make a testimonial about our special order service at Hoodlums. I told him I was going to edit it and put it up on the website next to our special order info.  He loved it.

Of course, I didn’t get on it right away… meaning as I begin to write this it still isn’t on the website.

Craig kept coming, and the friendship continued to grow.  Not only with me, but with Kristian and Andy as well.  Every once in a while, I’d say “Eventually I’m going to get that special order video up”, and he’d say “no biggie” or something to that extent.  It wasn’t like it was a big deal, and in our relationship the most important thing was the music.  This is the Savoy Brown you should try next.  When is that deluxe version of Derek and the Dominoes coming out?  The new Drive-By Truckers is excellent, as is the Jason Isbell.

When the extra Elton John/Leon Russell tickets showed up on the day of the show, we knew who to call.  And Craig (and his wife Mary) were ready.  We were able to hook them up, and we all went to the whatever-it’s-called Arena to verify that Elton can still jam (he can).

Craig ordered the Vanilla Fudge box set through Hoodlums, even though it was a Rhino Handmade product (just like the Delaney and Bonnie in the video), and when we called to tell him it was in, he apologized and said he was laid up and that it might be a while.  We assured him it was no big deal and we told him we hoped he would get feeling better.  It took about a month, maybe longer, but eventually he came in and grabbed his stuff.

He said he was feeling better.  We talked for a long time.  About his purchases.  About the music.  And Craig did what he always would do… he’d finish up the discussion, and he’d say he had to go, and then somehow, someway, the thought of music would take over… and Craig would stop… and fire up the discussion again.  I’d give him shit about it (no, not you, Steve) and we’d laugh.  Eventually he would leave, awesome music in hand.

Then in early May, I received a call from Kristian.  Craig’s wife had called to tell us that Craig had passed away during the night.  She explained to Kristian that Hoodlums had played such a big part in Craig’s life, had provided him with so much enjoyment, that she felt we needed to be told.

She knew that we were friends.  Through Hoodlums… but mostly, through the music.

Kristian and I were both able to attend Craig’s funeral.  During the service, Craig’s love of music was mentioned prominently, along with his awesome kindness, his loving manner, and his terrific laugh.  On the way home, we talked about how lucky we were that this was the first funeral we’ve had to attend during our 13 years of building relationships with customers, and how much we were going to miss our friend Craig.

I knew the video was at home in my Mac.  I knew I had to at least finish it and post it.  In honor of our friend, Craig.  I checked with Mary, and she said it was O.K.

So here’s to ya Craig.  I added Derek and the Dominoes for the music, and I listened to it while writing this.  Lord knows I’ll think about ya every time it plays.

CIMS is a group of the USA’s finest independent music stores, banded together for more than 15 years to successfully fight the giant corporate bean-counters, er, companies that infiltrated retail music (to the complete detriment of the industry, of course) in the mid-nineties.

Our fearless CIMS representatives have been out there every day for 15 years, reminding record labels and the public just how important indie record stores have always been, and still are, to music fans and musicians throughout the world. Reminding everybody, via sweet events like Record Store Day, that (even in a digital age) indie record stores are still one of the primary places where breaking artists are discovered, gain traction, and turned into established acts.

Most importantly, Hoodlums and the other CIMS stores promote new music via monthly listening stations and programs. Each month, we will be featuring over 60 different new titles each and every month. Major artists, breaking artists, multiple genres… the Coalition stores promote it all. The video will explain more about the CIMS listening posts (and let you know just how excited we are about having access to all this great new music).

As you can see from the list of this month’s titles, the same CIMS reps have been out there working with the record labels to make sure that plenty of their advertising budgets are going to support the industry’s most influencial stores, to promote the artists that this veteran group of music stores think our customers might dig.

The Hoodlums/CIMS “Back” Story

A looser way to describe the Coalition would be to say that CIMS is a bunch of record store geeks, just like Kristian and I, that get together to brainstorm about business, share our passions for music and film, and party (what the hell else did you expect?).

That’s the description we love the best. That’s the part we missed the most. The comraderie.  The brotherhood. And yeah, the party. Because after all, we’re all just partying slackers at heart, posing as business people, so why pretend? That’s us in the picture on the right, at our 10 year anniversary in Seattle at the mighty Easy Street Records (Thanks again for the great event, Matt).

What do I mean by “missed”?  Why is this a “rejoin”?  Let me explain.

Hoodlums was fortunate enough to be a member of CIMS from 2002 – 2007.  During that time, we made a lot of friends, and learned a lot about our industry, ourselves, and how to run a better record store. We talked, listened, debated a number of industry issues, and worked with our colleagues to develop some of the “think indie” strategies (including Think Indie Distribution, which peddles the limited-edition, indie-only titles that you love so much) that have helped keep many of the country’s indie stores cranking in today’s challenging competitive environment.

However, when a fire closed our ASU store in 2007, we were no longer CIMS members.  Of course, at that point we were no longer a store… period. The developments at the Memorial Union had led us to the decision to move on to new challenges, and we did not intend to reopen.

Then we found this perfect new location and changed our minds. We formed a new store, with a new philosophy, and we moved forward. While we were still featuring cool new music, we put extra focus on making sure that we had the very best mix of classics and a phenomenal selection of used LPs, CDs, and DVDs.

The strategy worked. Our customers responded. But something was missing.

Then we got the call from our old friends at CIMS. Would we be interested in rejoining?

We met with our old comrades, took a new look at the programs, and decided to jump at the opportunity. We moved our old listening posts back in (much to the chagrin of my tired back), filled them with new music, recorded the video, and started listening. It’s gonna be great to have all that new music around.

But not as great as it’s gonna be to see the gang at the conference. After all, we haven’t forgotten our real priorities.