Lightning 100 is excited to present Blind Tiger Record Club On Air every other Monday following the615. Starting at 8 pm, you will hear B.T.R.C. founder, David W. Williams, and Product Manager, Rudy Newman, discuss albums released on vinyl each month. B.T.R.C. champions music from all genres and believes vinyl is king. It’s a great way to be in-the-know about newly released music. Check out their records of the month, spotlight albums, new store additions, and more at BlindTigerRecordClub.com.
This week’s episode features four albums from their four keystone genres: Singer-Songwriter, Rock & Alternative, Jazz Soul & Blues, and Classic Rock.
This week we start off the singer-songwriter category with Thad Cockrell‘s If In Case You Feel The Same, his first studio record in over a decade. In recent years, Thad was fronting the band Leagues, another Lightning 100 favorite, along with Jeremy Lutito of Jars of Clay. He’s worked with Americana artists like Joseph and Amanda Shires, as well as with Nashville R&B artist Devon Gilfillian. Thad signed with ATO after showing the songs to local musician Becca Mancari, who in turn shared the project with longtime collaborator Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes. The album was produced by LA based Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher) and features superstar producer Blake Mills (Alabama Shakes’ Sound And Color) on guitar and Ian Fitchuk (Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour).
This week, the Rock & Alternative vinyl pick is New Medicine by Mondo Cozmo. This is Mondo Cozmo’s second studio album and his first on his new label. Williams and Newman liken the sound of the album to the 90’s era alternative rap rock style of Beck. The first single “Upside Down” features samples that could even draw comparison to Kanye West’s The College Dropout. If you grew up in the 90s, this album is pure nostalgia. New Medicine was produced by Lars Stalfors of The Coldwar Kids.
Note By Note by Booker T. Jones is the Jazz & Soul pick of the week from B.R.T.C. If the name sounds familiar – you’re right. Booker T. fronted Booker T. and the M.G.s, one of the biggest funk groups of the 1960s and 1970s. They were the house band for Stax Recors in Memphis, and in that tenure played on tracks by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Delaney and Bonnie, and hundreds more. Their song “Green Onions” is one of the most licensed songs of all times, perhaps most noticeably in the film Sandlot. On July 10, Jones released Note By Note as a companion to his recent book Time is Tight: My Life Note By Note. The album is a collection of covers of songs that symbolize seminal moments from Jones’ life and features a variety of artists including The National’s Matt Berninger.
August’s Classic Rock feature is Collective Soul‘s self-titled, and second studio album. The band’s first album featured the hit song “Shine” and actually was intended to be a collection of demos that singer Ed Roland hoped to use to get a publishing deal. Instead, the song blew up after becoming a college radio hit and Roland realized he needed to put a band together. Because of the strange circumstances around the first record, Roland actually considers the self-titled album to be the real debut of Collective Soul, which peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. The project was recorded by Matt Serletic, the architect of much of the 90’s alt sound, having also produced Matchbox 20 and Edwin McCain’s breakout albums.
If you missed tonight’s episode, don’t worry! You can learn more here and listen wherever you listen to podcasts. Mark your calendars for August 3rd to catch their August picks, you don’t want to miss these music must-haves! To sign up for the record club and receive vinyl shipped to your door each month, click here.
“On Air” is proudly sponsored by World Vision! Click here and find out how you can be a part of COVID -19 relief in the U.S. and abroad.
Written by Delaney Willson
