$7 //
Edition of 100 //
http://www.bodankuma.com/shop/grand-canyon-lucinda-bw-standing-in-the-shadows-7 //
Not that long ago I had a conversation with my Dad about records. Most of my conversations about records are with my Dad because I'm kind of known as the cassette guy with Raised by Gypsies, but I really appreciate all forms of physical media just because I feel like having something to hold onto makes a song feel less disposable, as the current generation of music listeners can download and delete playlists from their iPhones and iPods at will. My Dad and I discussed the 45 record and how that came about- which is now known as the 7" because then you don't have to put that weird thing in the larger hole of a 45.
When they first began to produce recorded music it was on the 45 and my Dad would get records from various artists at the time but he always seems to mention The Beatles. He also has this box of vinyl that he mentions but will never let me actually go through. Anyway, the idea behind a 45 was to promote an album and so they'd put it into stores and you'd buy two songs- Side A was the radio hit and Side B was often, well, a less popular song although artists now have seemingly made careers out of B-Sides (Shout out Flaming Lips) So, with that small history of vinyl out of the way, I do want to stress the importance of this 7" record and how similar artists should release them as well. I also will be so bold as to state that I would rather a 7" with two songs come out before an album as a teaser than a cassingle but that's a whole other story. (It has a lot to do with money)
"Lucinda" has this feeling like classic rock meets modern rock. As much as I can hear a band like Kings of Leon in here I can also hear Tom Petty. It's got this smooth feel to the rock and it's definitely a single if only because it has these group vocals that kick in during the chorus and though it starts off somewhat quieter it kicks in and gets louder as the song goes on. This is just one of those pure, clean rock songs (like Lucero without the country) and it should be blowing up rock radio charts but I don't really know what the state of rock music has turned into in the world right now, so who knows. Think: "Refugee" era Tom Petty.
On the flip side, "Standing In The Shadows" has a more definite Tom Petty feel, which is that twangy rock with some clean distortion (Which I don't know if that's a thing but I can really hear it in here and if you listen you can too) It also just has that blue collar rock feel to it with bands I sometimes like to think of along the same lines as Tom Petty, which include but are not limited to John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen. I'm not one to direct music videos or anything of the sort, but I could definitely see this set to something to the images of Alice in Wonderland, but don't let that take away from those "Jack and Diane" vibes.
As much as someone like myself can stress the importance of physical music I think it also needs to be done right. Remember when CDs took over and they did the CD singles? Yeah, one or two songs on a CD is kind of a mess. The best way to do only two songs (Or really an EP, depending upon the overall length) is a 7" record. As such, I would love to see more artists do what Grand Canyon has done here and have this collection of 7" records like my Dad has 45's. The difference between now and back then though is that it's not as easy to tell- at least with this Grand Canyon 7"- which one is the B-Side because both songs are great in their own ways.
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