I like this. Sub Pop has a new feature on their site called For the Record that has staffers dig through the back catalog and write up something on the records that move them. This week’s feature is Beachwood Sparks Once We Were Trees, originally released on October 10, 2001.
Once we were Trees was my introduction to much of the country music that I would come to love. Before Beachwood Sparks, I didn’t have a sense of why
or Grievous Angel were such revered records, to me they sounded like twangy earaches. It wasn’t an easy sell, in fact, it took a few years following the release of this record to get into a lot of those records, but I attribute OWWT to my love of John Phillips, Graham Parsons [sic], Townes Van Zandt, and The Byrds. They were also an introduction to a family of bands that I’ve come to love quite dearly, including: The Tyde, All Night Radio, Further, Mystic Chords of Memory, and Summer Hits (for more info: The Calming Seas). I owe a lot to this record.
I love the idea of pushing back stock in a way that is relevant to your readers and your business. They clearly have copies of this album laying around that they’d like to unload, but instead of just having a fire sale that slashes the prices of these mostly forgotten releases, we get a little context for why we should buy these records. Oh, and there is a discount: Pick it up through Thursday, July 30 here for $6 on CD/LP or $4 digitally.
Normally, I don’t go in for the hippie-type stuff, but this album is coated in 7 layers of hippie and I still love it.
It’s kind of a cop-out for the guy to say that Beachwood Sparks got him into the Tyde…I mean, no shit? Three guys from one band you like form another band and you end up liking them? Wow.
Tell that to the .38 Special fans.