Grinderman and The National make Record Store Day Evil

Today is a Record Store Day, an annual celebration of all that is good about wandering in to your local record store, rummaging through the racks, and coming away with something that you didn't even know you wanted.

In these times of poor sales and free downloads Record Store Day has also become a way for artists to promote, new or collectable releases.

2011 Record Store Day releases include new songs The Butcher and Supercollider from Radiohead, limited editions of Gorillaz iPad recorded album The Fall, a Flaming Lips box set, and a very special limited edition red glitter vinyl 12" from Grinderman. Its four tracks include the original album version of Evil, an early demo and two new remixes, the most excitingly of these has to be The Silver Alarm remix: a woozy remake of Evil featuring lead vocals from Matt Berninger of The National. Love It.

Listen Here

A more complete list of releases and the independent record stores that will be selling them can be found at http://www.recordstoreday.com, Australia, World Wide.

Bawley (Hearts) 2010: Top 5 album covers of the Year

Most of world may have moved to digital downloads, that doesn't mean we can't continue to enjoy good album cover art. Here are five of my favorites from 2010.

5. Kele - The Boxer

Kele Okereke the muscled prize fighter. I dare you to tell him that you preferred him when he was in Bloc Party.

4. Massive Attack - Heligoland

Designed by band member (and former graffiti artist) Robert Del Naja who poured over 100s of photos, stencils and original art works before coming up with the street art inspired cover.

The London underground then banned Massive Attack from advertising the album in any of the city's Tube stations, because the art work looks too much like graffiti.

3. Grinderman - Grinderman 2

"Like a wolf showing its teeth in the front room"

Is there any better way to describe Grinderman's second album?

2. Klaxons - Surfing the Void

When a band uses an internet meme as their album art the result is usually uncreative, uninteresting and entirely lame. On the front cover of Surfing the Void, Klaxons have used the greatest meme of them all the lolcat, but somehow it works.

I think it is the dull stair in the cat's eyes; where is he going what adventures will he have when he gets there, will he make it home safely - we will never know.

1. Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine (re-issue)

The new artwork is little more than an update of the original album's cover but it is the story of lost originals, double blind searches and high-res drawings and 1989-like filters that makes this my favourite album cover art of 2010.

Slevage has the full story, http://sleevage.com/nin-pretty-hate-machine/