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Shop Collectibles at Amoeba!

Posted by Billy Gil, May 23, 2013 01:48pm | Post a Comment

amoeba collectibles

Amoeba Music has an array of collectibles available, from rare LPs lining the walls of Amoeba Berkeley and Hollywood to Amoeba Hollywood's display cases throughout the store and Amoeba SF's brand new display case of collectibles.

Our collectibles range from discontinued toys and hard-to-find promo items to signed books and merchandise. At Amoeba Hollywood you'll find rarities such as an Elvis trivia game ($15); Beach Boys paraphernalia, including a Brian Wilson promo pennant ($25) and Beach Boys Mojo magazine ($20); a book of Led Zeppelin guitar tablature ($60); a Smiths Tapes limited edition box set ($280); Ravi Shankar’s autobiography Raga Mala, signed by Shankar ($200); and Beatles goods galore.

Check out the display cases near the front registers, by the stairs and at the back of the store at Amoeba Hollywood. If you can’t make it into the store, there’s always our online Merchandise section, with Amoeba swag, rare posters and books, and more. See our currently featured items here. And if you need extra cash or credit for those rare items, don't forget we're always looking for your used CDs and LPs, and you'll get 30% more value if you trade in for credit.

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Show Recap: Laura Marling at Amoeba Hollywood

Posted by Billy Gil, May 23, 2013 01:03pm | Post a Comment

laura marling amoeba hollywoodLaura Marling visited Amoeba Hollywood May 20, on the eve of releasing her latest album, Once I Was an Eagle. Appearing solo, she demonstrated the range and power of her deep, droning strum and her voice, which she wields magnificently, going from a high, quavering coo to deeply intoned phrases that land like a dull arrow to the heart. laura marling once i was an eagle"Damn all those people who don't lose control" she sang in passionate monotone on her extended opening track, "You Know," immediately drawing in the sizable crowd gathered to see her. She pulled out bluesy riffs for "Master Hunter," which spurns a would-be lover by turning around a key Dylan phrase — "if you want a woman who can call your name, it ain’t me, babe."

Her next song belied its sweet melody and charming country arrangement with dark lyrics about depression and loneliness ("I couldn't get out of bed, I was all in my head" she sings before warning her paramour, "just don't go bleedin' me dry"). Marling expressed her excitement about playing Amoeba, saying it even surpassed playing L.A. for the first time, at acoustic music haven Hotel Cafe, and said she'd bought a psychobilly comp at the store. Her next song, a languid, prairie ballad saw her calling to mind Emmylou Harris-style heartbreak. On her closing track, Marling took listeners on a more serene journey, chanting "pray for me" over a steady jangle, channeling quiet pain into exquisitely lovely music.

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Weekly Roundup: Crocodiles, Sonny & the Sunsets, Heroes & Heroines, Tape Deck Mountain

Posted by Billy Gil, May 23, 2013 12:35pm | Post a Comment

Crocodiles Announce New Album, Premiere ‘Cockroach’

crocodiles crimes of passionThough they just released their last album, the fine Endless Flowers, last year, San Diego-bred rockers Crocodiles are already back with a new album. Fans of loud, creeping, melodic rock rejoice! “Cockroach” is already up for streaming via Stereogum. The Raveonettes’ Sune Rose Wagner adds extra noisy strut as producer. It’s from Crimes of Passion, due Aug. 20 on French Kiss.

 

 

 

 

Sonny & the Sunsets – “Palmreader”

Sonny SunsetsSonny & the Sunsets have premiered the third single from their upcoming Antenna to the Afterworld (due June 11 on Polyvinyl) and it’s another winner, full of gleaming synthesizers, grimy guitars and a beachside attitude. It’s like a perfect California afternoon captured in a song, with a shivers-inducing chorus. Sounds like Antenna to the Afterworld is gonna be one of the albums of the summer.

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Spring Cleaning! Bring Your Used CDs and LPs in to Amoeba

Posted by Billy Gil, May 22, 2013 09:07pm | Post a Comment

It's that time of year — spring cleaning! Time to get rid of the old and usher in the new.

spring cleaning

Amoeba Music is gonna help you out by taking those dusty CDs and LPs off your hands. Bring in your old stuff and get cash or 30% more value in a credit slip that you can use to shop whenever you like. Right now we're especially looking for those used CDs, so bring them in and trade up to vinyl, MP3 or whatever your preferred format. See our price breakdown here; we pay anywhere from 10 cents to $5 for used CDs, depending on condition and desirability.

Come to the buy counter in the front of the store and see what our expert appraisers have in store for your collection. And if you're looking for something other than media to use that credit on, Amoeba Music has a bevy of books, T-shirts, posters, collectibles and other goodies on hand throughout the store.

Check here for more information about Amoeba's buy counters, including hours per location.

stack of recordsstacks of CDs

 

Album Picks: Daft Punk, The National, Majical Cloudz, Pharmakon

Posted by Billy Gil, May 21, 2013 09:30am | Post a Comment

Daft PunkRandom Access Memories

daft punk random access memoriesCD $12.98

LP $36.98

Daft Punk’s outrageous new album starts with a bang, a fanfare of funk guitars, synths and growing static noise that sounds not unlike the opening of Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle.” From there Random Access Memories takes off into a nearly double-album length set of songs pairing musical heroes both new (Panda Bear) and beloved (Chic’s Nile Rodgers) to deliver something that is inspired by funk and prog-rock albums of the 1970s while retaining the musically adventurous spirit that has thus far defined Daft Punk. On the album’s best songs, Rodgers’ unmistakable riffs breathe excitement into Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo’s arrangements and give purpose to their robot-rock voices — “let the music in tonight … give life back to music” they intone on “Give Life Back to Music” while Rodgers and co. make dancefloor resistance futile. One of Daft Punk’s heroes, Giorgio Moroder, appears in interview before classic Moroder oscillating synthesizers take us into vintage German discotheques in “Giorgio by Moroder.” Detractors may find Random Access Memories’ pacing questionable, as the set loses a bit of steam until a mid-album set of tracks really send the album into the stratosphere — Pharell brings hip-hop edge to “Lose Yourself to Dance” and the already indelible first single, “Get Lucky,” while “Touch,” featuring Paul Williams of “We’ve Only Just Begun” and “Rainbow Connection” fame, is one of Random Access Memories’ truest joys. Even with numerous party-starters, Random Access Memories is by no means an easy album, taking prog’s excess to heart with its long running time and more soundtrack-ish instrumental passages, but even these have a certain magic, like the beautiful digital washes of “Motherboard.” The album’s lived-in, layered feel is a remarkable achievement in an era of instant-pleasure electronic jams that Daft Punk themselves helped usher in with their dynamite early singles and albums. The wide-open, warm feel of Random Access Memories represents new ground for Daft Punk. Its singles already feel like new classics, while its expanse rewards the patient listener.

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