Blake Guthrie and FREE beer from Twain's on Thursday!

Boy, have we got a treat for ya'll this Thursday night. Local singer/songwriter Blake Guthrie will be stopping by to play a few songs for us at 7pm. Check out his MySpace page (linked on his name, natch) for some tunes, or take a look at how he describes his sound: "Lou Reed with a better voice. Jonathan Richman without the sinus problem. Springsteen if he wasn't from Jersey."

Not one for having music without tasty refreshments, we've talked with our kind and generous friends at Twain's, and they've agreed to donate some beverages for the event. As such, we'll have a delicious (and completely FREE) keg of Sleepy Conscience ESB for everyone 21 years and older. A medium body, well-rounded brew made locally at Twain's, this beer's name was inspired by the following Mark Twain quote: "Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: This is the ideal life." We're inclined to agree. See you then!

New release Tuesday! (2/27/07)

Afraid to say it, but it's decidely slim pickin's tomorrow when it comes to tasty new goodies from musical artists. That said, here are some folks that will have new CDs on the shelves of Decatur CD:

King Sunny Ade
Beck (reissue with bonus tracks)
David Bromberg
Rosemary Clooney (live)
Dean & Britta
Dr. Dog (Not just yet, but hopefully on the way soon! This means you technically still have to time to pre-order and save $2!)
Bob Dylan (expanded DVD reissue)
Nine Inch Nails (live DVD)
Percy Sledge (reissue)
Matt Wertz
Grant Willard

Some decent stuff to be had, but we're actually very excited about next Tuesday, which will bring us fresh tunes from Wynton Marsalis, Albert Hammond Jr., Son Volt, RJD2, Bright Eyes, Ry Cooder, !!!, Air, Antibalas, Big Business, The Greencards and Arcade Fire, to name but a few. Onward and upward, we say!

Speaking of Arcade Fire, did anyone else catch that spirited performance on SNL over the weekend? If not, thanks to this hyper-digital age we live in, you can watch it on YouTube, despite the fact that the clueless suits over at NBC keep trying to tear down the links. Check out the better of the two songs here, via a Paste magazine news story. The band's new album is great; we can hardly stop playing it in the store.

See you tomorrow, folks...

Go to a show!

Atlanta's concert season is starting to warm up a little bit, much like the weather outside (for today anyway, right?). Here are a few Decatur CD-approved live shows you should check out if you're looking for reason to spend a fun night out:

February 24th - Variety Playhouse - Of Montreal
February 24th - Center Stage - Mastodon
February 24th - The EARL - Dr. Dog
MARCH 1ST - DECATUR CD - BLAKE GUTHRIE (AND FREE BEER FROM OUR FRIENDS AT TWAIN'S) (7PM)
March 2nd - Drunken Unicorn - Grizzly Bear
March 2nd - Eddie's Attic - Bain Mattox/Tin Cup Prophette
March 2nd, 3rd - The EARL - Southern Culture on the Skids
MARCH 3RD - DECATUR CD - TOMMY WOMACK (2PM)
March 3rd - Eddie's Attic - Tommy Womack/Rising Appalachia (8pm)
March 3rd - Drunken Unicorn - The Selmanaires
March 3rd - Smith's Olde Bar - The Whigs
March 4th - Variety Playhouse - Sparklehorse/Jesse Sykes
March 7th - Drunken Unicorn - Elvis Perkins
March 8th - The EARL - Silver Lakes
March 9th - Drunken Unicorn - The Thermals

Obviously, there are a couple of those that are free and that we are very partial to. You should do your best to make it to those. We took the liberty of making those listings stand out a bit for you. Har har. Hope to see you soon. Have a great weekend, everyone...

Jim Threlkeld & Co. photos

Last night was fun. A solo Floating Coat and some of his friends performed here, and we must say, it was by far the most instrumentally diverse in-store performance in Decatur CD's storied three-year history. Not only did a piccolo (or something close to it), a ukulele (during a Talking Heads cover, no less) and another nifty little thing with a name that is completely eluding our minds right now (someone help) all make appearances, but they implemented a THEREMIN! See below for a photo of that beast in action. Folks, it was just awesome. Beer was drank, tunes were played and all went home happy.

Jim Threlkeld in-store performance TONIGHT

Above: He's the one on the far left.

Not much to do on a Tuesday night, you say? Well, we beg to differ. Tonight, our good friend and member of The Floating Coats, Jim Threlkeld, will be entertaining us with a free, live, acoustic, insert your own adjective here, in-store performance. When he was here with his band last time, in addition to playing several original compositions, they covered the Velvet Underground, Talking Heads and The Kinks, amongst others. It was a great time, and we expect nothing less tonight. He'll start playing right around 7pm. Oh, and did we mention there will be free beer for those 21 and over? Because there certainly will be. Mmm hmm.

While you're here, sign up for the two pairs of tickets we have to folk legend Tom Rush's show at Eddie Attic on Thursday. This guy is a pretty big deal, and we expect these will go fast, so do not delay.

More in-stores, news and, as usual, great new music, on the way soon!

New release Tuesday! (2/20/07)

It's that time again, friends. The time when we tell you what artists will have new shiny, plastic discs on our shelves tomorrow. Hope you are thoroughly prepared. WITNESS the glory!!!:

Aqueduct
The Besnard Lakes
Black Lips (live)
Calla
Erasure (CD/DVD)
Explosions in the Sky
The Frames
Lisa Gerard
Gomez (singles DVD)
The High Llamas
Hubcap City
Charlie Louvin
Minus the Bear
Elvis Perkins
The Silos
Southern Culture on the Skids
Richard Swift
Chip Taylor
Trans Am

Let us know! Thanks...

Happy Valentine's Day!

We certainly hope you're enjoying whatever today's holiday brings you. There's a chance it could involve chocolates, fancy dinners, expensive alcohol, flowers and any number of other fun things. But for those who are in tonight (like us) and willing to spend a little time thinking about music (like us...again), we've got something for you. See, our friends over at Paste magazine recently launched a series of blogs on their website. You should check them out if you haven't already. One of the blogs in particular posted a list of songs that have to do (vaguely) with Valentine's Day. We think you'll like it. And if you have a minute, sign up for a screen name there and leave your own favorite heart (no, not Heart) song:

All Hearts, All The Time (Happy Valentine's Day!)

New release Tuesday! (2/13/07)

We'd be kidding ourselves if we said tomorrow (February 13, 2007, to be just a tad more specific) was a big day for releases. Oh, sure, there are a few interesting artists (Anais Mitchell, Storyhill, Van Morrison and Martha Scanlan among them) that will have new product on our shelves, but let's be honest: The day belongs to Lucinda Williams. Yes, as of 11am tomorrow, you can finally come feast your paws on her latest, West. See you then...

Decatur CD <3's added value

Thanks to our myriad industry pals (Chris @ Universal, the Lost Highway peeps, Russell @ ADA, and Michael @ Alliance), we have all sorts of added value goodies to give away with new and upcoming releases. Check this out:

* If you haven't picked up your very own shiny personal copy of The Shins latest, Wincing the Night Away, well, just what are you waiting for? You could join all the excitable fanboys and fangirls that made it the first Sub Pop record to go all the way to #2 on the Billboard top 200 chart. However, your laziness will be rewarded just this once, as you have your choice of a two-sided poster or collectable 7". Hurry, though, as these items are obviously limited. Did we mention the album is actually pretty great? Because it is.

* Bloc Party recently dropped the much-awaited follow-up to it much-hyped (and much-good, wethinks) debut. Stop by to get A Weekend in the City, and we'll give you a choice of a button or another awesomely limited 7".

* Finally, we've got some exclusive Lucinda Williams demos CDs for giveaway with her upcoming album, West. We're giving these away to everyone who pre-orders the new record (which comes out this Tuesday, February 13th), and quite honestly, a TON of people have, but you still have a chance to get in on the fun. Come in this weekend or give us a call or an email or a MySpace message. Hell, you could leave a comment below to sign up, if you wish. Don't delay, though, as these bonus discs will go fast.

Oh, and if you need a visual aid for any of these added value tasties, just see above. Truly delicious, right? We'll see you soon...

New release Tuesday! (2/6/07)

Missed last week on this, when we got some new stuff from Norah Jones, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Paolo Nutini and more, but we're back this week. Check out the list of artists with new material hitting our shelves tomorrow:

Bloc Party
Deerhunter
Apples in Stereo
Fall Out Boy
Patty Griffin
Sondre Lerche
Eleni Mandell
Dexateens
Animal Collective (EP)
Danny Cohen
Ruthie Foster
Phonograph
Jesse Sykes
Teddybears
Keller Williams
John Digweed
Maynard Ferguson
Ghost
Arab Strap
Wu Tang and Friends
All kinds of reissues, and more!

Let us know what you're looking for. Thanks...