HOLIDAY: Shopping Guide (for Awesome People)

So, it's that time of the year when many of us have to reach deep into our (startling shallow) pockets in an effort to present tokens of our love and affection to those near and dear. But this exercise needn't be so painful, and in an effort to shoulder some of the shopping burden I present you with Holiday Shopping Guide for Awesome People. Sure to be loved by boys, girls, cats, dogs, and any other entity you might imagine.

Item #1

Limited Edition Vinyl/Digital EP by The Parish on Gold Robot Records
Hot off the presses (I literally picked it up yesterday) and guaranteed to ship before the actual street date. You will certainly enjoy these tunes, wrapped in some amazing artwork and presented on beautiful pilsner-colored vinyl. (Cost = $5)
::: The Parish - Dummy in Trouble

Item #2

Limited Edition Print by Maxwell Loren Holyoke-Hirsch
This San Francisco artist is one of my favorites. He's selling this print (only 100, signed and numbered) through his online store (which has other great things as well). You might recognize his work, as he did the cover art for the latest Annuals single. (Cost = $20)
::: Annuals - Brother

Item #3

Limited Edition Hand-Screened Gold Robot Records T-shirt
I only screened up 30 of these bad boys. The two-color logo (designed by DJG) is on a American Apparel Tr-Blend Athletic Gray shirt, in both men's and women's sizes. If you don't see your size, check out the other shirts. (Cost = $13)
::: Jay Z - Change Clothes and Go

Item #4

Catbird Records Holiday Specials (Discount Bundles)
One of my personal favorite independent labels is selling some of their amazing releases in discounted bundle packs. Get a piece of these limited edition releases on CD and support another small independent label. (Cost = $10 to $30)
::: Manishevitz - Dead Birds

Item #5

Limited Edition Stork Shirts by Hunter Mack
Available as a gray t-shirt (Men's and Women's, 15 total printed) or a brown 3/4 tee (Women's only, shown above, 9 total printed). It's an abstract drawing of a stork-like bird. (Cost = $15)
::: Modest Mouse - Make Everyone Happy / Mechanical Birds
(above track from my favorite Modest Mouse album.)

Item #6

Quarterbar's Shock'Em Dead Mixtape
The latest release by our good friends over at Sneakmove, this 19 track mixtape is absolutely fantastic. Quarterbar is half of the excellent Meanest Man Contest, who also released a 7-inch on Gold Robot Records. (Cost = $5)
::: The Go! Team - Grip Like a Vice (Quarterbar Remix)

Item #7

Canvas Bag by Underdog Ink
Another bird drawing! Canvas bags are awesome, you can put all kinds of great things in them. Get this amazing piece by Underdog Ink, sold by the awesome folks over at Blankspace Gallery who have other great things in their shop. (Cost = $18)
::: Spoon - The Underdog

Item #8

Self-Released Volunteer Pioneer EP
One of my favorite releases of the year is still available. This seven song EP is tucked inside a hand silk-screened cover. The songs and artwork are beautiful. (Cost = $7)
::: Volunteer Pioneer - Fear of Cholera

Item #9

Pirate Perfume from the 826 Valencia Pirate Shop
Offered by the unique store part of 826 Valencia, an organization that helps to get kids excited about writing. That's a pretty good thing to support. (Cost = $45)
::: Meanest Man Contest - Pirate Style
(Buy MMC's debut full-length Merit here.)

So, Nine is a good number to end this exercise, right?
(Disclaimer: Macktronic is non-denominational and generally encourages the purchasing of awesome independent stuffs which make people smile.)

[Gold Robot Records official website.]
[Gold Robot Records on myspace.]
[Download Music from eMusic; free 25 song free trial.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to rockmenow48.]

Tags: mp3, music, shopping, holiday, independent, awesome

NEW RELEASE: Meanest Man Contest

Gold Robot Records is pleased to announce the newest release, out officially on September 1st. It features the hip-hop stylings of Meanest Man Contest and includes a remix by COPY. This limited edition (500, individually numbered) 4-song vinyl EP is a collection of 3 previously unreleased tracks, plus an a cappella version of "They Do" (from their split LP with Languis). Trackilist:

A1 - Meanest Man Contest - Throwing Away Broken Electronics [mp3]
A2 - Meanest Man Contest - We Wouldn't Want It Any Other Way
B1 - Meanest Man Contest - Throwing Away Broken Electronics (COPY Remix)
B2 - Meanest Man Contest - They Do (A Cappella)

Other details include:
Cover artwork by San Francisco's Casey Jex Smith.
Tracks A1/B1 feature guest vocals by Marchelle Bradanini (Bedtime For Toys)
Track B2 features guest vocals by Kaia Wong (Mixel Pixel)
Two cover versions: gray and green
more info here

Each EP will include a download code for a digital download of all songs.
Additionally, uncompressed versions of the "They Do" a cappella track will be released for a remix contest in the near future. Stay tuned for details on that.

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY NOW

Here's some bonus tracks from the amazing artists involved in this project.

::: Meanest Man Contest & Languis - Sneakmove Split Sampler
::: COPY - This Is Promotional
::: Bedtime For Toys - Cold Fever (more on myspace)
::: Mixel Pixel - You're The Kind Of Girl (more here)

[MMC on myspace.]
[COPY on myspace.]
[GRR on myspace.]

[Current Macktronic contest.]
[Download Music from eMusic; free 25 song free trial.]
[Buy music from Insound.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]

Tags: mp3, music, gold robot records, meanest man contest, copy, mixel pixel, bedtime for toys, casey jex smith, vinyl, independent, label

LAUNCH: Gold Robot Records

So there's been some changes around here at Macktronic. The focus and design have slowly been evolving, and probably will continue to do so throughout the history of this project. One offshoot of the endeavor is that I've decided to put my money where my mouth is, so to speak, and start a record label...... Gold Robot Records. The focus of GRR is small run vinyl releases with a focus on independent musicians, artists, printmakers, and designers. It's a non-profit project, with all proceeds going to the making of the next release.

We've got two 7 inch releases this month. GRR001 is by Oakland's Roman Ruins, an electro/pop/rock artist that crafts intricate and powerful songs. GRR002 features Portland's Panther and all of his dance/funk talent. Both musicians are extremely talented with full-length releases on other labels in the works. Check out the A-side tracks here, and buy an album afterwords.

::: Roman Ruins - Releasing Me [from GRR001]
::: Panther - How Well Can You Swim [from GRR002]

Order a seven inch of both artists, support the creative folks who make independent music, and spread the word.

For those of you in the Bay Area, we've got a launch party for GRR001 on Friday Feb 16 at Space Gallery in San Francisco. Music sets by Roman Ruins, Jones + Height (Baltimore), and The Parish (Oakland) plus many local artists including Rhea Fontaine, Marlon Ingram, Bruk Dunbar, Andrew Venell, Hunter Mack, Kerri Johnson, and Jason Byers. Music starts at 10PM.

Panther is dropping his full-length album on Fryk Beat in early March, titled Secret Lawns. Roman Ruins debut full-length is due out later this year on Daly City Records. Hear more music from both artists on their myspace sites linked below, and be GRR's friend as well.

[Gold Robot Records official website.]
[Gold Robot Records on myspace.]
[Roman Ruins on myspace.]
[Panther on myspace.]
[Find/Listen/Download music at The Hype Machine.]
[Photo credit goes to tubes.]

Tags: mp3, music, macktronic, panther, roman ruins, san francisco, bay area, oakland, portland, independent, the parish, jones, height, elctronica, rock, space gallery, vinyl, record label, new, awesome