More bad album art and some shameless shilling

It was suggested to me that I follow up the Cold Hard Facts of Life with a tribute to The Louvin Brothers’ Tragic Songs of Life album, but if we’re gonna discuss The Louvin Brothers and rad album covers, the discussion ends with Satan is Real:

The Satan from South Park, back in his younger, slimmer days.

Satan is Real routinely makes the cut in people’s Worst Album Covers of All Time lists, often with a caveat, explaining that in spite of the goofy cover, the music contained within is considered top-notch if you’re into close harmony singing. To add a little weight to that evaluation, here’s a cut from the album, their version of The Stanley Brothers’ “The Drunkard’s Doom”:

As a bonus, here’s a fascinating write-up on Satan is Real, including details on Ira Louvin’s tragic death.

I’m going to use this post as an opportunity to plug the digital music service, lala. They offer DRM-free, iPod compatible mp3s at a good price (most cost around 89 cents per mp3), but the real savings come when you download full albums. The Harry Choates anthology, Fiddle King of Cajun Swing goes for $8.99 on Amazon (in mp3 format; $16.98 for a physical CD); it’s $7.49 at lala (the physical CD is only $11.72). As a bonus, any time you purchase an mp3, you get a free “Web copy” of the song to listen to online. If you have Facebook, this feature is great for annoying/impressing your friends with your taste in music.

If you have mundane musical tastes, I can’t vouch for lala’s selection, but if you’re into the obscure, you might be in luck. In addition to acquiring a much-needed Harry Choates digital upgrade, I buffed up my Shockabilly collection and got Hammerlock’s Barefoot & Pregnant album. I’ve perused quite a bit of the country, folk and punk they have available, and I’m more impressed with the country & folk in their catalog. For example, if you don’t want to shell out 200 bucks for the Louvin Brothers’ box set, you can pretty much get their entire catalog one piece at a time at lala. Not only that, you can get their Live at New River Ranch album, which isn’t included in the box set. On the punk front, Black Flag and several other SST label bands are well-represented, but Fear’s The Record isn’t there (you should already own it, anyway) and The Angry Samoans don’t have much at all. British bands like The Rezillos, 999, Discharge, The Buzzcocks are all there, but Touch & Go label punk (Big Black, The Meatmen, Killdozer, etc) is not.

And finally, with lala you can upload your own collection for easy online access. For me, that makes their lack of Killdozer a little bit more bearable since I can now access “Knuckles the Dog (Who Helps People)” with a few clicks of the mouse.

If you sign up for lala, or if you’re already a member, look for me – my username is Kukichiyo.