June 17, 2009

The 'Gum Drop XCIII: Hear New Foreign Born, Win Pixies' Minotaur Box Set

thubmnail icon: The 'Gum Drop XCIII: Hear New Foreign Born, Win Pixies' Minotaur Box Set

Los Angeles quartet Foreign Born release sophomore LP Person To Person 6/23 via Secretly Canadian. The shuffling "Wander Aimlessly" doesn't appear on it, but it did debut in this week's Drop. We asked vocalist Matt Popieluch about it and found out "The main idea came tumbling out of me as I was driving to a shitty temp job," among other things. The main idea?

[T]he song is about self analysis -- comparing one's current self to one's former self. It chronicles a longing for the naivety and purity of the past, almost with an element of voyeurism.

Read the rest of Matt's thoughts, including whether or not it's possible to wander without an aim, while you take a listen.

This week we also offered the chance to win the Deluxe Edition of Pixies' massive Minotaur box set. Yes, that box set.

We've spoken at length about the Pixies' well-packaged Vaughan Oliver-curated box set. The collection of the seminal band's complete studio output was ably organized by A+R/Artists In Residence, the design studio that did NIN's Ghosts I-IV deluxe editions. We have one copy of the Deluxe Edition to give away to one winner. The official writeup:

The Pixies: Minotaur - Deluxe Edition: Includes the five Pixies' studio albums (Come On Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa, Doolitle, Bossanova, and Tromp le Monde) in the following formats: 24k gold plated CD's; Blu-ray Disc mastered for 5.1 surround sound and 2 channel stereo at 96/24 high-definition; and DVD-Audio mastered for 5.1 surround sound and 2 channel stereo at 96/24. Also included is the previously unreleased Pixies 1991 live performance from Brixton, on both Blu-ray and DVD, mastered for 5.1 surround sound. All discs are housed in a custom designed folio.
This set is curated by legendary graphic designer, Vaughan Oliver, who with photographer Simon Larbalestier, were responsible for the visual aesthetic for all of the Pixies' albums. Oliver and Larbalestier have collaborated once again on Minotaur, to create their largest Pixies body of work to date. Included in the set is a 52-page book measuring 7.75" x 8.25", featuring the duo's work.

Some shots to get your mouth watering: