Without question, (yet still, arguably), the WORST back cover to any major album release of any, and all time. Now, there is certainly room for judgment and viable speculation, but k’mon! No track listings… no suggestive band photos… no credits… no nothing! “Look within” I suppose was the point, as well it should have been, but once that (now obvious) objective has been made, the art for Zeppelin II’s album ass is forever implanted (ass humor) in Groove history, or at the very least, made known to the casual passers by in a leisurely, and nonthreatening manner.
Tag Archives: record collecting
PCS Circa: 1997
Thinking of remodeling your lackluster bedroom? Why not try some punk-infused industrial goodness, aka LARD?! Math lesson: 101. Q: Dead Kennedys + Ministry = ??? A: LARD! I can throw a stone, hell, SEVERAL stones, MULTIPLE times, at everyone I know, and I won’t find ANYONE who’s into this band. Sounds like I need a new group of friends, does it not? Truth and honesty shoved down your throat with not so much as a chaser… let the LARD begin…
Notwithstanding
Ray Davies and the Button Down Brass does not, in any way, represent the melodic brilliance of The Kinks’ frontman, and creative rep, Raymond Douglas Davies. I learned this lesson, as you would say, the hard way, but Volume Two of Stereo Sound Stage isn’t necessarily a venture with which to walk away from, Kinks-less notions notwithstanding. I was duped, but in a pleasing manner, if in any way that makes sense.
Bela Lugosi = Dead
Get in, get out, not unlike the first release from Goth rock kingpins, Bauhaus. With only three tracks, including a demo for Dark Entries, this 1979 Small Wonder Records release, appropriately titled Bela Lugosi’s Dead, is essential Saturday listening material for those t-shirt and jeans punk rockers looking for something with a little more agony. Listen with caution, friends, but listen often.
PoPo
Message in a Bottle was one of the catchy, radio-tastic songs I’d heard as a kid that really kind of stuck with me over the ensuing years. At the time, I had no idea who the hell The Police were, but that track and Wrapped Around My Finger seemed to “mean” something, although I couldn’t quite comprehend why. Images of leafing through G.I. Joe figures at the East Town Mall with the lampooning lyrics of Sting pummeling through the speakers is an experience I’ll never forego. That may be why I now own their entire catalog.
Insert Your Insert Obsession Here
Insert hunting is often times an all or nothing affair. After a while you begin to notice consistencies that are more exceptions than they are rules. I mean, there can’t be “rules” when second hand record shopping, so I guess that wasn’t really worth mentioning. Anyway, it seems that more and more these days, the unknown hidden art printed and housed within the album sleeve is pulling towards my decision to fork over $3 for a used record than the actual music itself. It wasn’t always this way, but when one’s eyes get a taste for these mysterious little gems, one begins to understand why, now doesn’t one? (Yes, that was a Benson reference from Soap, and no, I am in no way ashamed.)
The lovely SO gifted me this stunning SST insert for my xx birthday. I’m the first consumer to excavate this four-page order form booklet from within the bowels of a sealed Beyond Barbecue album by Lawndale. This album’s release, and the albums featured within date this specimen in the 1986 – 1986 range. Whatever you dig, get into it, kids. Happy Friday!
Phunk
Heading down to see Millencolin tonight and have absolutely no time to post, so here’s a swifty back cover to an insert from Parliament’s 1977 album, Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome. One of the best logos of all time! Seems oddly fitting. Happy Thursday!
Argent
I was excited to rather recently discover that Rod Argent had continued his music career after the disbanding of The Zombies. Having written the serene The Way I Feel Inside, the colossal hit She’s Not There, the catchy Tell Her No, and the masterpiece Time of the Season, expectations are certainly high for 1969’s Argent. Having not heard anything by Argent (the band, not the man), I’m confident tonight’s spin will be an advantageous one, or should I say Argentageous? No, no I shouldn’t.
Dino on My Mind
Everybody can use a little Dino Martino on a random Tuesday evening, am I right? I remember, more like I can’t forget, a rumor about Dino drinking nonalcoholic, or watered-down cocktails during The Dean Martin Show and other public appearances where we was seen “drinking cocktails.” Descent shtick, I suppose. Anyway, I can’t, for the life of me, think of any current day Dean Martins! I can see Michael Bublé as a modern day Sinatra, although I’ve never heard any accounts of Bublé beating women, but he’s young. (The Prudent Groove does not advocate the beating of women, and has a zero tolerance policy towards arrogance in general.)
Post no. 950: Alchemy
I was elated when I finally found my copy of Lead into Gold’s only full length, 1990’s Age of Reason. Like a child on Christmas unwrapping musical bliss, or something like that. I scored a sealed copy for super cheap online some, wow, 10+ years back. There is a bridge… there is water… and there has been a lot of that water… anyway, one needs to be in a very specific, sharp-minded and angry mood to fully enjoy this industrial masterwork. Today, I was that one. Enjoy with caution.
Funky Cold Sangria
In Los Angeles and craving some badass pizza with a little local hip hop flair (and let’s be honest, aren’t we all in one way or another)? Then why not make the most of your cheat day with some of the best pizza the area has to offer with the Delicious Vinyl influenced Delicious Pizza? From a Soulflower to a Rick Ross, your LA-based beat-palate will be satisfied with enough room for some Funky Cold Sangria. Seriously, this is the best place on Earth!
> Jake
Grease, done Floridian pop / punk / ska style, which is, of course, a favorite for everyone. #whenwillyoucrack?
Crumb Thrills
Big Brother & the Holding Company’s 2nd studio album, 1968’s Cheap Thrills, featured not only the groundbreaking single, Piece of My Heart, but also a vibrantly illustrated cover by Robert Crumb. Rolling Stone created a list of the 100 greatest album covers of all time. Cheap Thrills ranks no. 9. Interesting fact is that this was originally intended to be the album’s BACK cover, but apparently Ms. Joplin preferred Crumb’s art to a picture of herself and Columbia Records swapped covers. Smart move if you ask me, and you didn’t.
Side note: All this time I thought Southern Comfort took Janis. Thanks for that one, Bruce! Heroin, eh. Moderation, kids! Oh, and happy Friday!
The #1 Pop Group of the ’80s
I’ve never considered Air Supply to be the #1 pop group of the ’80s, and I doubt I ever will. I mean, Making Love out of Nothing at All sounds a little politically incorrect if you take it literally, but it is a damn good song. A smash? Meh. Also, why is the “all” in “all their classics” underlined? I’m surprised the copywriting team only used one punctuation mark to help sell the fruits of these 1980s Gods. At the end of the day, this 32 year old sticker offers a glimpse of Arista Records’ “gotcha” selling points, and deserves to be remembered (to be quickly forgotten again by tomorrow’s post).
Stick it to Me
Secured atop the cellophane sheath to Faith No More’s Sol Invictus, their latest, is this color-printed marketing sticker promoting this release’s colored vinyl (or lack there of) goodness that lives within. In about 5 or so years this sticker will be dropped from social consciousness (if it hasn’t already), as do most, if not all throw away marketing stickers, so let’s take a moment today and pay a little attention to the subtle, short-lived details that surround a modern album’s release… or don’t. I’ll have no way of knowing what the hell you do. Happy hump day!
More Rush
Finally, the birth of my lifelong Kinks obsession gets a proper vinyl release. As with so many other groundbreaking introductions to inspirational and root-forming suggestions, this film, Wes Anderson’s 1998 released Rushmore, was a lifelong suggestion, introduced to me by a friend we’ll call MM. We’d seen The Royal Tenenbaums in the theater together, and shared a wall where Rushmore’s official movie poster hung prominently. Rushmore, the soundtrack, much (Rush) more than the film, garnishes so much historical weight, it’s at some times difficult to acknowledge that this day, a day in which the soundtrack to Rushmore on vinyl, is finally a reality.
File under: Too Good to Be True.
Well Worth the Wait
I’ve been quietly waiting something close to 13 years to obtain this album. I’d held it in my hands a few times in the $40 – $50 range, but tended to fall back on the pieced together mp3 version instead of pulling the high number trigger. I now know why I’ve not been able to find the Slayer records at brick and mortars for like, ever (Reign in Blood, South of Heaven). It is, obviously, because I needed to have already been a lucrative owner of the first “heavy metal” album, as a means of respect and homage to the genre.
This album about jumped out at me today while at the Santa Monica BnM (you can figure it out), and I paid it nearly no mind other than to include it into my stack of Dead Man’s Bones and Bauhaus LPs (Bela Lugosi’s Dead and Mask), outside the obvious, “yes, this one is a no-brainer” type spiel. Long, heartfelt story short, I’d held out for a reason, for you see, this is a first mono, US pressing of 1968’s Vincebus Eruptum, and I squared it for only $11. Checkout the current market rate for this historical goldmine. Heavy metal was, in the minds of many, born with this album, and I just brought her home. Today was a good day.
Respect the Soundtrack
Certainly, do not mess with the subtle enormity of the gilded soundtrack. Love it, cherish it, nurture it, and always remember that your favorite film is nothing… scum… garbage… without its audible palette. Happy Saturday.
Give Up the Funk
And it was at this point in his wayward life where he got electrofunked and dove, head over high heels into the indubious stratosphere of funk. Parliament has been on heavy rotation at the office, and has since sparked feverish interest by yours truly. Whatever you do this fine, Friday evening, be sure to give up the funk!
“Jesus Built My Car”
It’s a love affair. Mainly Jesus, and my hotrod. So end the lethargic rants of Butthole Surfers’ frontman Gibby Haynes on this massive, mechanical incision on early 90s pop radio, 1991’s Jesus Built My Hotrod by Industrial deities, Ministry. The single includes a kickass remix on side A, dubbed the Redline/Whiteline Version which far outweighs the original. JBMH is classic Ministry and wasn’t featured on a proper studio album until 1992’s ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ, or Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs. Not for the faint of heart, or for respectable people in general, JBMH encapsulates a bygone era of soul-crushing melodies Ministry hasn’t been able to match in over two decades. A classic to say the least.
The Prudent Groove 