Tag Archives: vinyl

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The Planets, Circa: 1958

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HolstThe dynamic eccentricities of classical music are foreign to me. I don’t know near enough about the genre to speak with even a Kindergartener’s education (not knocking Kindergarteners… they are people too), but I know what I like, and I like The Planets.

Seven tracks representing all the known planets circa: 1916 (omitting Earth, for obvious reasons, and poor, poor Pluto), The Planets, by Gustav Holst, has been respected the universe over, for the past 98 years, while monumentally demanding a home in every serious collector’s nook.

Listening to Isao Tomita’s interpretation of said album while formulating this entry may have been less than a logical endeavor, but experimentation has its place.

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Happy Birthday, Emile Berliner

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Emile BerlinerToday, we honor the birth, ingenuity, and modern-day-forward-thinking of phonograph pioneer, Emile Berliner. Evolving from the Edison-based cylinder phonograph that preceded him, Mr. Berliner had the wherewithal to secure his disc record gramophone into the thickened soil of format obsessed enthusiasts, and whose achievements in developing the preferred, modern day musical vehicle (as of the past decade +) need not go overlooked. Happy Birthday, Mr. Berliner, and thank you for shining a light into the darkened void of my obsessive behavior… this next round is on me.

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Duophonic

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DuophonicThe cheap man’s stereo, Duophonic was little more than a 1961 marketing ploy devised to capitalize on the illuminating craze of stereo LPs, while simultaneously rehashing mono recordings to fool the listener into “hearing” (or “not knowing the difference”) true stereo sound. This Wikipedia article spends a lot more time on the subject than I’m willing to offer this evening.

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Now I Don’t Hardly Know Her, But I Think I Could Love Her

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RouletteCrimson and Clover was probably the first “perfect” song I’d ever heard. I was 13, at a Jr. High dance and, well, you know how things are in Jr. High… Crimson and Clover, like the tail of some whoever I was chasing that week, managed to elude me for several years, but her lingering, abundant impact was always just below the surface of everyday stagnation.

Monetarily it may be nothing of collector-head-turning significance, but this 45 of Crimson and Clover is easily one of my most cherished records.

(On a side note… I’d become aware of Tommy James by means of an often-told story, offered, to whimsical delight, by my parents. Apparently ol’ Mr. James, well past his prime, was making a “to-do” of himself at some back-water club in rural Wisconsin in the late 70s, all the while wearing tight, revealing, white trousers. Some stars dimmer, but never really fade away… so long as a fresh pair of tighty whitey trousers are at the ready.)

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Let’s Be Honest

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GrainThis is a picture of a recent (as of a few years) reissue of Bad Religion’s 1990 staple, Against the Grain. I’m certainly a fan of BR, even though I wouldn’t be the first to admit that once you hear one BR song, you’ve heard every BR song, but I’ve always tended to pass up BR releases every time I ran across one. Not entirely sure why, considering their history amongst my favorite genre, but perhaps BR’s role in my chronological music timeline has yet to come to true fruition. Time will only tell, but in the meantime I’ll simply forgo the spin, and admire Against the Grain for its aesthetic beauty.

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The Most Difficult Decision in the World, Some 248 Years in the Making (Part 1?)

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Best of MozTo narrow down the overpowering wealth of compositions in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s untouchable arsenal to fit on a single, nolby titled disk may have been the most difficult decision anyone in the freethinking world has ever had to make. Lucky for those of us in possession of ABC Westminster Gold’s virtuous compilation (10 so far by Discogs stats), this decision was not met with half-assery.

Firing the first shot across the breakable bows of eager ears is (arguably) Mozart’s magnum opus, Eine Kleine Nacht Musik, followed by the ominous first movement from Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550. With Piano Sonata No. 8 (first movement) in the three spot, and Serenade No. 4 K. 203 (again, first movement) batting cleanup, the first half of this LP, and the entirety of this post, come to an untimely halt.

I’ll eventually regurgitate my sheepish thoughts on the second most difficult decision in the world, aka the second half of ABC Westminster Gold’s overly ambitious, and painfully tedious deliberation, but not tonight. Don’t forget the classics, kids, and don’t wait until the last possible minute to post your daily rants!

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Dr. Spock, Here to Rock

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Dr. Spock Here to RockArguably the best album cover to arguably the best soundtrack to arguably the best sequel to arguably the best sci-fi series, Star Trek III the Search for Spock, in this, its audible incarnation, stands (pointed ears above the rest) superior, and profoundly climactic atop the pair of predecessors, and the slew of descendents that followed. George Orwell may not have envisioned an exploration for integral Klingons in his projected assessment of 1984, but that year’s theatrical release of Star Trek III the Search for Spock exceeded all anticipated expectations of technological storytelling, which is clearly evident by its impressive soundscape.

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Pulp

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Pulp FictionFor being such a staple, or unquestionable necessity, I rarely ever listen to this 1994 musical masterpiece of cinematic wisdom. I remember discovering this soundtrack at a small-time Milwaukee record shop back, some 12+ years ago, and thinking how unbelievably underpriced it was at $4. Double that with the fact that I’ve never crossed paths with another copy makes me shamefully realize that I should spin the ol’ girl much more often than I do.

Desperado needs a vinyl release. I’m just going to put that out there and let the potential fate of Antonio Banderas-admiring record collectors (such as myself) scurry amongst the hopes and dreams of wishful thoughts, until it becomes a reality, if only within the confines of our own imaginations.

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8-Track Library

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8TrackWhen 7-tracks aren’t near good enough, it’s time for the heavy artillery. Here is, save for a few, the “less than complete” 8-track collection. The player ate Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., so we’ve been reeling Janis Joplin, CCR, and the brothers Doobie as of late. Analogue entertainment is still prominent around these here parts, and with any collection, the end is never near.

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Klean Machine

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KLEANShots of vinegar, coffee brewing at 11pm, and this, Klean Machine 8-track stereo tape player cleaning “machine” at the ready. It takes only ten seconds once every ten hours of operation to insure a klean machine. Thank you, Sears! Now, my warbling 8-track stereo system can sound fresh and clean, thanks to the ¾ 8-track shaped stereo tape player cleaning machine.

It seems as though my yesteryear machines have needed some love as of late… lucky for me, love can be purchased at Sears circa: 1978.

(Personal tip: the Klean Machine stereo tape player cleaning machine doesn’t actually clean the stereo tape player listening machine… buyer beware.)

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Prices Do Not Include Federal, State or Local Taxes

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Ceiling PricesBack, wayyyyyyyyyy back in the day when records were housed in nothing more than paper sleeves (the high cost of colored board be damned!), companies, such as the 1929 founded Decca Records here, saw a blank paper sheath as an advertising opportunity to sell more of their product. Makes sense, right? I mean, why not utilize every square millimeter of space to keep the bellies full? No, it wasn’t the act of garnishing repeated consumers that struck me as aloof, but instead the terms in which Decca described their catalog.

Absent, and apparently a lavish afterthought, were the artist names for each of the 20 different recorded sound categories. Instead, the customer was given a series of genres (complete with color-coded label), with which to make their money-offering decision. Have a look at the wealth of universal genres offered by Decca Records, and tell me you aren’t breaking windows and stealing cars out of sheer excitement for Series 8500.

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About Time for Smoke

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About TimeOwning a hard copy of an album more than twice is usually an indication of some pretty stellar grooves, but my (excuse) rationale behind owning three copies of Pennywise’s 1995 effort, About Time, is purely for nostalgic purposes. Dubbed to tape more than a few times, About Time was one of the 8 or so cassettes sliding around the pickup (a 1989 Ford Ranger) for much of my Junior year of high school. I distinctly remember driving to and from work, and to the occasional bonfire, blasting Perfect People while hollering along to the lyrics (usually at full roar, and much to the dismay of my frequent, punk-deaf passengers).

Southern California pop-punk at its finest, About Time recently (as of a few months ago, I believe) saw a limited run (500 copies) on smoke colored vinyl. Seeing frisky releases such as this that incorporate the album cover into the vinyl color get me excited for upcoming reissues that will undoubtedly acquire my money (the smoke colored record ties in nicely to the timebomb on the cover, don’t you think?). For nostalgia’s sake, owning an album more than twice makes perfect sense to me.

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It’s Raining 78s!

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Tandy MacKenzieA heavy haul of 78s was had at a local thrift store over the weekend. Nabbed a few Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and this single sided early Columbia Records release. More than anything, I slapped down the $3 for this stunning label graphic than the actual track it accompanied. I can’t say I’ve ever heard of Tandy MacKenzie, and due to the fact that I had to enter this release into discogs.com, not many modern collectors have heard much from him either. I was excited by the gold foiled 1915 printed in the band, but further internet digging dates this release closer to 1920. Either way, $3 for thrift store 78s, or thrift store 78s in playable condition at all, is worth a little PG excitement as this may very well be the oldest disc in my collection.

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Kill All the White Man

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LongestLineNOFX, the pop-punk outfit you love to hate, or love to love (as was the case throughout the sprouting years of my 20s), has been pushing their nimble-tongued, middle class anarchy since 1983, and it’s sometimes easy to forget that one of their paramount members, the illustrious Aaron Abeyta, didn’t appear, gloriously manifested as El Hefe, until 1992 with the EP (featured here), The Longest Line.

WhiteLineProviding guitar, vocals and yes, trumpet on the fan-favorite Kill all the White Man, El Hefe was the last “new” member to join the crew, a brigade that’s still selling out shows some 31 years later. If you can stomach rock-n-roll with a bratty attitude (brattatude?), punk of any sort, or are generally game for tongue-in-cheek wit, then NOFX may be just the bastards you didn’t know you were looking for.

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Thinking is Overrated

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Broken“If I can keep myself from thinking for the rest of my life, maybe I’ll survive this fall.” – Jeffrey Lewis

Jeffrey Lewis, the famed comic book artist and occasional singer / songwriter delivers an exceptionally agonizing diddy filled with a deceivingly optimistic tone, catchy refrain, and the sliver-sharp wit that requires, no, DEMANDS repeated listens. Titled Broken Broken Broken Heart, Jeffrey Lewis and his backing band, The Junkyard, spawn a candy-coated razorblade of nervous sensitivity, discretely masked inside an anti-folk pop song, and it’s nothing short of blissful ear bourbon.

JLewisWe aren’t meant to sympathize with Mr. Lewis, or whatever character he is when speaking in the first person. His over-analytical observations of (failed) relationship-causing pain are muted and all but ignored after evidence is revealed as to the cause of his (much deserved) heartache: being cruel and curious.

I’m stuck in a Jeffrey Lewis rutt as of late, and it seems as though a few times a day I need to squeeze in a quick listen, usually to the three or four key tracks off this album (2009’s ‘Em Are I). Jeffrey’s is a story of success by self-deprecation. Mix that with hooky guitars and soul-baring honesty, and you’ve got the ingredients for an emotional cocktail you’re not soon to forget.

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Clearly Spun

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ClearI don’t have much to offer tonight except for this half-assedly composed (that’s the industry term) action photo of my all-time favorite flavor-shade (read: color) of polyvinyl chloride. One would think that the absence of normality (in this case, white), would tickly my ear’s fancy, but I rather find myself a gullible sucker for the opacity of clear records. My exhaustion has taken its toll, and the Groove is taking the blow.

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Teamwork Tuesday

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ZepIIStuck at work and running on minimal sleep, I opted for a few extra moments of shut-eye and neglected to photograph an album for today’s post. Teamwork being tonight’s theme, I enlisted the help of my SO to pick any record in the collection, take a picture of it, and send it my way. Having free reign of nearly 3000 records, she (my SO) sent over the picture to the left, and with it, a little story. Much to the dismay of my loving and beautiful SO, I’ll share that story with you now…

(Sent via text) “This was the first Zeppelin album (read: cassette tape) I listened to. I think it was 7th grade. Some of the boys had a “band” and were going to play Stairway to Heaven at a gathering of some sort and they asked me to sing. I realize that’s not on this album, but it’s a little trivia for you :). I ended up not singing :(.”

(Then, asking her why she didn’t sing, I thanked her for writing today’s post. She added) “It’s not even on the record! I don’t remember why. I didn’t have a lot of rehearsal time with them and we didn’t plan it out well… being 12 and all. I think they ended up playing Kashmir instead? Or else they tried Stairway but the guitar solo was less than fabulous? I forget. It’s been, like, 20-some years! Uhggggg I can’t believe it’s been that long.”

And this has concluded, the first ever… Teamwork Tuesday.

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From London With Love

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London InsertLondon Recordings, with all her lofty divisions, offered a red, white and blue window into the mid-60s English Assault, and was home to some pretty significant acts producing some pretty extraordinary cuts. Their mainstay, and supplier of the label’s flowing honey, were, as you’ve probably guessed, the Rolling Stones, but what I didn’t recognize until earlier today was how many other British Invasion favorites, or in this case Teen Beat favorites, also strolled under the London Recordings umbrella. Unit 4+2, the Moody Blues, the Zombies, and Them all saw early offerings on London, or one of her sisters, and in such a short amount of time, helped propel this label into the upper, heavily coveted realms of rock n’ roll history.

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Death by Trolley

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PJ'sBand name: Death by Trolley aka DBT. Does it exist? No, but it should. Do any of you remember the Twilight Zone episode, Judgment Night? For those that don’t, it’s a microscope peak into the looping, déjà vu hell of a German U-boat captain forever reliving the victim’s side of his own, malicious, and blood spilling attacks. For me, a death by trolley, accompanied by Eddie Cano’s version of The Trolley Song, is my own personal night of judgment.

The hit and run victim to this proposed, personal death loop, I picture myself merrily strolling along with a carefree heart, and a suspicious smile. All this is abruptly interrupted at around the 30 second mark when, WHAM! out of nowhere I’m violently struck by the Death Trolley. Able to force out a few, labored breaths, I accept my fate, and proceed to give in to the sweet, calming void of death… only for the entire trip to loop and begin its eternal cycle, that which has no end.

Eddie Cano plays my end song, a duet with the booming, forceful abruptness of the Death Trolley.

The Trolley Song

 

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3x MC + 1x DJ

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Front16hr work days call for lazy posts… and right now the lot of you are thinking, “Man, this guy must work 16hr days ALL THE TIME!” To that I say, “Well aren’t you just a little slice of something.” By now the majority of you know my adolescent obsession with the Beastie Boys, and if you don’t know this little tidbit of useless information, I have an adolescent obsession with the Beastie Boys.

BAck1998 was a bittersweet year for the B-Boy fan, a year that brought with it borderline anxiety-ridden anticipation, and (the almost inevitable) heartbreaking disappointment. We received a Grammy for Best Alternative Performance with Hello Nasty, if you’re into such materialistic badges of mundane stature, but with it we had to suffer through, well, Hello Nasty. My echoing opposition of this album has dwindled as I’ve aged, but my early disliking to it certainly didn’t prevented me from owning it (a necessary) three times (1x CD, 1x yellow vinyl, 1x black), in addition to all the singles that accompanied it (Intergalactic, Body Movin’, The Negotiation Limerick File, and Remote Control / Three MC’s and One DJ). Don’t ask “why” of people who obsess. You certainly do not want to see how the sausage is made. Moving along, Three MC’s and One DJ showcased the awe-inspiring talents of the band’s newly acquired DJ, Mix Master Mike. I dug / dig the new DJ (you can’t knock his skills), but I’ve always preferred the traditional cuts of DJ Hurricane, the band’s mainstay DJ since their Licensed to Ill days.

Anyway, this video is 3 parts goofy, 1 part technically fascinating, and all parts good time. When we’re tired, and lazy, the Beastie Boys always seem like the logical excuse. Enjoy!