Monthly Archives: August 2008

Customizable Vinyl Graphics

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Color me…amused. The Vinyl Record Generator lets you plug in your own custom text and get one of these babies auto-generated for you. The image is free because they are hawking these as custom print designs for keychains, coffee cups, three-inch stickers, and much more. Pretty sweet if you have a gimmick and need some customized album-related merch. The only thing they DON’T offer is an actual vinyl album, but the three inch sticker would fit nicely over that crappy old REO Speedwagon record in your garage. I am sorely tempted to get the above printed as a T-Shirt (this service is also available at the Vinyl Record Generator) but chances are I’ll run up a Turntabling.net coffee cup instead…this site is a great idea.

Waterloo Records, Austin Texas

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Anyone who’s been reading this blog for a while knows I like to spread the love about great places to buy vinyl, so let me introduce you to one of my all time favorites. Waterloo Records in Austin, Texas is a pure joy. I’ve dropped a small fortune in this place, much of it on dub, Morricone, and obscure oddities like the Japanese rockabilly-at-pain-threshold-volumes madmen Guitar Wolf.

Waterloo has an online store, sure. But it’s nowhere as much fun as pawing through the stacks of wax. The CD selection is completely off the chart as well…you’ll find that barely-heard Isaac Hayes disco attack Groove-a-Thon alongside the original motion picture soundtrack for What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood Doing On Jennifer’s Body? (Really.) It’s a delight. And best of all–for you non-vinyl buyers–is the wall of employee picks.

Electronica and moody dance music fans won’t be disappointed in the vinyl selection any more than the classic punk lover or 90s indie heads. There’s so much variety here between new and used…King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown was one of my all time vinyl finds at Waterloo–I spotted it out of the corner of my eye while fondling The Faint’s Danse Macabre LP.

Make a special trip to Austin and spend all your money at Waterloo–hold just enough back to eat at Stubbs BBQ, but you could max out your plastic if you’re inclined. Get directions to Waterloo from where you’re at, or just Google 600 N. Lamar, Austin TX 78703.

Ragel Against The Machine

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I was so pleased with myself when I came up with that headline that I had to use it here. Jon Ragel, AKA BoyEatsDrumMachine has been doing pure mad mashups with Talking Heads Vs. Michael Jackson and The Cure…except these mashups are LIVE and feature Gang of Four’s Dave Allen on bass (ver’ nice) and Benjy Rickard on guitar and synth. The mashups have Ragel on vox and vinyl…tasty.

I tend to latch on to little things in the mix, and Dave Allen’s bass punctuations in the Psycho Killer riffs are sharp. It’s stuff like that that keeps the mix interesting. Also nice–Benji Rickard’s great minimalist one-note guitar lines. Jon Ragel keeps it real by not trying to hit those Psycho Killer high “aiieee aiiieee aiieeee aieeee” notes–wise move, my man. Not even DB hisself could hit ’em consistently.

The first one of these live mashups was fun–I listened and thought, “hell yeah!” but the new one, Billie Jean/Psycho Killer is nothing short of brilliant. The Billie Jean bass riff is massive in the right hands, and it is definitely in the right hands here. This is sweet stuff and it is FREE. And how about that image? The Billie Jean Byrne graphic is just sick, wrong and I wish it were poster size.

Pampelmoose blogged it here and Jon Ragel also has it as a freebie at his BEDM official site. Don’t forget to check out the other sonic treats at BEDM as there’s much to feast on. The P-Moose site also has a healthy stack of mp3 goodies.

The Breed: Retro Goodness From Down Under

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I knew nothing about this fun outfit from Australia before I stumbled across them on YouTube while searching for groovy sounds and bowl haircuts. And now “The Clothes She Wears” by The Breed is stuck in my head on endless repeat. At least til the caffeine wears off. This is good stuff! The Breed hail from Tasmania, playing Brit Invasion/Mersey Sound style with some punk-pop thrown in for good measure. They are featured on a variety of comps including the vinyl Trans-Pacific Pop Conspiracy EP on Smashed Records, which you can also check out via KlickTrack

. Here’s a sampling of The Breed. Cheers, lads!