Monthly Archives: March 2009

That Pizza Does NOT Look Appetizing

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snack-bar-pizza

Back in the days when vinyl records and turntables were in widespread, everyday use, people didn’t have the Internet, cell phones or TiVo. People used to get into their cars and drive to outdoor theaters, make out, smoke a spliff and watch a double feature. Drive-in culture was fun, and some drive-ins survive to this day–including the 66 Drive-In located in Springfield, Illinois, another near Dayton Ohio, and yet another–the Mission Drive-In just on the outskirts of San Antonio, Texas. I’m sure there are more, but those are three that I’ve actually been to.

In case you haven’t guessed by now, I’m a fan of a lot of retro culture, not just LPs and turntable-related stuff. One of the things I love about the cult of both modern and retro turntables is the preponderance of the “What were they THINKING?” factor. (And the legitimately cool stuff is nice, too.)

When it comes to retro drive-in culture, I can think of no better example of that than this clip:


WTF of the Week: Satan Is Real by The Louvin Brothers

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I saw this album cover and a whole new series of Turntabling posts was born. WTF is our brand new series of unbelievable album art…make that REALLY DUMB and ILL-ADVISED album art. Let’s kick off the inaugural edition of WTF with SATAN IS REAL.

With songs like Satan’s Jeweled Crown, The Drunkard’s Doom, and of course the title track Satan Is Real, you’d be well within your rights to guess that this album is by some brain-dead Swedish death metal outfit named Kronktor or Circus Satanicus. But one glance at the album cover shows a couple of mindless country preacher boys quite confused about whether this is supposed to be a southern gospel record or a gleeful, undies-twisting celebration of Our Dark Lord Lucifer.

Just LOOK at this silly shit. These guys appear to be WELCOMING YOU TO HELL instead of getting ready to deliver the corn-fed gospel to you dripping with barbecue sauce and near-beer. And do I interpret that album cover correctly? In the upper right hand corner it seems to read “Part 1”. Looks like these cornpone cuzzin-lovers were planning a series, Lucas-style. If they could get themselves out of Hell, that is. The album cover makes it look like the Louvins are there to stay.

Is it just me, or did this album–released in 1960–anticipate Matt Parker and Trey Stone’s Satan by, oh, FORTY YEARS?

Here’s the best part. You can STILL BUY THIS NONSENSE. It’s available as an MP3 download from Amazon.com, or if you MUST you can purchase a physical copy to keep under your pillow when you’re cowering under the covers, hoping the Elder Gods don’t come to gnaw off your forehead.

Oh, and by the way–rumor has it that the Louvin Brothers created that fire-n-brimstone set themselves and nearly burned up real good when the flames started going haywire. That’ll teach you southern gospel boys to mess with the Debbil’s tools.

Battle of the Bands: Facebook Vs. Twitter

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adweek-logoAdWeek’s March 4 article on the March 11 rollout of sweeping changes to Facebook makes me–and many others–wonder if Facebook is about to start another user revolt. On March 11, Facebook trots out changes that will force companies and advertisers to start behaving much more like regular Facebook users. That means more frequent updates to company pages rather than creating unchanging sites used as a basic ad for the company or service.

What does that mean for bands using Facebook? Unsure at this point, but there seems to be a growing number of bands who are migrating to Twitter because of the ease of use. I think the simpler the medium, the more valuable it is–especially for busy indie bands who don’t have time to maintain a Twitter, MySpace and Facebook site all at once. Twitter is simple, it’s fun, and it’s a growing outlet for bands. Hell, even Turntabling has a Twitter account. I have to admit, it’s easier and more fun than Facebook. I don’t like the idea that I might have to do even more work to maintain a Facebook account for Turntabling or the bands on Turntabling Records.

If you ask me, Twitter is the future. Facebook’s previous flap over its terms of service has left people like me unwilling to put up with much more crap from FB. It’s unsure how the March 11 changes will actually affect users like me and indie bands, labels and promoters. Maybe AdWeek’s article has me whipped into a frenzy of bed-wetting fear over nothing. Then again, sweeping changes mean a learning curve, and who has the time to deal with that nonsense? It was goofy enough trying to figure out how to add GOOP to the ReverbNation Facebook widget.

Space 1999 Soundtrack Vinyl

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Paul Durango’s fun blog features this vinyl soundtrack from Space 1999, the least scientifically accurate of all the science fictions television to come out of the cheesy 70s.  Durango found the album, and offers a zipped digital version for your listening pleasure. The soundtrack is full of cornball 70s wah-wah guitar playing, moody atmospherics and the requisite sighing string section and echoey xylophones. You could download a whole mess of Barry Gray’s Space 1999 soundtrack music from Amazon, but do yourself a favor and check out Paul Durango’s post first.

On a side note, some of the reviews for the CD/download version of the soundtrack are almost as funny as the series itself. One breathless reviewer gushes, “Our composer Barry Gray writes powerful cues that will make any youngster and adults alike leap for joy.”

Leap for joy? What the hell is THIS guy taking? I want some.

Behold the pure 70s style queso of the original intro. Revel in THIS cornball nonsense–still great for laughs after all these years. You really need a six pack or some kind of plantlife to properly enjoy this, but this is the epitome of 1970s boob tube-dom in all its’ hilariously wretched excess. I mean, really–the main conceit of this show is that the moon has been knocked out of its orbit and is sailing through space with 300 people living on it!