Monthly Archives: March 2010

Join Turntabling at HorrorHound Weekend Fri March 26-28

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horrorhound weekend 2010

Join Turntabling.net this weekend, Friday March 26 through March 28 for HorrorHound Weekend. We’ll be running a booth right next to the Kitley’s Krypt table and will have all of the stuff you find for sale on the site plus PLENTY that’s not been added yet–we’ve got a huge pile of rare titles on vinyl and CD.

While it’s excessively annoying that we’re listed on the Horrorhound Weekend site as “Turntable.net” we’re still thrilled to be running a table at this event, which boasts and amazing lineup of luminaries from the horror world including appearances by Clive Barker and George Romero. You DO NOT want to miss this. Join us in Indianapolis at the Mariott at 7202 East 21st Street in Indianapolis.

Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral Double LP

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Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral Vinyl LP

This is one 90s album that’s stood the test of time and then some. Some call The Downward Spiral the White Album of the 90s, and it’s hard to argue with that assertion. This double vinyl edition of the classic Nine Inch Nails record is fairly impressive. For all the minimal visuals, (the gatefold sleeve reveals one seriously creepy piece of art, but only one) the album is something to hear on vinyl–quite an accomplishment over four sides of black vinyl.

The experience of listening to The Downward Spiral on a double LP is far more interesting than listening to it on compact disc. True vinyl junkies everywhere know this singular joy, but The Downward Spiral is, for some reason, far more enjoyable than many of its double-LP fellows in a variety of genres. The double album format serves this title quite well. It’s somewhat similar to the memories some have of listening to Kiss Alive II on the turntable back when it first came out–it’s that sort of experience.

The Downward Spiral was recorded, infamously, at the house where the Manson Family killed Sharon Tate in Beverly Hills. Reznor fled the house soon after he moved in, saying the building had too much history for him. It’s also said that Reznor met Sharon Tate’s sister and had a serious attack of conscience. After Reznor left, the house was torn down.

Did the murder house seep into this record? Many believe it did, others laugh off the very notion but whatever you think, it’s tough to deny The Downward Spiral as a major conceptual work in the tradition of too many others to name.

Naturally some people don’t take it that seriously. For Turntabling, the greatest accomplishment of this album is the 30 seconds at the end of Hurt. That might seem to be fairly dismissive of other tracks on the record–far from it–but there are those of us who think that the abupt gear-shift on Hurt is a profound thing indeed.

The double vinyl edition of The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails is a new double album in a sealed plastic LP sleeve. Buy it now from Turntabling for $35 plus shipping.





Riz Ortolani Cannibal Holocaust Soundtrack CD

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cannibal holocaust soundtrack Riz Ortolani

Riz Ortolani’s soundtrack to the infamous Ruggero Deodato film Cannibal Holocaust is completely disarming. From the opening theme to the stark, minimalist synth cues used to punctuate the shocking events onscreen, this is one soundtrack CD that can’t be pigeonholed, boiled down to its’ essence, or easily categorized.

The score is also sneakily influential–whether on purpose or not, you can hear echoes of it all the way down the line to Air’s Sexy Boy synth riffs, and while you may be totally put off by the content of the film, there’s no denying its’ power or effectiveness. It provokes an emotional response, and isn’t that the purpose of all art? No matter whether you think the filmmakers meant to or not, for all the shocking, awful things in the movie it is easily as transcendent as people believe Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odessy to be. (How’s that for going out on a limb?)

That’s pretty strong stuff, to be sure…but viewing the two films side by side you’ll find more in common than you realize–again, regardless of director intent, stomach turning events on screen, and etc. But we’re getting off topic here. Riz Ortolani shows off some fascinating depth here. To be sure, if the music were completely divorced from its subject matter it might not pack as much of a punch, but it’s not.

This version of the soundtrack contains a CD-ROM interview feature with Ortolani, so fans will be interested for that little freebie; the fact that this went out of print in 2003 and has been harder to find ever since doesn’t hurt. How long will this last? Get yours while you still can.

The Cannibal Holocaust original soundtrack by Riz Ortolani is a new, sealed compact disc. Buy it now from Turntabling for $20 plus shipping.


WTF Bad Album Cover: Dan Nicoloff Everybody’s Pink Under The Skin

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WTF Bad Album Covers Dan Nicholoff

There are bad album covers…and then there are LP covers that make you want to penetrate your own skull with a claw hammer because they’re so mind-rottingly awful. There’s not much to day about this that you haven’t already been thinking to yourself. Dan Nicoloff’s Everybody’s Pink Under The Skin is a sort of lame-o take on Clive Barker’s Books of Blood quip; “Everyone is a book of blood. When we’re opened, we’re red.” But Barker, even in his most feverish moments, could never have envisioned something like this.

It’s art design so staggeringly lame that you KNOW someone got PAID to do it. Look at the malice aforethought going on here. This cover looks like a photograph that someone actually staged and lit properly for EFFECT. I shudder to think about the time and effort that went into this. And I sit here wondering if it’s actually something WORSE–a photorealism PAINTING of some kind that a human being actually LABORED OVER to get JUST RIGHT.

That’s a thought my poor brain can’t quite get behind. Continue reading WTF Bad Album Cover: Dan Nicoloff Everybody’s Pink Under The Skin →