Monthly Archives: November 2011

Culture Clash Records, Magnet Magazine, and Indie Record Store Culture

Blogs, editorial, Record Shops

by Joe Wallace

One of my favorite Midwestern indie record stores is the Toledo, Ohio-based Culture Clash Records. The shop is friendly, fun to browse, and I always seem to find wonderfully weird records there like the Jannik Top robodisco project Space.

On my last visit to Culture Clash, the day before HorrorHound Weekend in Cincinatti, I was chatting with people in the shop about doing an interview for the Turntabling WTF Record Guide, when I was handed a copy of Magnet Magazine.

Apparently Magnet has been off the newsstands for a while in favor of an all-digital version, but has since returned with a print edition. That is a good thing–while I’ve not followed Magnet in some time, it was nice to see them back in print.

I took the mag, browsed it piecemeal for a week and forgot about it.

But today I picked it up again after making a discovery I’d missed all the previous times I’d read the mag–I had never glanced at the back cover until today. Imagine my pleasant surprise to find Magnet has done something quite interesting and cool with their selected listing of Indie Record Stores In Your Backyard.

The list includes several shops currently on the Vinyl Road Rage Four list (which will be announced next week) and I was very pleased to see some other familiar names there, too.

Magnet was good enough to list Culture Clash, Grimey’s in Nashville, Guestroom Records in Norman Oklahoma, the wonderful Landlocked Music in Bloomington, Indiana, plus Luna Music in Indianapolis, Shake It Records in Cincinnati, Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis and several other worthy vendors.

I have no idea whether this was done as a service or as a paid advertisement (I’d like to think it was in support of indie shops that carry Magnet on the newsstands again). Regardless, it was GREAT to see these stores that I love given national advertising and exposure. The economy sucks, times are hard for everyone, and indie record shops truly need and deserve support right now. Sure, as a record seller myself (horror conventions, Discogs.com, etc.) I am a bit biased…but record stores, like any small business, truly are the backbone of America, don’t you think?

With the closure of big stalwart record shops like Ear X-Tacy in Louisville, Kentucky and others, I always feel like it’s a good thing to urge people to support their favorite vinyl record sellers wherever they may be. Magnet Magazine, thank you for throwing your two cents into the mix with this back-cover listing of excellent record shops. I hope this is a trend that continues as there are MANY deserving and wonderful record shops that could use the exposure.

 

Vinyl Record Players For Your Automobile

Blogs, gear, Media, singles, , , , , ,

by Joe Wallace
While looking for vinyl oddities today, I stumbled across a collection of photos of record players designed to be installed in a car or truck. Designed for the lover of 7-inch singles, it would be truly awesome to see these come back in a major way. Of course that would necessitate a big industry for the the seven inch single coming back, too…but is that really a bad thing?

Check out the delicious retro loveliness of these players! Some of the images are courtesy of Dark Roasted Blend, while others are from eBay, BoingBoing and other sources. The video, which is first, shows the in-car vinyl player in action…sweet.




 

WTF Album Covers: The Depravity Of Man

WTF?

Boy, those evangelical album covers really know how to sell you on the idea of listening to them all the way through, don’t they? I am fully in favor of the depravity part, and the figure on the cover of this horror certainly looks prepared to indulge in some, too. The cross looming behind him seems more than a bit…well, ready to join in.

The New Birth bit I have extreme reservations about, don’t you? I prefer MY depravity procreation-free, thanks. Not sure what’s going on with the flames on the lefthand side of this album cover–is that to keep everyone from getting the goosebumps whist enjoying a bit of debauchery?

The real trouble with albums like this is that the preachers are under some kind of misguided notion that depravity is a BAD THING. Ahh, well. There’s no arguing with ’em, especially if you’re too busy fending off their unwanted advances, spiritual or otherwise. “Methinks the lady doth protest too much” and all that.

I don’t own this but would love to purchase one…got one to sell? Get in touch 🙂

–Joe Wallace