Monthly Archives: February 2012

WTF Records: Frank Valdor Dynamic Party Sound

WTF?, , , ,


Yet another record I was foolishly prepared to dislike at based on some of the marketing art–a man seated with his trombone coming at you like Dirty Harry’s 44 Magnum–I’m actually about to purchase the Frank Valdor Dynamic Party Sound LP because the tracks are so fantastically retro-lava-lamp-swinging-hepcat-organ-groovy.

I discovered this at the wonderful blog, PCL Linkdump, which also had a Youtube clip that hooked me pretty good. It’s just a shame that the track below the next image is NOT on that album…but if the rest sounds anything like this, the retro junkie in me is hooked.

 



 
–Joe Wallace

Record Store Day 2011: The dB’s Play Amplifier at Criminal Records

Media, Record Shops, , , , , , ,

Record Store Day 2012 is fast approaching–we are 52 days away from April 21, 2012 at the time of this writing. There is always plenty happening nation-wide on Record Store Day, and this is just one little sampling. The dB’s did an in-store performance at the mighty Criminal Records in Atlanta, Georgia as part of Record Store Day 2011, and since “Amplifier” is a favorite around here…well, watch the clip, mark your calendars and get in the mood to buy some vinyl!


 

WTF Records: Shock by the Creed Taylor Orchestra

WTF?

I was NOT prepared for how creepy and awesomely weird this vinyl record album is. Shock by the Creed Taylor Orchestra is sort of like a Mario Bava film on LP, that is really the ONLY way I can describe the cuts I’ve heard so far.

Maybe I’m impressed with this because I was expecting to hear utter, unimaginative crap–it’s the inverse cool theory or record album packaging. The more crazy hype the album cover has, the less likely it is to be interesting to cool. In spite of how not-understated this album cover is, the record comes off as being groovy, hep-cat, and sinister at the same time.

The cuts are miniature scenarios, with some sound effects, a bit of audio manipulation, and some really late 50s/60s-era Italian soundtrack sounds thrown in for good measure. Think “Blood And Black Lace” as filtered through Creed Taylor’s sensiiblities and you get what I mean.

Check it out for yourself:

 




P.S. I just discovered a most interesting blog called Scar Stuff, which has a wealth of information about this and two other records recorded in the same vein. It turns out that “Creed Taylor” is none other than film composer Kenyon Hopkins.
 
–Joe Wallace

The Vinyl District Record Store App For iPhone, Android

gear, Media, Record Shops, , , , ,

Fellow vinyl-loving blog The Vinyl District rolled out an app in late 2011 that record collectors should definitely know about. The TVD App is a GPS-based record store locator for iPhone and Android phones, a very exciting development that catapults TVD to a whole ‘nother level in the world of vinyl blogs.

Sure, Turntabling  brings the snark about bad album covers and related things, but TVD has really given something back with this mobile app for record store hunters–it looks like a thing of beauty indeed! With plans afoot for our next Vinyl Road Rage, the cross-country record-buying spree we blog about every year, the TVD app could not be a more helpful or appropriate part of that planning.

How does the app work? We haven’t had time to test it yet–we WILL be doing an extensive field test in a post or three to come, but according to The Vinyl District, it’s fairly simple to use. “Have a 5 hour layover in an unfamiliar city? Hit the “All Stores” icon for directions to the nearest indie shop and while away your time between flights digging through the crates. You can also check in and share your finds on Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare.”

That is pretty awesome. Of course, this app is best served by crowd-sourced information. Did a brand new record shop open in your ‘hood? Did one close down? You can add new details in the app for the benefit of vinyl junkies all across the USA. The Vinyl District adds, “The TVD app also allows you to discuss your finds within the app’s social network—and we’d have been remiss if we didn’t allow you to follow TVD with real time updates—so we tossed that in too.”

This app is currently useful for record shoppers in the USA only, but if that changes, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, learn more or download the app at The Vinyl District-and please feel free to share any experiences you have with the app in the comments section, we’d love to know how you like it.