Vogue Picture Records 1946-1947

I discovered a fascinating blog post at COLOURlovers (a craft blog, not a vinyl blog) called Unusually Colored Vinyl Records. It featured a variety of impressive colored vinyl productions including the Man Or Astroman release, “Your Weight On The Moon” on  glow-in-the-dark vinyl pictured above. But the REAL treasure in this blog post was the mention of some seriously vintage post-war vinyl produced in Detroit by a company called Sav-Way Industries.

The Vogue Picture Discs are amazing for their detail and the instant visual reference to the  post war era when they were made (1946-1947) but the real stunner for me was the visual theme of the Marion Mann track, “You Took Advantage of Me”.

Decades before The Tubes put out Mondo Bondage, here’s a very racy post-war vinyl record implying all sorts of naughty things with this picture. There are some 74 Vogue Picture Record titles in this collection, which you can view more of at the University of California Santa Barbara, but none of them are quite as provocative as this one.

Sure, it COULD be argued that this was an innocent depiction of the song’s theme, but lest we forget, post-war culture in the 40s was filled with double entendres created to titillate and amuse while maintaining “plausible deniability” in a so-called respectable society. Mondo bondage indeed!

–Joe Wallace

Mono Stereo 45 RPM Single On and On/Matter of Confusion

I hear some people of a certain age group (hint–I went to college with some of them in the 90s) moaning about how music today isn’t as good (read post-punk enough or new wavey enough or whatever) as it used to be. To which I reply in two parts. Part One: You’ve become your parents, and Part Two, that’s just complete nonsense when faced with delicious vinyl releases like this 45 from Mono Stereo.

This Swedish four piece has its feel planted firmly in the psychedelia/shoegaze mushroom garden, evoking both a retro 60s vibe (with a nice little nod to Ennio Morricone in the middle eight of A Matter of Confusion, intentional or not) AND a bit of the old Ride/MBV thrown in for good measure.

It’s tough to review a modern ‘gazer band without invoking those previous two names, but the comparison is favorable, and I actually find the B side to be the stronger of the two cuts, though I have to admire the production work of the A-side On And On…sounds to these musician/DJ ears like a quite effective sitar simulation was achieved by pairing a banjo and guitar riff togetether…or maybe that IS a sitar and I’m just going deaf. Either way, it’s an effective intro to the track.

Mono Stereo has created a nice thick wall of sound swirling in just the right way. Kudos to them for not only a great release, but also for putting it out on vinyl as the gods intended.

Get your Mono Stereo on with the Vimeo vid below and tell me you don’t want to hear more…I did. Hook up with Mono Stereo on Facebook and be sure to tell ‘em Turntabling sent you.

And that reminds me…I am all too happy to review vinyl releases. Get in touch about yours via jwallace (at) turntabling (dot net).
Joe Wallace

WTF Bad Album Covers: The Worst So Far?

by Joe Wallace

There are some people who tell me that picking on rap albums is like shooting fish in a barrel. There are so very many bad album covers in the rap, hip hop, metal, and singer/songwriter genres that it’s almost a cop-out to post one in any of these genres. You wouldn’t believe how many album covers I turn down for posting here because they just aren’t rotten enough.

And then there’s this one. Another example of truth in advertising in the genre, the band has the word “dumb” in its name so you already know what to expect–contentwise we’re probably talking the equivalent of a lyric sheet from any Blink 182 record. You want deep thoughts? Go read some James Joyce. If you’re looking for utter bewilderment, this is a fine and dandy album cover to gaze upon.

What’s the deal with the dude holding the machete? The One Way sign over the thanksgiving turkey makes me think of food poisoning for some reason…and the tilty baseball caps make these gents look like grade school kids out ready to go running after the ice cream truck. Hard core street survivors? Not on this album cover. More like Leave It To Beaver. Tomorrow I’ll look at this and think that the guy on the bottom left looks like Cat from Red Dwarf, but today it’s all about the ice cream truck. Maybe I’ve been listening to far too much KLF for my own good.

I imagine the conversation about this picture going something like this. “Hey, we gotta get a COVER on this mess. What do you want to put on it? I’m thinking about turkeys. And place settings. And big fluffly clouds. But make sure you get some mad faces on there too so people don’t think we’re a bunch of sissies.”

Zombie Disco!

FINALLY, the long-awaited update on the Turntabling front…it has been far too long I know, but the madness round here has been both profitable and amusing. On that note, I’ll be DJing the Chicago Horror Society’s one-year anniversary party and Zombie Disco on June 20th at Chicago’s famous Viaduct Theater. Stay tuned for more details.

Yes, it’s been a little while since the last update–things have gone crazy in the Turntabling camp! Rest assured, the updates begin in earnest now that the smoke has cleared. Here are some of the developments I’ve been working on since the last update here–lots of DJ gigs lining up, some photo shoots forthcoming, and plenty of freelance blogging and editing. It’s been a busy few weeks. Fortunately there’s been plenty of interest in Turntabling.net, and we are pleased to report the Russ Meyer bio is almost sold out. THANK YOU to everyone who purchased copies. Your support of Turntabling is greatly appreciated.

I’ll be adding some exciting new things for sale soon. Stay tuned.

Nico Striptease

My new favorite music blog is BlowupDoll, which recently featured a Nico/Serge Gainsbourg single called Striptease. I hate to link directly to the file, but there’s no blog post addy to link to on this one, just the main URL. Needless to say, any fan of these sounds should take a long look at BlowupDoll. Bravo.

As for the track itself, why does Nico’s chanteuse stuff all sound like the Velvet Underground on quaaludes? For the full duration of this single, I keep waiting for John Cale to start grinding away on the viola. This is a great-sounding single, but hearing Nico’s voice on this track puts that image from The Night Porter in my head. Don’t ask me why, I can’t explain. Swap out that hat, though, sweetie. Got anything in LA Motorcycle Cop circa 1981? Now THAT would be sexy.

Obama Vinyl? Not Quite

Just for laughs, I googled “Obama Viny Record” to see what would come up. Lo and behold, this goofy bit of President Obama kitsch, just in time for Inauguration Day. It’s sold at Zazzle.com and comes in a variety of styles from slacker grey long sleeves to fitted.

The reason this image is lumpy is because I used the “muscle tee” style image from the Zazzle site. I have seen plenty of other “album” style shirts before, but this has got to be the one with the most cheese. Kitsch is fun, so I can’t bash this TOO much, especially in light of the OTHER shirts I found while surfing around for Obama vinyl. Like the “Jews Against Obama” shirt. According to Gothamist.com this shirt costs a staggering $250 and was designed by a guy who doesn’t like Obama for a variety of personal and political reasons, including that Obama’s middle name is Hussein. I am sure you can draw your own conclusions here. In crayon, if need be.

You can see a picture of this guy on the Gothamist post. In this photograph he appears to be the kind of person you find at record conventions who refuses to listen to The Damned because they were “too commercial” compared to the Sex Pistols. You know the type–the kind of dude who gets three beers in him and starts yammering away about how nobody understands his “genius”.

Yeah….riiiighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhht.

Polyvinyl Record Co.

Pampelmoose.com does it again. Thanks to that fine blog, I discovered a great indie vinyl label practically in my own back yard. Polyvinyl Record Co. offers CDs, downloads, but more importantly those delicious 180 gram vinyl platters for most of their releases. This Champaign, Illinois-based label is home to 31Knots, ofMontreal, and Rainer Maria, who I first got acquainted with when I was editing material from SxSW for Gearwire.com back in 06.

Currently, I’m a bit obsessed with the ofMontreal track Id Engager which you can hear as an MP3 at Pampelmoose or pre-order on colored vinyl or download from Polyvinyl. Id Engager is a unique modern disco indie track.

I like ofMontreal’s take on the old mirrorball sounds from the late 70s; this collision of ideas sounds like Studio 54 and Andy Warhol thrown into a blender with the modern indie kids mentality with a dash of ginseng and gaurana. Energetic without being abrasively annoying…this is fun whiteboy disco with great bass playing. Did I mention there’s a little bit of Sparks falsetto going on here? When it’s well done (as it is on Id Engager) it’s pretty great. RECOMMENDED.

Federico Aubele La Esquina/Corazon 12-Inch

Another ESL 12-inch hits our mailbox, but this one is probably the most unremarkable of the lot to date. Federico Aubele’s songwriting and presentation are top notch, but it’s a little bit too much in the background music department for my taste. Plusses: It’s very latin, and on both sides the acoustic guitar playing is tops, and those vocals are gorgeous…but best reserved for a post-club chillout mix or a pre-show warmup. Minuses: the remixes try very hard to spice this 12-inch up, but even Ursula 1000’s spirited dancehall take on Corazon can’t pull this out of the middle of the road.

Thunderball: Elevated States/Get Up With The Down 12-Inch

Thunderball’s 12-inch single featuring the Nicola Conte remix of Elevated States features a massive sax jazz group that wouldn’t feel out of place on an extended megamix of the Blow Up soundtrack, Coltrane, mix-n-match Blue Note artists and the occasional John Zorn freakout tossed in just to make sure you’re paying attention. Elevated States is top notch. Smooth as polished mahogany.

This 12-inch shifts into 3rd gear on the B-side with the Ursula 1000 remix of Get Up With The Get Down. This one’s squarely in Paisley Park territory with the synth squiggles, which isn’t a bad thing at all. In fact, the “get down” chanting is more reminiscent of Sheila E with every new listen. Don’t let that scare you, now, son.

I was braced for the instrumental mix to leave me high and dry, but those horns are pretty tasty. A nice party piece to play mashup with if you’re behind the decks…get a groove on with this vs. Chris Joss and see where it goes. I’ll be playing with that one myself. Thunderball’s got a winner here, don’t pass this by. Have a listen to all three tracks at ESL. Snag the 12-inch after it snags you.

Chris Joss: I Want Freedom 12-Inch Remixes

There are groups that are vastly improved by remixes, artists who are turned to complete slurry, and then there are the ones like Chris Joss who get their original works of deliciousness garnished with all sorts of new flavors and spices. The four track 12-inch remix vinyl for I Want Freedom is a worthy investment even in a crap economy. Do without that gallon of gas, buy this instead.

The I Want Freedom Myagi remix throws in a deep analog synth riff underneath making this a track you really ought to hear at “call the cops” volume in order to get the full benefit of the mix. Side A also features an extended mix of the original, but sounds fairly unmolested and sort of anti-climatic on the heels of the Myagi mix.

The B-side Smokey Bandits remix takes a while to find its legs, but once the extra vox and horns kick in, it’s smooth sailing on this Basement Freaks/Quasamodo version. The Atfunk remix kicks this track into funkier heights, I love this version. Myagi and Atfunk win the battle of the remixers, two badass reworkings of one of the standout tracks from Chris Joss’s latest, Teraphonic Overdubs. Hear all this stuff at the ESL site, click the links and you’ll get a nice sampling of all this and more. RECOMMENDED.