Category Archives: album

Sleepless in Reykjavik

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While searching for the old website for one of my favorite record stores–the Iceland indie shop Hjollmalind (spelling? It’s been so long since they disappeared)–I found a web series called Sleepless In Reykjavik, which focuses on the most excellent Icelandic music scene.

I’ve long been hooked on Icelandic music since finding a copy of the Enigma Records compilation Geyser, which was a snapshot of the 80s Icelandic indie landscape featuring a variety of groups including Bubbi & Das Kapital, Hoh, and many others. And yes, Bjork appeared on several tracks–but not as a Sugarcube.

Icelandic music has a particular vibe not found in other places, and I’m an enthusiastic collector of groups like Baraflokkurin, Vonbrigði, and other groups that never saw the light of day in the USA, but certainly deserve their day in the sun.

So here’s an update on the Icelandic music scene–which I’ve fallen sadly out of touch with since the rise of Bang Gang and Bardi Johansson a few years ago. Sleepless in Reykjavik is a very well-produced series and I’d love to see more….the music in this episode is a bit more sedate than I expected–I’m more a Rokk I Reykjavik fan, and if you haven’t seen that documentary concert film, you’re missing quite a bit–but it’s definitely worth a look.

Does Sleepless In Reykjavik get noisier? Only future episodes (which I haven’t seen yet) will tell….
–Joe Wallace



12 Inch Vinyl Record Made From…WOOD GLUE

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YouTube is turning out to be quite a repository for vinyl weirdness. Enjoy my latest discovery in the Twilight Zone of turntabling–the gent in this video purchased a vinyl record stamper via eBay and decided to see what would happen if he tried to press a record with it using a whole mess of wood glue.

A vinyl stamper isn’t the machine that cranks out the LPs, it’s the “mold” for an individual record–the recorded music etched into the metal surface, ready for a load of melted vinyl to be poured into it and pressed. Since theoretically any liquidy substance that dries into a hardened form could be used, why not try making a 12-inch LP with wood glue? The results? Edisonian, but interesting nonetheless.



 

Tim Larson and the Owner Operators: A New Deal

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I just got my copy of A New Deal on vinyl–the new record by Tim Larson and the Owner Operators. This Chicago band has been toiling away in and out of the Windy City for quite some time now and the new vinyl is, quite frankly, a triumph.

A full review of the vinyl is coming, but for now let me just say that Larson and company have perfected something I like to call Economic Noir. It would not be unfair to compare the lyrics to the storytelling and world-weariness of Stan Ridgeway, but the music is in its own league altogether.

A New Deal is a combination of dark, brooding southern sounds (without sounding corn-fed or just off the Dukes of Hazzard farm) with some excellent swampy guitar work, plus more than a hint of Angelo Badalamenti. I am sure that’s not intentional, but it certainly is welcome. If you’ve ever seen the evil barroom scene in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, you’ve got a good idea of the vibe that comes off some of these tracks.

The album is a flat-out commentary on life in post-Bush America, with the 2008 housing crisis firmly in mind. But this record does not preach or climb up on a soapbox whatsoever. A lot of that sort of thing (from lesser artists) can be tiresome, but A New Deal writes from the trenches and sounds a lot more like looking for hope in the middle of the chaos rather than rolling over and waiting for the wolves.

I’ll save the full review of A New Deal for later, but here’s some of my favorite work from that album, live in Chicago. This stuff is HIGHLY recommended. The video doesn’t even do it justice, but consider it an apertif for the main course. Tim Larson and the Owner Operators play The Double Door in Chicago 8PM on Wednesday August 24, 2011.



Random Weirdness On Vinyl…Via David Letterman

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If you found the Turntabling table at Flashback Weekend, or any other convention Turntabling sells at, you probably get the (correct) impression that Turntabling has a soft spot for weirdness on vinyl…and this clip from 90’s era David Letterman proves that weird has a broader appeal…at least when it comes to record collecting. The highlight of this clip has to be the album featuring recorded conversations with New York City cab drivers. Somebody actually PAID to have that pressed up…and now I want one.