Unrezt and Recordings of Thin Consolation

I stumbled across Thin Consolation by accident today after checking out a new Twitter.com/turntabling follower who is part of this Belgium-based record label.

I spent AGES on this site listening to glitchy, electronic wonderfulness including a FABULOUS electronic 12 inch by Odaka called Warm Geometry. I’ve played this six times in a row now. Part of what Unrezt calls the “Pastorale Electronics series”, Warm Geometry is an analog synth dreamy-fest that kicks into some nice percussion-n-bass analog synth action.

I am dying to hear Warm Geometry on vinyl as the gods of stereo intended but the track at Unrezt is a nice experience regardless.

There are other wonderful discoveries to be made at Unrezt including the glitch-happy Cupp Cave (which features a nice sample about zombies on the intro to the track linked here). And I love the description of Cupp Cave’s world, which is inhabited by “improbable vegetarian Texan zombies on Mexican mushrooms, all thumbs and two left feet.”

Unrezt is my new favorite record label (at least for this week)–great stuff from Belgium and more to come.

P.S. The label is Thin Consolation, the website is Unrezt. I am new so I don’t get the distinction between one end and the other…so Unrezt folks, forgive a dumb Yank.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

–Joe Wallace … Continue Reading

A Fistful of Soundtracks

Jimmy J. Aquino is a busy guy. He programs an internet radio station full of soundtrack music, does graphic novel work and runs A Fistful of Soundtracks which is heavy on the graphic novel stuff (Aquino’s Death to Skinny Jeans) but also full of soundtrack, television and cinema talk.

We’re new to this blog, but digging it very much. Highlights include a great discussion of the Superfly soundtrack (plus the awesome image below–we did NOT take this, the image is courtesy A Fistful of Soundtracks. Kudos to Jimmy Aquino–this is a worthy fellow soundtrack blog and the latest addition to the Turntabling blog roll. RECOMMENDED!

… Continue Reading

Five Horror Sites to Watch in 2010

I’ve been making all sorts of new discoveries in 2009, and since a good number of the soundtracks and related material sold here at Turntabling are horror-related (as in, most of them) it’s about time I ran down a list of my favorites so you can join me in my current addictions.

HorrorSociety.com is the host of most of the Chicago horror events I run the Turntabling booth at; Mitch and Jessica Wells are the brains behind this along with several other Chicago horror fanatics and the job they do putting on the horror film festivals is fantastic. Great fun every single time and the website is quite good as well. I am a huge fan of Horror Society stuff. If you’re in Chicago and love horror, this is not just a meet-and-greet group that hangs out once every month or so, it’s a bona fide subculture in Chicago now–at least from where I sit.

Kitley’s Krypt is one of the fixtures on the horror front–running for ten years plus! The honest reviews, dedication to the movies and an utter refusal to “go commercial” make the Krypt an outstanding example of what a horror blog can be. Don’t delay, have a nice long read over at Kitley’s Krypt and be sure to drop by his booth at Flashback, HorrorHound Weekend and Cinema Wasteland (just to name a few) in 2010. Kitley is a fellow soundtrack lover and it’s good to see his reviews of the latest releases. Me, I’m more of an old-school soundtrack collector, going after the vinyl and etc. but Kitley does an excellent job with the reviews on the new material and yes, some old classics too.

Fatally-Yours.com is my latest discovery. I enjoy well-written and thoughtful reviews of genre movies, especially new horror. So many of the big name sites now seem a bit breathless for every horror movie that comes out regardless of whether it’s a tired old revamp of a once-profitable horror series or an indie splatterfest. The reviews at Fatally-Yours are just as critical and thought provoking as you want ‘em to be. Very good reading.

Horror 101 With Dr. AC is an excellent read, but I must direct horror newcomers to the amazing reviews section first, as it’s jam packed with more information that you can possibly digest in a hundred sittings. In short, the horror fanatic’s dream. Absolutely fabulous stuff from a serious lover of all things horror and dedicated to sharing. And yes, this site is in connection with the book Horror 101, which is a great read.

Chateau GRRR is a site I’ve only just become acquainted with, but I like them for the same reason I like HorrorSociety.com–it encourages community building and there are plenty of interviews and reviews, lots to chew on. Very good stuff so far–I’m still exploring the site, but after meeting the person behind GRRR at the last Horror Society event, I’m happy to encourage people to join this horror community. … Continue Reading

Vinyl Lounge Hut–A Retro LP Paradise

Vinyl Lounge Hut may not have been updated since May 09 at the time of this writing, but that shouldn’t stop you from drinking in the heady cocktail of great lounge LPs and commentary by the very retro-minded Rich. Please, Rich, come back and update again!

The archives for this completely awesome site go back as far as 2007 so there is a lot to pore over. I love that Rich includes images of his audio setup and retro-outfitted living space. Simply awesome.

And let’s not overlook a good collection of links so lounge lovers can further fill up their hard drives with all those torrent, rapidshare and other files of ripped-from-vinyl goodness. The music itself is fun, but the VISUALS are a real treat. I’m a sucker for the great covers, colors and textures from this era–especially the image above created by BlueHipster, which is very reminiscent of Shag but with its own distinctive look and feel.

If you haven’t seen Vinyl Lounge Hut, stop wasting time and get over there…you just haven’t lived.

How to DJ Advice

Turntabling (the blog) is all about vinyl–everything connected to the collecting, playing, archiving and culture associated with vinyl.

I know the drive-in culture thing I am so obsessed with in these pages seems a bit of a stretch, but since I cut my teeth with vinyl when these things were growing up right alongside in 70s and 80s culture, it seems a natural to me.

But some days, it’s all about the act of mixing together the tunes and keeping people interested in your mix. The DJ aspect doesn’t get nearly as much face time here, but I do like to dispense a bit of my insider knowledge from time to time.

Today I stumbled across another one of those How To DJ sites, but this one actually had some decent information. Sound advice there, especially when it comes to trying to feel out an audience and know what works and what doesn’t.

My main gripe with how-to-DJ advice is that you can’t really learn how to spin music without DOING it. And then there’s only so far you can go before you need to have an actual audience. Want to see how fast you can clear a dance floor? How about how long it takes to bring those feet back onto that floor? You have to learn by doing. … Continue Reading

Retro Vinyl Cupboard

A new favorite blog discovery in the ultra-fun RetroVinylCupboard. Dig the amazing collection of obscure albums from bands like Prism to bootleg albums like the Led Zepplin Burn Like a Candle 1972 show recorded at the LA Forum, to wee little gems like South London’s The Open Mind from 1969.

There’s a lot to download here, but just learning about the UK brit psych and candypop releases I’ve never heard before is a real treat. This site will suck HOURS out of your day, let the downloader beware! Great stuff.

Seriously Bad Album Covers

We here at Turntabling are proud of the little collection of WTF album covers, but Nick DiFonzo’s book really takes the cake. Seriously Bad Album Covers displays 50 years and over 250 pages worth of the worst album covers ever. This import features a whopping 225 covers with a variety of wretched concepts, butt-ugly musicians and rotten excesses. Any vinyl junkie should add this to their collection of vinyl-related ephemera. This is hours and hours of entertainment just waiting to be had.

One day we are hoping that Taschen dedicates one of their luxuriously assembled editions to awful art, but until then this tome is probably THE authority on crapola covers.

Tape Record Madness

What happens when you replace the cartridge of a standard turntable and replace it with a tape recorder head? What happens when you create a giant sticky pile of shredded cassette tape on a record platter and spin it on your newly mutated record player? You get this kind of insanity courtesy of F7 Sound and Vision. I have to say, tape manipulation was never THIS bizarre…I love this for reasons I can’t even begin to fathom. You can even hear the results of this mad experiment, though I found myself wishing you could hear snippets of what was actually recorded on the tape as this “played” on the record player. John Oswald, beware! This site also gives you instructions for creating a similar experiment using FLOPPY DISKS.

(Right after I wrote this I found a second Mp3 sample where you CAN hear mutilated bits of what was on the original tapes before they were shredded and mashed like this. Bravo!)

Attic Beats

I am really digging this collection of podcasts on Odeo.com called Attic Beats. Sadly, all these are three years old and there don’t seem to be any updates, but if you’re looking to get a headstart on exotica, Italian horror, and other fun, dusty genres, Attic Beats is a nice way to go.

There are one or two episodes that didn’t work for me, but the Turntablism ‘cast was pretty tasty and the one called The Worst Music I Own is a painful listen. Remember, kids, he actually OWNS this crap. A shame there aren’t new shows coming, but the archive is a lot of fun to wade through.

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra

These are words I never, EVER expected to go together. Tokyo…SKA? Sounds great to me! I don’t know how long this brain-altering download will be available, but suffice it to say that Mod64 is my new favorite music blog. If for no other reason than the fact that I located this album, AND one by The Music Machine, who look like they’ve stepped right out of one o’ Swingin’ London’s groovier basement hash dens. Oh yes, I am hooked and on a downloading frenzy. Some of my musician friends say they don’t even bother purchasing music anymore because of all the free MP3 downloads, but being able to properly DJ show means having full quality, so I am happy to support the artists wherever I am able by purchasing retro reissues. Bring the grooviness!