Category Archives: Featured

WTF Album Covers: Remy Ma Shesus Khryst

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It’s quite tempting to say “there are no words” for this stunner of a crap album cover, but any regular reader of Turntabling knows there will be PLENTY of words.

The bottom of this atrocity declares, “Yall bitches workin on yall albums go back to the studio immediately.” With a little luck they’re planning on better grammar and punctuation on their album covers than poor Remy Ma. Never mind the punctuation though, her work reveals her to be one of those monotone mouth-breathers, bragging away over four bars of drum loops and string samples that repeat ad nauseum, with the usual three or four themes (sex, money, I feel good, I love you) on infinite repeat. “Igottanothermouthful/ofrehashednonsense/anotherIwannadoit/cominatcha”.

No, those aren’t the actual lyrics. But they will be soon.

This album cover really only screams one thing–“Me too!’ Sorry, Remy Ma, but Johnny Rotten AND Britney Spears beat you to the crucifixion gag. Your insistence that “bitches…go back to the studio immediately” is advice you should be taking yourself, especially in the art department. Ahh well…if there weren’t shitty album covers, we’d have a lot more scrambling to do in the writing of this blog, now, wouldn’t we?

P.S. It occurs that since the packaging of this product refers to it as a DVD mixtape (what?), it doesn’t really count as an ALBUM cover, per se. So sue me.

 

Record Store Day 2012

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Record Store Day 2012 was, for Turntabling at least, a great success. Scoring rare/weird and unusual vinyl isn’t something we limit ourselves round here to one day a year, but it seems that some vinyl sellers like to save some of the REALLY good stuff (RSD exclusives aside) for the big day.

In Chicago, RSD started quite early thanks to Dusty Groove America’s 8AM opening time. That might sound too early on a Saturday morning, but when the lines are forming outside Chicago record stores at 7AM and many of the stores not opening til 9 or 10, the Dusty Groove plan is actually quite nice for hardcore vinyl lovers.

RSD exclusives were definitely what these people were after, though some of those exclusives are pretty bewildering. An RSD re-issue of The Breakfast Club soundtrack? Are people CLAMORING for a brand-new version of this on vinyl? So be it…

Unfortunately, the most lust-worthy exclusives can’t be found on these American shores, and many were disappointed to learn about that. ‘Tis true–those UK editions stay in the UK, friends. If you’re after that Phish RSD vinyl, you’ve got a good chance of scoring one on RSD (you can have ’em all, jam bands don’t really float the Turntabling boat) but if you were hoping to score the Satanic Rites of Dracula/Dracula A.D. 1972 limited edition, you went home with a great big death metal-style frowny face.

There are some, including our very own Chicago Reader, who feel Record Store Day has jumped the shark because of all the “who cares?” reissues, long lines and general hullaballoo associated with the day. But when it comes to supporting your local record shop, Record Store Day is a crucial event.

Never mind the goofy re-releases you can still buy used for more affordable prices and all that–Record Store Day is something the shops have needed for quite some time and as such you’ll never hear us dissing it. If you want to continue having a record store in your area, events like this can’t be marginalized. It’s like getting cranky about the price of a Guinness at your favorite band’s live show–if you want to see ’em perform, you’re going to pay that extra two bucks for the stout. It’s just part of the biz, is all.

Here are some of the sights the Turntabling camera caught on Record Store Day 2012 in Chicago:

Laurie’s Planet of Sound was nice-n-orderly on RSD 2012, thanks to a pretty savvy head-counter/door opener setup. No fire marshall problems for THIS record shop. Also, some really excellent rare stuff in the stacks for the eagle-eyed crate digger.

Bravely manning the door at Dusty Groove America. We salute you, DGA crowd control volunteer–hope you survived the onslaught with no incidents to report!

All the crap nobody wanted from last year?

The people below were waiting outside at 7AM-ish. The hardcore vinyl junkies of Chicago, waiting outside Reckless Records in Wicker Park. Directly across the street was a different line of people outside a shoe store, waiting for god knows what.

How To Start Collecting Vinyl Records

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Seems kind of pointless and stupid for a blog post, right? But stop for a second and ask yourself what got YOU into collecting vinyl?

Some people think that vinyl records aren’t made anymore (hah!) and some feel “it’s too late” to start collecting from scratch. Still others believe you can’t buy a new turntable anymore (double hah!) and don’t feel up to the challenge of finding a used one.

Let it be known, that all three of those notions are myths. New vinyl is being cranked out so fast you can’t keep up with it all–both brand new titles and reissues.

New turntables are available for as low as $99 and have USB connections for those who want to digitize and convert to MP3s. And you CAN find an old-school quality turntable without spending a fortune. Personally I’d avoid pawn shops and stick to Craigslist, yard sales, thrift stores and record shops. Do you need a turntable to start collecting record albums? Not REALLLY. Some people collect LPs and picture discs for the artwork alone, and I personally have purchased vinyl records  on the strength of the covers or artwork alone. I love displaying them as well as listening to ’em.

I got sucked into collecting vinyl because around 1996 I got interested in building a collection of obscure new wave music, and there is a LOT that never made it to CD or digital files–and possibly never will. I decided to take the plunge after attending the Austin Record Convention and finding an LP by a new wave band called Amoebas In Chaos. The track “Lude Behavior” cinched it for me–I had to start collecting these albums!

Buy one vinyl record that you’re really lusting to hear and you’re probably hooked. It’s that easy. If there’s a genre obsession of yours that’s full of rare or obscure bands that never made the jump to digital, you’ve got ages of fun ahead of you. There is nothing in the world like discovering a band you’ve never heard before that’s in the same musical zip code of other groups you like…one you’re sure you’d never have heard otherwise without that serendipitous record store excursion. Can you really afford NOT to be collecting vinyl?

–Joe Wallace

Turntabling in HorrorHound #27 “The Sounds of Argento Part 2”

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by Joe Wallace

Turntabling strikes again in the pages of HorrorHound magazine. In issue 27, the Vincent Price edition, you’ll find part two of my Sounds of Argento article, which has gotten some very kind words from horror soundtrack lovers across the country. THANK YOU!

Turntabling has long been proud to be associated with Horrorhound in any capacity, from simply attending the Horrorhound Weekend shows to running the Turntabling booth there, and now in the pages of HH these last two issues along with regulars Jon Kitley from Kitley’s Krypt and Matt Moore who does the always fun Tapes of Terror column.

HorrorHound doesn’t have a regular soundtrack column, but they might be tempted to add one if enough people wrote in to suggest such a thing. Drop ’em a line at contactus@horrorhound.com. In the meantime, have a look at HorrorHound #27 and not just for the Sounds of Argento article–this is a VERY solid issue!