Category Archives: editorial

WTF Album Covers: Fleetwood Mac Mystery To Me

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Fleetwood Mac Bad Album Covers

The real mystery behind this bad album cover is why anyone thought it would be a good idea to market the music on the album using THIS IMAGE. Since a plenty of Fleetwood Mac albums in the catalog featured members of the band on the cover, one can only assume that aesthetic is also represented here somehow. But which band member is depicted here?

Could it be a snide jab at Stevie Nicks? Or maybe that this gorilla looks a little tiny bit like Mick Fleetwood isn’t a coincidence. Regardless, file this one under “What were they thinking?” or maybe even, “We have an artist friend.” Friends don’t let friends design album covers for friend bands.

DJ Paisley Babylon Exotic Jet Set Mix

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Exotic Music DJ Paisley Babylonby Joe Wallace

DJing isn’t a new thing for me–I’ve been behind the decks in one form or another since the late 80s. I’ve spun events, radio and parties in Japan, Korea and Iceland, up and down the midwest, you name it. But these tracks are atypical for DJing–it takes a special type of party or event coordinator to come after these sounds, at least today–once upon a time they were all the rage if the party scenes of 60s and 70s cinema are to be believed…

This DJ mix, The Exotic World of DJ Paisley Babylon, isn’t exotica per se–it’s more complicated than that. This is about a specific type of vibe you might associate with those great party scenes from Italian exploitation movies of the 60s and 70s, or the mental picture you get when thinking about Andy Warhol’s parties at the Silver Factory if you forget about the Velvet Underground and Bob Dylan for a few minutes. This is, for lack of a better phrase for a collection of tracks crossing several genres while staying within a certain groove, Mid-Century Modern music.

I’m available for hire once again to spin these sounds and many others–I’ve got a few other mixes coming to show the range of styles I’m into (see the DJ mix category for more sounds). If you’re intrigued after hearing this and want to get in touch for a booking, please feel free to drop me a line or call:

(312) 504-1264 jwallace (at) turntabling dot net

I travel for gigs, so if you’re based outside Chicago, no problem. In the meantime, have a listen to The Exotic World of DJ Paisley Babylon and get ready to be transported…

Satan, Rock Music, and Born Again Christians

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In the 1980s, America was gripped in such a wave of conservative nonsense that any idiot could write a book about Satan, rock music, and witchcraft and it would somehow sell. Brain-dead religious right charlatans and/or nutters like Bob Larson, Jacob Aranza, and the infamous Peters Brothers were doing a brisk business in books about Satanic messages hidden in that evil rock and roll music.

The Devils Disciples The Truth About Rock

The best part about all of these books–and the most telling–are their sections about “backwards masking”. This delightfully hysterical non-crisis was generated by preachers who spent a good deal of time turning records backwards on their turntables, listening for the Devil’s messages.

Satan Music Peters Brothers Why Knock Rock

Even better-the right wing hysteria made bands get into the act and perpetrate their own actual, for-real backwards masking messages. Did they do it just to screw with the Christies? ELO not once, but TWICE threw a bone to the Bob Larsons of the world with the albums Eldorado and Secret Messages. Kiss’s Gene Simmons–then seemingly eager to bait Christians into some new madness– recorded some backwards messages on his solo record. There were plenty of others, to be sure.

Backwards Masking UnmaskedWell, now that I’ve purchased an Audio-Technica AT LP 120 USB turntable, I’ve taken to revisiting some of these hilariously wrong-headed books. (I was all about them when I was in high school for vastly different reasons–caught up in my own small town religious kookiness–don’t worry, I got better).

See, the Audio Technica AT LP120 turntable has a delightful function–it plays in reverse, no finger-turning needed to uncover those Satanic messages. I plan to go through the whole of my catalog to listen for the Devil’s commands…I thought I’d start off by listening to Eno’s Music For Airports and work my way to the first Air LP.

Yeah, those records are all instrumentals. But Satan is a TRICKSTER, you see. He could have hidden messages in there backwards ANYWAY. And that’s the same kind of logic you’ll find waiting for you in ANY of those book titles displayed here.

If you’ve never read these books, I strongly urge you to do so…if for no other reason than to see the minds at work behind yesterday’s goofy right wing thinking. Which is pretty much the SAME thinking at work in TODAY’S goofy right wing thinking.

Don’t believe me? Check THIS crap out:

This website is called Dial-the-Truth Ministries. In addition to being grossed out by their anti-Obama hysteria and general Bronze Age fire and brimstone stupidity, can I REALLY be the only person who sees the disconnect in a WEBSITE called DIAL the Truth? I think not. But it never occurred to THEM, apparently.

Here’s a total howler of a site with a page called Satan’s Music. Prince, Queen, and apparently for some reason the Dixie Chicks are all apparently in service of Our Dark Lord Lucifer. Even the cute one.

Did you know that Emo is unethical for born againers to listen to? Oh yes, kiddies. You are all going to kill yourselves now.

Those are only three examples. Share your own in the comments section, and don’t forget kids…YANKEE ROSE.

CORE Conspiracy International Project LP

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CORE Conspiracy International Chris and Cosey Coil Nettwerk Records

Here’s a rarity: a Chris and Cosey project on Nettwerk featuring Monte Cazazza, Boyd Rice, Lustmord, Robert Wyatt, and Coil. CORE, a Conspiracy International Project, has of the guests working with Chris and Cosey on a single track each (by remote with tapes and pre-recorded material delivered to theThrobbing Gristle duo, according to the liner notes) on this seven-cut LP. By far the most intriguing and listenable of the seven is the Coil cut, Feeder.

CTI-Core-Conspiracy-Interna

The Boyd Rice track is easily the weakest entry; Lustmord and the Robert Wyatt collaborations are well done but good as they are, none of the seven cuts truly lives up to the power of Feeder. Nuff respect to the other contributors, but damn…

I scored this recently in excellent condition and am pleased to have found it–anything featuring Coil on vinyl is an especially rare treasure these days. Have a listen to the Coil track from CORE via YouTube…a nice find there, I must say–I didn’t expect to find it lurking, but there it was.

P.S.–This 1988 vinyl LP edition of CORE, a Conspiracy International Project is not for sale per se, but I am open to offers. It’s going for around $40 elsewhere and the COMPACT DISC version sells on eBay for $36. Send an offer to jwallace (at) turntabling dot net if you’re interested.