Category Archives: editorial

Crosley CR49 Traveler Portable Turntable

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crosley-cr49-traveler-portable-turntable

I knew about Crosley turntables, but I never spotted anyone using them until I paid a visit to my friends in Hyperbubble. There, perched on the bathroom counter next to a pile of great old vinyl was a Crosley, clearly intended to be used for bathtub chillout time after a long day of recording and producing new music. 

Not this particular Crosley, mind you, but this Crosley CR49 Traveler is perfect for bath time anywhere you care to roam; hotels, guest houses, crashing at a fellow DJ’s house…anywhere you might want to bring the vinyl equivalent of a boom box. Aspiring rappers and sound system-ers, here’s a concept for you—take your turntabling on the busking circuit! This is uber-portable and only requires a power supply. The built-in speakers make this the ultimate retro accessory. Buy two of em and do the world’s most lo-tech portable DJ set. What’s that, you say? Crazy? Not if you’re playing small intimate spaces like a tiny art gallery or somebody’s front room. Hell, I’m tempted!

The Cynic, The Rat, And The Fist

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the-cynic-the-rat-and-the-fist-umberto-lenzi

The best thing about Italian crime movie trailers from the 60s and 70s is that you don’t have to speak Italian. The trailers kick ass all by themselves. And the music for these! I love these 60s and 70s sounds. There’s something about the gritty feel in these Italian flicks from that era that isn’t really duplicated elsewhere. How does all this tie into vinyl? For starters, the soundtrack releases for these and other foreign genre movies are more widespread than ever. You can find plenty of great old stuff by Morricone, Bruno Nicolai, Roy Budd, the list is endless. Some of my favorite vinyl finds are by Goblin and other genre groups doing those way-out 60s/70s noises. If you’re familiar with some of the Turntabling Records releases, you know that Morricone in particular is a huge influence…

Here’s some delicious drive-in cheese–the trailer for Umberto Lenzi’s The Cynic, The Rat and The Fist. What great titles these movies had!


Qui etes-vous, Polly Maggoo?

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polly-magoo-poster

William Klein did three memorable films collected in a great boxed set as part of the Criterion Eclipse series. The best film of the three is also one of the great moments of the 60s. Qui etes-vous, Polly Maggoo? follows a fashion model through her unreal existence. Long before reality television was even a glimmer in some network hotshot’s tiny little stunted brain, this movie anticipated it beautifully–but with 1000 times more thought and a delicious presentation that kicks the pants off the artless, painfully trite reality shows broadcast today. No, this isn’t a true story, but it’s presented in reality show fashion.

The clip below is a small taste of the film…if you fall instantly in love with this the way I did, you can still buy the boxed set and revel in all the William Klein you can stand. Glorious retro fun from the era when all there was to listen to was the radio and vinyl records.