Category Archives: editorial

Top 10 Reasons Vinyl Records are Better Than MP3 Downloads

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Vinyl records vs. MP3s? I own them both. Why are album versions of records better than their MP3 counterparts? The digital Black Flag vs. the original SST Black Flag recordings? Naked Raygun on your iPod shouldn’t sound much different than the vinyl record of the same album, right? Can you find Big Black on MP3? Here’s a a little list:

10.  You can’t accidentally delete a vinyl record. However, your cat may urinate on it. That won’t affect playback…unless you have friends over.

9. You don’t get the nice big cover art off an MP3 download. This doesn’t matter much for modern releases, but for those old, elaborate LP releases or soundtracks to sexy Italian horror and “sexual awakening” movies, big covers are nice. Especially for those Piero Umiliani soundtracks. There’s nothing more fun than a cheesy sexy 60s era album cover, is there?

8. Nobody tries to sue you for making a CD-R burn of some old dusty record in your collection. They’d love to try, but the RIAA would get laughed out of court faster than Rod Blagojevich proclaiming his innocence. Nice try.

7. Unlike an MP3, you can shatter a vinyl record and use the pieces to gash somebody in face when they make fun of your pants.

6. In Shaun Of The Dead, the heroes tried to kill zombies using 12-inch singles. Try doing that with an iPod and you’ll join the ranks of the undead faster than a screaming teenage girl in a filmy white nightgown.

5. George Carlin comedy albums just plain SOUND BETTER on vinyl.

4. You can actually clean a record album with soap and water. You can clean an iPod by…BUYING A NEW ONE.

3. Stores with high theft issues should stock vinyl. You can hide an MP3 player in any body cavity. An album tends to stick out of the most obvious places. Painful, too.

2. Vinyl records are better than MP3s because you can play them backwards and get the messages Satan wants you to hear. Try doing THAT with a downloaded version of Ashford & Simpson’s “Solid as a Rock”.

1. When you get bored, you can safely microwave an LP, put it on the turntable and play it for laughs. Put an MP3 player in the microwave and it will explode. Need we say more?

The Yardbirds in Blow Up

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Blow Up is one of my all-time favorites from the 60s. Shot during the heyday of Swinging London, this movie features a soundtrack by Herbie Hancock (listed in the credits as “Herbert Hancock”, heh) and an appearance by Jimmy Page and company as The Yardbirds. The crowd is completely motionless for the duration of the performance, til you get to the best part of this great clip—some apeshit guitar smashing.

Blow Up is one of the best movies of the mid 60s, and the soundtrack is amazing. Check out the discontinued 180 gram vinyl edition of this while you can, it’s going fast.

I also highly recommend the Herbie Hancock Blow Up Extra Sessions CD, if you can find it…


Deep Red Drive-In Trailer and Sountrack

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Dario Argento filmed Deep Red (original title: Profundo Russo) back in the mid-70s. Goblin did the soundtrack which alternates between truly excellent and totally goofy. I like both extremes of this, for better or worse. I’m a fan of this, but can’t seem to locate it on vinyl for a reasonable price. In the end I opted for picking up the Japanese import CD because I want my goofy Italian cheese (and the good tracks, too) in superior quality.

The trailer below seems to be custom made for the 70s drive-in circuit. Check out the great cornball voiceover and the lurid editing! Nice. For those who didn’t get to see great stuff like this first-run at a run down drive-in theater, it’s ALMOST a substitute. Why don’t they make trailers this entertainingly low-rent anymore? The movie iteself is a lot of fun, and it’s great to see a post-Blow Up David Hemmings creeping around trying to figure out who the killer is.

Sex Execs Video

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I discovered Sex Execs at a flea market sale in ICELAND of all places. This 12-inch single has been described as a cross between A Certain Ratio and an episode of Soul Train. It’s definitely an 80s post-punk damage but the Strange Things 12-inch was pretty fun. This video isn’t nearly as cool as the 12-inch, but here it is anyway since I couldn’t find Strange Days anywhere.

A bit of digging reveals Sex Execs members include producer Sean Slade who has done Buffalo Tom, Dinosaur Jr, Warren Zevon, Dresden Dolls, and many others. A good pedigree, I must say.