Cleveland Ohio Record Stores: The eXchange

Yes, technically speaking, The eXchange (or however you spell the bloody thing) is NOT an indie record store. But I must say that the selection for blues lovers was pretty damn fine–size notwithstanding. Yes, the selection is limited, but the blues/jazz titles IN that limited selection were pretty decent.

The rest of you will have to sit and spin with a few exceptions–this Cleveland Heights branch DID have a copy of REM’s Chronic Town that is NOT a resissue, but aside from that it’s pretty standard fare here–unless you like blues and jazz. This one is very close to the Cleveland Heights indie record store Record Revolution, so it’s not such a bad diversion if you need to fill in some holes in your collection (see below).

You could do worse, I suppose. I’m not a huge fan of this chain but they DO sell used vinyl so I had to stick my head in there for a second. Not the most shining moment of the trip to be sure, but I do love me some Miles.

–Joe Wallace

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Chicago Record Stores: Reggie’s Record Breakers

Reggie’s is an unusual place–located at 2105/2109 South State Street in Chicago, this is a rock and roll venue, a bar and grill, and home to Record Breakers, the indie vinyl and CD store located upstairs. It’s a dangerous thing for a record collector to stop at the bar on the ground level BEFORE buying the vinyl–you’ll stagger up the stairs and back down much lighter in the wallet.

Record Breakers is a great place for new collectors–you can fill a lot of gaps in your collection if you’re looking for punk, post-punk, and soul. It’s not so great for soundtrack fiends like me, as the selection is pretty grim. I was happy to see a decent assortment of Chicago Wax Trax! era titles but really bummed about the soundtracks. The lack of a weird/unclassifiable section was a disappointment, but definitely not a deal breaker for the newcomer to vinyl.

I’d recommend Reggie’s for the full experience–don’t go and just record shop, take the whole scene in. A nice change from the standalone store, to be sure. If you go early on a Saturday, (after 12 but before 5) chances are you’ll have the run of the place–it was pretty quiet when I got there and got excellent service from the bar. Nice one.

–Joe Wallace

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Join Turntabling at Cyphan Friday June 25 2010

Turntabling has a table full of delicious vinyl and rare CD finds in the dealer hall at this year’s Cyphan con. The show is Friday June 25 through Sunday June 27 at the Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel in Wheeling, Illinois.

The Turntabling table features some vintage Goblin, Morricone, Bruno Nicolai, Tarantino soundtracks, a bit of the old Rob Zombie on vinyl, even some Doctor Who-related vinyl for the sci-fi set. We’ve also got a line of tees for sale this time out including the infamous “Sweet Innocent Teenagers” tee.

Cyphan is an experiment for Turntabling…sci-fi shows aren’t what we’re used to doing, but this one features a Friday The 13th reunion and a few other tasty treats, so we’ve decided to give it a go and see what happens. Come out join Turntabling for a weekend of fandom, vinyl, and something called the Browncoat Bash which features Firefly star Jewell Staite as the guest of honor. These maniacs have made the Browncoat Bash an OPEN BAR affair–a dangerous thing to do with a bunch of vinyl junkies in the room.

Ennio Morricone: the 60s

Ennio Morricone is the entire reason why there’s a Turntabling.net today. Goblin is great, Riz Ortolani is a favorite, I love vinyl records by Public Image Limited, Sun Ra, King Tubby, and much more…but Morricone was the man who drew me back into vinyl collecting, thanks to the Mondo Morricone series. That was a three LP set (also available on CD) that showcased some of the maestro’s most experimental, nostalgic and suspenseful soundtrack moments. It wasn’t long before record collecting was back on my radar.

I can’t tell you how pleased I was to successfully research Morricone’s output as a composer. I feel compelled to present lists of his work for my rabid fellow devotees of Ennio Morricone soundtrack music—especially the obscure, the unusual, the highly experimental work he did in the 60s and 70s. I make no pretense about this being a complete or definitive list–this is only the START of my digging…but I bring what I’ve found so far to you–a list of the maestro’s work as a composer from one of the golden eras of cinema–the 1960s. Enjoy:

1969 – Krasnaya palatka
1969 – Queimada
1969 – Zenabel
1969 – The Sicilian Clan
1969 – Una Breve stagione,
1969 – La Stagione dei sensi,
1969 – Un Esercito di cinque uomini
1969 – Sai cosa faceva Stalin alle donne?
1969 – Un Tranquillo posto di campagna
1969 – Ruba al prossimo tuo
1969 – Un Bellissimo novembre
1969 – Metti una sera a cena
1969 – Gli Intoccabili (The Untouchables)
1969 – La Monaca di Monza
1969 – Galileo
1969 – L’ Alibi
1969 – Cuore di mamma
1969 – Fräulein Doktor
1969 – La Donna invisibile
1969 – Vergogna schifosi
1969 – Dio è con noi
1969 – L’ Assoluto naturale
1969 – Giotto
1969 – Senza sapere niente di lei
1968 – C’era una volta il West
1968 – Roma come Chicago
1968 – The Great Silence
1968 – Partner
1968 – Teorema
1968 – The Mercenary
1968 – Appunti per un film sull’India
1968 – Comandamenti per un gangster
1968 – La Bataille de San Sebastian
1968 – Escalation
1968 – Diabolik
1968 – Corri uomo corri
1968 – Tepepa
1968 – Italia vista dal cielo
1968 – Ecce Homo
1968 -El Magnífico Tony Carrera
1968 – Mangiala
1968 – Grazie, zia
1967 – Arabella
1967 – Faccia a faccia
1967 – La Ragazza e il generale
1967 – The Harem
1967 – Ad ogni costo
1967 – La Cina è vicina
1967 – Matchless
1967 – I Crudeli
1967 – OK Connery
1967 – Sette donne per i MacGregor
1967 – I Lunghi giorni della vendetta
1967 – Le Streghe
1967 – Dalle Ardenne all’inferno
1967 – Il Giardino delle delizie
1967 – L’Avventuriero
1967 – Da uomo a uomo
1967 – Scusi, facciamo l’amore?
1966 – The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
1966 – El Chuncho, quien sabe?
1966 – La Resa dei conti
1966 – Navajo Joe
1966 – Das Gewisse Etwas der Frauen
1966 – The Bible: In the Beginning…
1966 – Un Uomo a metà
1966 – La Battaglia di Algeri
1966 – El Greco
1966 – Uccellacci e uccellini
1966 – Agent 505 – Todesfalle Beirut
1966 – Sette pistole per i MacGregor
1966 – Per Firenze
1966 – Mi vedrai tornare
1966 -La Ragazza del bersagliere
1966 – Lo Squarciagola
1966 – Un Fiume di dollari
1966 – Svegliati e uccidi
1966 – Sugar Colt
1965 – Per qualche dollaro in più
1965 – Il Ritorno di Ringo
1965 – Idoli controluce
1965 – I Pugni in tasca
1965 – Altissima pressione
1965 – Gli Amanti d’oltretomba
1965 – A Pistol For Ringo
1965 – Se non avessi più te
1965 – Slalom
1965 – Menage all’italiana
1965 – Thrilling
1965 – Non son degno di te
1964 – Le Pistole non discutono
1964 – Per un pugno di dollari
1964 – I Due evasi di Sing Sing
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The Instant DJ Toolbox

Thanks to Chicago DJs for this. We are excessively amused.

Driving Madness!

It’s been a zany couple of days. 1000 + miles covered in two days? Can that possibly be? Big update coming tomorrow on weekend follies in the great vinyl road trip. I’m far too whacked from all that driving to go into it now, but stay tuned…

WTF: Ted Nugent Love Grenade

Ted Nugent’s cover for the 2007 greatest hits collection, Love Grenade, isn’t just a wretched exercise in horny teenager-style cartooning, it’s also wildly offensive! Just look at how she’s depicted abusing that innocent hand grenade.

Seriously though, rampaging sexism aside, Love Grenade wins top marks–it’s a true accomplishment to  bewilder AND register as blindingly stupid at the same time. A naked woman bound on a food tray with…a grenade in her mouth? That IS a grenade, right? It’s not an under-ripe avocado? Or maybe it’s Ted Nugent’s wallet, fat with all that cash he’s making off another collection of reheated twaddle.

I’m trying hard to figure out what The Nuge is trying to say here–aside from “Hey Kids, here’s a REALLY DUMB record by MEEEEEEE!” And the track listing does nothing to dispel that notion. When you’ve got songs like “Bridge Over Troubled Daughters” and “Broadside” (get it? Huh huh, heh heh, BROAD side…heh heh huh huh) you know you’re not dealing with a Rhodes scholar here.

Whatever happened to the good old days when long haired dorks with guitars sang about SATAN? … Continue Reading

Cassette Tapes Still On Sale

I do NOT for a SECOND believe that cassettes are coming back the way vinyl already has. But tapes do keep appearing on my radar lately, quite a lot actually. Example, right down the street from my house at Laurie’s Planet of Sound there is a cassette tape which actually tempted me–a Chris Connelly release I’d not heard of before due to being either out of touch or the tape itself being…gasp…new?

Then there’s the Ohio-based Everybody’s Records, which proudly displays the mighty cassette tape rack shown above. I don’t know why anyone would shell out four dollars for one, but they advertise .99 cent tapes, too and that wouldn’t be a hard sell if the cover art were intact and you are a completist. Everybody’s Records–from the photos–looks like an amazingly cool place to shop. What is it with Ohio and their excellent record stores? I am always impressed when I go there…it seems to be an endless supply of great indies.

I don’t get the appeal of the cassettes these days, but I suppose nostalgia must be part of it…do the sellers of cassette tapes also sell cassette players, too? If not, they should. Ditto for anyone selling 8-tracks. Otherwise how in the world do you sweeten the deal for someone who has old gear that’s about to die, but still wants to revel in the old-old-OLD school playback experience? Me personally, I do miss that goofy “click/clunk” of the 8 track tape machines as they switched to the next track. I don’t miss having the track change in the middle of a song, however.

Chris Joss Strikes Again With ‘Sticks’

Barely a month out of the gate at press time, the new Chris Joss album Sticks is hot, hot , hot. Joss is up to his usual multi-instrumentalist tricks here–sitar, flute, heavy funk-tastic bass and a host of other delicious textures. His love of the more exotic sounds of 60s and 70s film is front and center–and when it’s a Chris Joss record that’s never a bad thing.

His previous albums have sonic tributes to cinematic touchstones including Lalo Schifrin, Isaac Hayes, and John Barry. But Sticks sounds more influenced by phases in analog music history rather than specifc albums–the Maharishi-era Beatles, Get Carter-period Roy Budd, that specific year when women dancing in go-go cages really caught on, you get the picture.

All Music Guide’s Rick Anderson tries to take Chris Joss to task for evoking these atmospheres, saying they’re for people who like “around watching cheesy movies from the ’60s and cheerfully doing the swim while bell-bottomed boys with bowl haircuts play cheerfully wanky psychedelic music.” But in declaring Joss to be “not terribly original” Anderson reveals that he completely misses the point. You might as well dismiss Daft Punk for being repetitive and too reliant on synthesizers.

Standout tracks on Sticks include Danger Buds, the “Have some opium, then” Little Nature, and my current favorite, Night Scare. All I can say is for anyone who watches Get Carter for the soundtrack as much as Michael Caine’s “ten feet tall and bulletproof” antics, the purchase of new Chris Joss record is a foregone conclusion. Sticks is a lovely, swirling and smoky collection of grooves.

PS–Chris Joss is best experienced for the first time via his jukebox sampler at the official website. There is a LOT to discover there…

Seeking Hot Deals on New Vinyl Albums

My job as editor of CheapToday.com gives me the chance to do something really cool–I get to search high and low for bargains and hot deals on products that I’d actually (and often do) purchase. There’s an entertainment section on Cheap Today that is woefully under-served in the vinyl department. As in, there are NO DEALS on vinyl records there.

With so many new groups putting out music on vinyl, the thought occurs that there MUST be people out there selling records at discount prices. New vinyl doesn’t stay in the “brand new” bins forever, so where do they go when they go on sale?

I’d LOVE to plug deals on vinyl albums on Cheap Today, and while I don’t think I’ll ever find enough to create an entire section dedicated to LP deals, there’s already an entertainment section that such things would fit nicely into.

I’m currently in search of any vendors of new vinyl who sell over the internet, offer reliable customer service and order fufillment and have GOOD return policies who want to get in touch to let me know about any hot deals on vinyl records and related items. There are enough fans of the glorious album format to justify at least experimenting with putting up deals on vinyl. If you sell albums and offer deals on some or all titles, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. Drop me a line:

joe.wallace at CheapToday dot com. I would love to hear from you!