Category Archives: vinyl road rage

Vinyl Road Rage 4

vinyl road rage, , ,

by Joe Wallace

It’s been a hell of a crazy fall and winter season, culminating with Vinyl Road Rage 4–the cross country indie record store blogging trip/shopping spree Turntabling does at least once a year (this year it was TWO) to find the weird, the wonderful, the rare and obscure at cool indie record stores all over the USA.

Tomorrow, Wednesday December 7, Turntabling hits the open highway once more for fifteen days of record stores and more. I’ll be driving from Chicago to Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock, Tulsa, Denton, Norman, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and back up north toward Springfield Illinois and finally back home in Chicago on Wednesday December 21. There will be plenty of updates here on my finds and experiences.

Fifteen days is a long time to be on the road, but there is much to do along the way so I have no doubt the time will fly by like mad.

I am taking an armload of limited edition promotional discs along on this trip. One is a Vinyl Road Rage 4 soundtrack featuring select cuts from the collection that will be on heavy rotation on my speakers during the road trip.

The other is a limited edition Paisley Babylon release called Republican Disco, currently unavailable in any other format or avenue besides my handing them out on the road at record shops and elsewhere. If you’re interested in either of these two limited edition promotion-only discs, contact me (jwallace at turntabling dot net) and I’ll let you know of their availability post-road trip.

With more than 17 record shops to hit along the way and plenty of other surprises in store, Vinyl Road Rage Four should be a very interesting experience. There will be daily updates here, plus video on the Turntabling.net YouTube channel and on my Facebook page.

The madness begins tomorrow–there will be a late update once I get off the road and then it really goes mental from there…join me! And record store suggestions are ALWAYS welcome–drop me a line on Facebook to suggest an addition to the route.

Culture Clash Records, Magnet Magazine, and Indie Record Store Culture

Blogs, editorial, Record Shops

by Joe Wallace

One of my favorite Midwestern indie record stores is the Toledo, Ohio-based Culture Clash Records. The shop is friendly, fun to browse, and I always seem to find wonderfully weird records there like the Jannik Top robodisco project Space.

On my last visit to Culture Clash, the day before HorrorHound Weekend in Cincinatti, I was chatting with people in the shop about doing an interview for the Turntabling WTF Record Guide, when I was handed a copy of Magnet Magazine.

Apparently Magnet has been off the newsstands for a while in favor of an all-digital version, but has since returned with a print edition. That is a good thing–while I’ve not followed Magnet in some time, it was nice to see them back in print.

I took the mag, browsed it piecemeal for a week and forgot about it.

But today I picked it up again after making a discovery I’d missed all the previous times I’d read the mag–I had never glanced at the back cover until today. Imagine my pleasant surprise to find Magnet has done something quite interesting and cool with their selected listing of Indie Record Stores In Your Backyard.

The list includes several shops currently on the Vinyl Road Rage Four list (which will be announced next week) and I was very pleased to see some other familiar names there, too.

Magnet was good enough to list Culture Clash, Grimey’s in Nashville, Guestroom Records in Norman Oklahoma, the wonderful Landlocked Music in Bloomington, Indiana, plus Luna Music in Indianapolis, Shake It Records in Cincinnati, Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis and several other worthy vendors.

I have no idea whether this was done as a service or as a paid advertisement (I’d like to think it was in support of indie shops that carry Magnet on the newsstands again). Regardless, it was GREAT to see these stores that I love given national advertising and exposure. The economy sucks, times are hard for everyone, and indie record shops truly need and deserve support right now. Sure, as a record seller myself (horror conventions, Discogs.com, etc.) I am a bit biased…but record stores, like any small business, truly are the backbone of America, don’t you think?

With the closure of big stalwart record shops like Ear X-Tacy in Louisville, Kentucky and others, I always feel like it’s a good thing to urge people to support their favorite vinyl record sellers wherever they may be. Magnet Magazine, thank you for throwing your two cents into the mix with this back-cover listing of excellent record shops. I hope this is a trend that continues as there are MANY deserving and wonderful record shops that could use the exposure.

 

Announcing WTF Records: The Turntabling Guide To Weird and Wonderful Vinyl

Events, vinyl road rage, , , ,

by Joe Wallace

I’m very happy to announce my work on a new book called WTF Records: The Turntabling Guide To Weird And Wonderful Vinyl.

The book features a collection of reviews and discussion of the most bizarre, unusual, highly collectible, and just plain awesome vinyl records in my collection.

But that’s not all–the book also features interviews and commentary by musicians, record store owners, vinyl collectors and others about their strangest, most jaw-droppingly weird vinyl finds.

And that’s where you come in. I’m putting out an open call for interviews for this book, Simply answer the questions below, include a one-paragraph bio including links to any website, online record store, Facebook page or any project you care to promote, and send it to the following e-mail address:

jwallace (at) turntabling (dot) net

Simply answer the questions here, include your bio and send–it’s as easy as that. Your story could end up being published in the book alongside plenty of other luminaries, vinyl junkies, lovers of the strange and bizarre, etc. Thank you very much for your support and participation. As of now the book is halfway done and there is still room for plenty of these interviews.

WTF Records Interview

1. What is the strangest, most bizarre, awful or out-of-left-field album you know of? Describe it for those of us who have never heard of the performer(s), who don’t know the back story, or might not have a frame of reference for the record.

2. How did you find the album–and what was your reaction when you first discovered it?

3. Did you buy it? Do you inflict it on unsuspecting friends or guests? Tell us a funny story about someone else’s reaction (or your own) when you played it (or similar WTF find).

4. WTF records have a strange appeal to some–are you attracted to albums like these or do you want to be rid of them instead? Why?

5. Do you collect weirdness on vinyl? What are some of your favorite finds and what are your favorite sources for them? (Plugs for your favorite record shops by name are definitely welcome.)

Please feel free to include a brief bio promoting any projects you’d like to mention in the book as part of the bio blurb at the end of the interview.

 

Daniel Johnston Live At Bill’s Records

Media, Record Shops, , , ,

This Daniel Johnston clip was posted on an intriguing YouTube account called TheLastRecordStore. Apparently that is a documentary of Dallas-area vinyl scene (I’ve only seen a trailer there so far, looking for more information). This video footage, based on what I read on YouTube, didn’t seem to make it into the final film, but fans of Daniel Johnston will love it.



 

You can buy Daniel Johnston Hi, How Are You: The Unfinished Album from the Turntabling Collection. Every purchase goes directly to fuding Turntabling–your support is greatly appreciated!