Category Archives: vinyl road rage

More Random Pics From Vinyl Road Rage 2

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Vinyl Road Rage has been a crazy journey but definitely fun. There are TONS of record store reviews from the road yet to come…I have stores in Allentown, Toledo, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York City and elsewhere to write up yet…the final leg of the trip begins Thursday (Aug 19 2010) with Toledo, and finally the drive back to Chicago where I’ll do my very last vinyl store of Vinyl Road Rage 2 at Laurie’s Planet of Sound.

All in all, I’ve hit 22 record stores on the trip so far and there are three more left. It’s been great and I am already thinking about Vinyl Road Rage Part Three…but I’ll save THAT discussion for another day. Now, enjoy some random images from the Chicago to New York City vinyl spree:

Saucy Silvia? I cannot WAIT to hear this one. Sex is the thing that started it all, indeed! Does she mean her recording career or what?

IndieWax Records had a tiny little dog that falls in love with each and every person that walks in the door. It was cute. But I was more interested in that pile of vinyl. Does that make me heartless? Or just obsessed?

I remember Not My Son from my days in San Antonio, Texas. Carol Steele, one of the members, got me hooked up with a massive interview (as in, there were five or six guys all talking at once) with the members of Voodoo Glow Skulls during a show at Emo’s in Austin back in the 90s. Then she sort of vanished off the face of the earth and I never saw her again. Always wondered what happened to the band and I was taken down memory lane here seeing this single.

Akron Ohio Record Stores: Square Records

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The Akron Ohio record store Square Records is a cozy, fun place to buy vinyl and CDs. It’s at 824 W. Market in Akron and when I stopped there on the Ohio leg of Vinyl Road Rage, I had one thing on my mind–a copy of the new DEVO album, Something For Everyone.

Naturally, that’s not ALL I got, but it was a MUST. Visit an Akron indie record shop and NOT buy DEVO? That’s crazy talk.

There is plenty to love about Square Records. There is vinyl aplenty there–I scored some reggae on the Pressure Sounds label, an amusing bit of strangeness by one Saucy Silvia, and for only a dollar, a Space 1999 LP. Oh yes, I do love me some weirdness on vinyl and especially stuff I can throw into a live Paisley Babylon show to mash up with Coil, Aphex Twin and other space travelers.

You can’t see it from the photo here, but against the far back wall is a small performance space, so Square Records is definitely a place that supports the indie musician beyond just tossing the tunes on the rack. Did I mention this is an art space and not just a performance space? One of the reasons they have survived since 2003, no doubt in my mind.

I enjoyed the visit at this Akron Ohio record store and plan on making a return visit. Honestly, I’d love to arrange a Paisley Babylon live vinyl mashup performance there one of these days…no matter what, if you’re in the area you owe yourself a visit to Square Records. I’m loving this one. Indie rock, dub and reggae, the vinyl oddities I love, and yeah, DEVO love. This is one awesome shop. RECOMMENDED.

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Cleveland Ohio Record Stores: Record Revolution

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Record Revolution in Cleveland Ohio is in the center of the Cleveland Heights arts-n-culture district. There are music venues, wi-fi coffee shops, art spaces and plenty of other diversion. Located on 1828 Coventry Road, Record Revolution is one of Cleveland’s indie vinyl landmarks if the reviews on Yelp.com and elsewhere mean anything at all.

Those reviews say the store has lost some of its former glory. That’s not for me to say–I’ve never shopped there until this trip, but I can say the shop is a combination of old and new vinyl and if you’re a new vinyl collector looking for soul titles, you could do a hell of a lot worse than starting your journey here.

There are plenty of fun oddball vinyl selections (my favorite finds are the weird ones), plus the ones you know you want if for no other reason than to have bagged another trophy title.

Record Revolution has a pile of grey market DVDs for sale, plus a collection of movie poster reproductions (they seem to be laser or inkjet printed reproductions which I personally stay away from–I can print them myself at home for free, thanks). I have to say, some of the grey market discs are awesome–I purchased one that was a collection of nothing but Turkish action movie excerpts. But some of the others are pretty vile. “Upskirt”? Thanks, but no thanks.

Record Revolution has a downstairs area with a nice collection of bargains on vinyl and CD. A literal “bargain basement”.

The CD piles include a set of ultra-cheapie discs. It’s a trend I’ve been noticing in record stores a lot lately–one that seems to indicated that the shiny disc is going the way of the video tape. I predict that one day compact discs could become actual collector’s items when it comes to releases by bands like Coil and others who might not ever reissue portions of their back catalogs in MP3 form…or will they change their minds later? Still too early to tell.

Record Revolution is a store that could act as a gateway to collecting for the curious–I can see how someone might get a lifelong habit after scooping up some of the vinyl bargains here as an experiment. Diehard collectors should stop in on a just-in-case basis, but if you have a small collection pop in here to fill things out.

And you thought Reader’s Digest was only in the magazine business, right? And look! It’s PLEASURE PROGRAMMED! I feel dirtier already.


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More Random Images from Vinyl Road Rage 2

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I’m still in New York, but taking a day of rest from the vinyl shopping madness to see a few sights, take a pile of photos and eat in some of local places. I’ve got one more record shop to review from Cleveland, then we’ll move on to Akron and Youngstown, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Philadelphia and NYC. Who knows what happens from there? In the meantime, here are some of the images so far:

Yes, the incredibly massive Eide’s in Pittsburgh, PA is still kicking. They have three floors and it’s stuffed to capacity with lots to sift through. Your brain might split in two from the sheer volume of vinyl on hand.

Did this come out AFTER they sold Nirvana to the majors? Could this album be titled without a trace of irony? Sub Pop did get points on that sale, you know…

IndieWax was a fun shop that had a pile of discount records so large I couldn’t possibly have sifted through them all. They also had all the Dwarves 45s you could ever want. Friendly crew and a nice casual browser-friendly atmosphere. A bigger review coming, naturally.

Somebody PLEASE stop letting Ringo design his own album covers. Did you fall off the wagon here or what? You clearly just wiped some Bolivian Marching Powder off your face just before you came up with THIS one. I don’t want to hear any more crap about George Harrison’s Maharishi albums when there’s so much WORSE floating around from ex-Beatles…as you can plainly see.

They are a DIME. BUY THEM ALL! I should have done just that, but I already had a massive pile straining my shoulders. This would have killed me. Besides…I can’t really think of a suitably violent use for some of those titles.

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