Category Archives: Record Shops

SoundtrackCollector.com

Record Shops

I have NOT ordered anything as a result of visiting this website…yet. Willpower is the key to staying out of the poorhouse, right? But how long can you hold out? I discovered SoundtrackCollector.com by accident while browsing the excellent cult movie trailers blog Bloody Blood. That site itself will devour hours of valuable office time, and the SoundTrack Collectors site includes references to tasty, tasty vinyl, especially for the Italian soundtacks I love. The graphics on these record sleeves are hard to resist and I got sucked into searching the site for quite some time before wrenching myself away to write this.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you know I’m a fan of Morricone and others…and I plan on dropping some MP3s on some of the tastier offbeat sounds in my collection. In the meantime, check out both Bloody Blood and Soundtrack Collectors to find those out-there sounds. If you like Morricone, Riz Ortolani and other Italian composers, these two sites are right up your alley.

The influence of these composers is widespread…you hear it all over modern indie/experimental groups and even more mainstream stuff–I double-dare the Radiohead boys to deny the Morricone factor starting with OK Computer and onward. I personally believe–without any proof whatsoever–that Air’s Sexy Boy single was directly influenced by Riz Ortolani’s score for Cannibal Holocaust, but again, I’ve got no way of knowing for certain. Call it wishful thinking? But I digress…

RamaLama Records, Toledo OH

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There are a few shops I haven’t seen in Toledo yet, but of the main choices, (Allied Record Exchange, Culture Clash and RamaLama) this is hands down Toledo, Ohio’s finest purveyor of vinyl, out there CDs and DVDs. Indie rockers take note, RamaLama Records has an upstairs stage for small, intimate in-store performances and a very customer-friendly layout. I ama huge fan of this place, having discovered the hyper-bizarre (read: excellent) comp, Prog Is Not A Four Letter Word, at random while browsing there. You can also find superfreak releases such as a vinyl pressing of Aleister Crowley reciting black mass, and my current favorite, From The Kitchen To The Garage, a compilation of Dutch girl group singles from the 1960s. Great stuff.

They buy, sell and trade and aren’t shy about putting on any freakish thing you want to hear on the overhead. I was treated to The Shaggs, and it was fantastic watching the entire store collectively CRINGE.

If you pass through Toledo, do NOT pass up the chance to shop RamaLama. This store is exactly what an indie shop ought to be. They have vinyl on display above the CD racks, but there’s a large and tasty collection of albums upstairs. Just make sure you get there before the bands start playing to browse…

Fugazi Seven Songs EP

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Don’t ask me how I discovered this…let’s simply say that I was surprised to learn that Hot Topic is not only still selling vinyl records–I thought they’d give this up ages ago– to kids with daddy’s credit card and a penchant for S&M imagery/mass-marketed faux rebellion, but here they are selling Fugazi records. I was certain this goth-for-trust-fund-kids chain would be knee-deep in the Cookie Monster Metal and Death Cab For Cutie stuff and nothing more. Imagine my shock to find the 7 Songs EP 12-inch vinyl listed on the website for just under eight bucks.

That discovery led to a much better one. I hit paydirt with this excellent blog, Hardcore For Nerds, which features this entry on the aforementioned Fugazi vinyl. I thought I was alone among people who liked Fugazi but felt the earliest stuff was the most interesting. I have not guzzled the kool-aid on all hardcore, but I do love much of the stuff from the first and second waves. Minor Threat, The Descendants, Fear, Black Flag, early NoFX, there’s too much to name. I could never be one of those people who always seemed to populate any zip code I happened to live in–the types who listened to hardcore and little else. How boring indeed. But I digress.

Hardcore For Nerds is a very worthy read and I’m pleased to have found it. Nice work, youze.

Waterloo Records, Austin Texas

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Anyone who’s been reading this blog for a while knows I like to spread the love about great places to buy vinyl, so let me introduce you to one of my all time favorites. Waterloo Records in Austin, Texas is a pure joy. I’ve dropped a small fortune in this place, much of it on dub, Morricone, and obscure oddities like the Japanese rockabilly-at-pain-threshold-volumes madmen Guitar Wolf.

Waterloo has an online store, sure. But it’s nowhere as much fun as pawing through the stacks of wax. The CD selection is completely off the chart as well…you’ll find that barely-heard Isaac Hayes disco attack Groove-a-Thon alongside the original motion picture soundtrack for What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood Doing On Jennifer’s Body? (Really.) It’s a delight. And best of all–for you non-vinyl buyers–is the wall of employee picks.

Electronica and moody dance music fans won’t be disappointed in the vinyl selection any more than the classic punk lover or 90s indie heads. There’s so much variety here between new and used…King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown was one of my all time vinyl finds at Waterloo–I spotted it out of the corner of my eye while fondling The Faint’s Danse Macabre LP.

Make a special trip to Austin and spend all your money at Waterloo–hold just enough back to eat at Stubbs BBQ, but you could max out your plastic if you’re inclined. Get directions to Waterloo from where you’re at, or just Google 600 N. Lamar, Austin TX 78703.