That’s not entirely scientific, I know, especially since Virgin and Tower got their collective asses kicked already. But I predict that in an age of massive economic trouble, people will still cling to the music–maybe more than ever.

In short, VIVA LA VINYL!

I just dropped some nice coin on German disco cheese, and a glorious Brazilian post-punk album. More on that stuff later. Looks like Turntabling.net is back up, eh?

On my recent trip to Toledo, Ohio, I checked out Culture Clash. I’d seen this great record store in its previous location in another part of town and was impressed then by its neat, fun presentation and good selection of old and new indie stuff.

They’ve since moved locations, and the new place is bigger, more cluttery, but also chock full of great vinyl finds. It looks a bit like an indie shop set up in someone’s attic. It’s got that fun, disorganized feel that begs you to spend a long time searching…you’ll find something odd and cool sooner or later.

It’s a bit tricky to navigate the first time in, but this shop is well worth a look. I had a great time pawing through stacks of old new wave favorites, and there’s the requisite bad heavy metal, 80s cheese and punk records old and new. There is also a nice collection of DVDs, many of which are gray market titles. Nice stuff for a collector.

The Culture Clash website is ambitious–they run an online magazine, too! There’s a lot to explore both at the site and the store itself. For my money, this is Toledo’s number two record shop after RamaLama, but Culture Clash should not be missed. I love the organized chaos of the place, and the staff is cool and friendly. My favorite find there–a copy of Wire Train’s “In A Chamber” LP. A good score indeed! Cheers, Culture Clash.

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…

This is another of the fun vinyl finds I scored while shopping at Toledo’s RamaLama Records. The Atlanta-based Swimming Pool Qs cut this one in 1987. It’s not REM-style jangle pop, but this definitely rode the wave– late 80s Georgia indie rock, without sounding terribly Athens alt/indie. The right vibe is definitely there, especially on Working In The Nut Plant, an angsty “hate my job” track with a great doomy instrumental section. This would go well in a mix/mashup with Single Bullet Theory. A nice listen indeed. For some reason I think of Fetchin’ Bones, Scruffy The Cat and The Fabulous Poodles when listening to this album, though stylistically they don’t really emulate any of those. They do seem to live in the same musical zip code, though.

I’d never heard this lot until I picked up the Firing Squad For God EP, but you can check out the Swimming Pool Qs page and get the dirt on all their releases, plus more MP3s and photos.

Download/Listen to Working In The Nut Plant by The Swimming Pool Qs.

This material is presented to promote the artist. Copyright holders, please get in touch if you object to this material appearing here and it will be removed immediately.

Remember that old disco classic Funkytown by Lipps, Inc? This is the four-song EP that track was issued on back in 1980. Funkytown is a whopping seven minutes-plus of doot-doot disco, but the B-side has something really hilarious on it…a song called Rock It, which is one part Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder, a dash of Isaac Hayes funk and one part Kid Creole and the Coconuts (when the bongos kick in). I love the faux Nagel album graphics and the suggestive title…so very very Miami Vice all around. Pure cheese and just as bad for you.

This is the type music Frank Zappa derided as being made by robots, but Lipps Inc is a lot of fun. Zappa clearly misses the boat here as stuff like this as deliciously cheesy–just the way I like it round here when The Clash ain’t on. I picked up this goofy classic at Toledo’s RamaLama Records for a couple of bucks and it’s some of the best pocket change I’ve invested in a while. Who needs to eat Twinkies when you have the sonic equivalent on releases like this? Damn, this is some funny shit. I found this Lipps Inc vinyl for sale on Amazon

but chances are you need to listen to the best (and corniest) track from this first. Listen to Rock It from Mouth To Mouth by Lipps Inc. As always, if you’re the copyright holder and don’t want your tracks listed here, contact me and I’ll remove them immediately. These posts are intended to promote the artist’s work. Nuff said.

Download/Listen: Lipps Inc, “Rock It” Mouth To Mouth MP3

I’ve debated the merits of posting MP3s here as many of my reviews already have links to the music online in one form or another, but I am toying with the idea of posting an album side a week that you’d listen to like you would enjoy if you were putting it on the turntable. It’s an intriguing notion, and one I think might amuse as much as it would annoy the downloader who wants those individual songs. Hmmmm….leave me feedback in the comments section if you are for or against this one…

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…

Check out the links and look for a report or two coming on some of Toledo’s finest vinyl sources…