ION USB Turntable

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Yes, I own one of these. No, it is NOT pro DJ gear or high end audio equipment. The ION USB turntable is basically just a tool to get your vinyl converted to MP3s quickly and without too much fuss. When I do actual DJ work, I prefer to spin the vinyl records themselves in addition to my digital library of sounds, but for travel I enjoy plenty of converted albums thanks to the ION.

They just are NOT going to release those hilariously corny (and quite fun) born-again Christian new wave albums by Steve Taylor, Servant, or The Seventy-Sevens on CD, and if they have, I predict they will sound wretched compared to the vinyl. Why I have an affinity for those particular releases has a lot to do with why I love those old Isaac Hayes disco records and the Mystic Moods Orchestra, but that’s another story for another time.

The ION is under a hundred bucks, gets the job done with software included and keeps me traveling with all the hardcore evangelistic new wave quaalude music I can stand. Why born-again Christians ever thought that futuristic quiffs and syncopated synth fills could disguise the fact that they were trying to save you from THE DEVILLLLLLL is beyond me, but the music is still pretty fun. It’s like listening to a Karen Finley album, except you feel dirty in a completely DIFFERENT way.

Polyvinyl Record Co.

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Pampelmoose.com does it again. Thanks to that fine blog, I discovered a great indie vinyl label practically in my own back yard. Polyvinyl Record Co. offers CDs, downloads, but more importantly those delicious 180 gram vinyl platters for most of their releases. This Champaign, Illinois-based label is home to 31Knots, ofMontreal, and Rainer Maria, who I first got acquainted with when I was editing material from SxSW for Gearwire.com back in 06.

Currently, I’m a bit obsessed with the ofMontreal track Id Engager which you can hear as an MP3 at Pampelmoose or pre-order on colored vinyl or download from Polyvinyl. Id Engager is a unique modern disco indie track.

I like ofMontreal’s take on the old mirrorball sounds from the late 70s; this collision of ideas sounds like Studio 54 and Andy Warhol thrown into a blender with the modern indie kids mentality with a dash of ginseng and gaurana. Energetic without being abrasively annoying…this is fun whiteboy disco with great bass playing. Did I mention there’s a little bit of Sparks falsetto going on here? When it’s well done (as it is on Id Engager) it’s pretty great. RECOMMENDED.

Pink Filth Sugar Shock LP

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Many moons ago I posted about my old band mates, Pink Filth and the vinyl-only 17 Bubblegum Smashes. I’d forgotten that before I came into the fold, the Pink Filth crew put out this vinyl album, Sugar Shock. You can hear the title track in all its glory, but this one really is a lot more fun in its original format on the turntable. This album is sadly out of print. Another one that is out of print is one I have been dying to hear ever since the days I played with the group on stage, The Minnesota Fats Domino Theory Of Relativity 7-inch on pink vinyl.

Oh, and you just have NOT lived unless you’ve seen Pink Filth doing Dancing Queen live…those days are gone forever, but the memories live on. You can see what some of the old Filthers are up to these days at Socket Sounds, home of Hyperbubble. I also stumbled across this review of the old 17 Bubblegum Smashes LP, at a blog called Crud Crud and while the review itself is older than dirt, this blog is still in existence, I am happy to say. Its aesthetics mirror my own in many ways. I just became an instant fan of Crud Crud. Bravo!

Federico Aubele La Esquina/Corazon 12-Inch

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Another ESL 12-inch hits our mailbox, but this one is probably the most unremarkable of the lot to date. Federico Aubele’s songwriting and presentation are top notch, but it’s a little bit too much in the background music department for my taste. Plusses: It’s very latin, and on both sides the acoustic guitar playing is tops, and those vocals are gorgeous…but best reserved for a post-club chillout mix or a pre-show warmup. Minuses: the remixes try very hard to spice this 12-inch up, but even Ursula 1000’s spirited dancehall take on Corazon can’t pull this out of the middle of the road.