Jack White: Vinyl Junkie

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One of the stops on Vinyl Road Rage 4 in Nashville was the most excellent Third Man Records, the boutique record store and home of the record label of the same name.

Jack White started Third Man after his recording contract expired with V2. The White Stripes signed with Warner to record Icky Thump, but Jack White pulled off a shrewd deal to keep the rights to vinyl pressings…and Third Man wasn’t far behind with reissues of the back catalog, plus new releases by bands like The Dead Weather.

If you’re into learning about the entire saga of Third Man, have a look at this excellent interview with one of Third Man’s major players, as published by Collector’s Weekly. It’s a pretty interesting look behind the scenes at Nashville’s prime iconoclast labels/record stores.

Shangri-La Records Memphis Tennessee

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One of the best stops in the December 2011 edition of Vinyl Road Rage was the Memphis Tennessee record store Shangri-La Records.

For those just joining us, Vinyl Road Rage is Turntabling’s annual cross-country road trip to find the coolest record stores in the USA. Shangri-La Records, at 1916 Madison Avenue in Memphis, was definitely a “mission accomplished” moment in that regard.

For some reason, most of the best record stores found during Vinyl Road Rage are basically converted houses. Maybe it’s the large number of rooms packed full of vinyl, plus the attention to detail that most of these stores pay to the whole record shopping experience….whatever the reason, Shangri-La Records is one of those stores that makes a road-weary traveler remember why an extended journey in search of cool vinyl records is a good thing to do.

Shangri-La Records has a very respectable 80s alternative/New Wave/Industrial section and the soundtrack selections were pretty excellent, too. There is a staggering amount of vinyl to look through here. Dedicated crate diggers, don’t bother coming in as a first-timer until you have an extended amount of time to marvel at all this.

And like all truly great record stores, it’s a friendly, chatty place. Shangri-La has a high pain threshold for vinyl geek chattiness–kudos to the poor soul running the show when the most socially awkward record shop denizens in the USA are firing non-stop questions at light speed. Maybe this store should be renamed “Patience Of A Saint Records” instead.

There were some excellent rarities, some common-but-collectible finds, and a great selection of new releases and re-issues. The Sun Ra spoken word titles on display there were of particular interest, and reasonably priced. All in all, a most satisfying stop indeed. Don’t pass up a chance to stop at Shangri-La, it’s aptly named.

–Joe Wallace

Strange Wax Vinyl Documentary

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I admit it, I’m a sucker for a good documentary. Strange Wax is well-shot, a visual candy store for vinyl lovers, to be sure.



Lovely to watch, isn’t it?

My major complaint with most of the vinyl documentaries I’ve seen over the past year and a half is that the filmmakers all seem compelled to spend an inordinate amount of time discussing why vinyl is superior to digital. This is completely unnecessary and really sounds like a sales pitch. But that doesn’t spoil my enjoyment of this production in the long run…

And while I’m feeling feisty, additionally vexing to a nitpicky writer/editor is referring to more than one record album as “vinyls”. People! “Vinyl” is both singular AND plural.

–Joe Wallace