Nico of No U Turn Records interviewed George Peckham about mastering vinyl records and more in this excellent Youtube clip. The best part of this clip aside from all the insights is Peckham’s basic philosophy: “Make it louder!” Totally awesome.
Ernest Tubb Record Shop, Nashville Texas
Some landmarks are as much about preserving the mystique and furthering the legend of a place or person as they are about anything else. Nashville’s Ernest Tubb Record Shop is definitely tops in both of those departments.
You might not know a damn thing about Ernest Tubb, but by the time you leave the record store you’ll have gotten a quick education about the man and his work in the era when the music industry supported “both kinds”, country AND western.
For those new to Nashville, it becomes clear that Broadway is the street where a good chunk of country tourist attractions are located, including the Ernest Tubb store. It’s kind of hard to miss once you get near 417 Broadway:
Once you get inside, you enter a world of 100% pure country music, nostalgia for “the good old days” of AM radio, those huge microphones, and ten gallon hats. It may be Ernest Tubb’s record shop, but it’s hard not to think of the other crooners when you see the decor. Gene Autry springs instantly to mind; the ghosts of Dale Evans and Roy Rogers are hard to shake in here.
Almost as if store organizers know this is happening, there are constant reminders all over the store about Tubb and his work.
You wouldn’t be wrong in thinking of this place as a sort-of museum for music as enjoyed in the pre-internet, AM radio era. It’s fascinating to think about what these recording artists would make of today’s totally decentralized music landscape as compared to the “only game in town” type environment they worked in so long ago.
One interesting sign of the times–the Ernest Tubb Record Shop doesn’t have a staggering collection of records.
Compact discs far outnumber the vinyl, or at least that’s the impression you get looking around the shop. There’s only one section of vinyl records to browse through, and the official site pushes the CD format very hard. No vinyl at all mentioned on the front page. For vinyl junkies this is practically sacrilege, but perhaps it’s more about what the tourists want.
And what they likely want is some souvenir of Ernest Tubb without having to lug around 12 inches of vinyl all day.
So the Ernest Tubb Record Shop might have a bit of a misleading name for vinyl purists and collectors, but really the store isn’t set up for the vinyl junkie. It’s all about the Cult of Tubb.
If you’re into the mystique, the myth making and the ghost of a music genre that doesn’t really exist like that any more, this shop is definitely a must-see. You won’t need a TARDIS to go back in time here.
–Joe Wallace
PS: I regularly update the WTF Records Facebook page with bad records and news of progress on the WTF book. Why not join me there? You can also get snark and vinyl obsessiveness by friending me on my personal FB page. which doubles as the Turntabling FB presence.
WTF Goes Beverly Hills 90210: Brian Austin Green’s Atrocious One Stop Carnival LP
Sometime between Brian Austin Green’s turn on the horrifically dull Beverly Hills 90210 and the show’s cancellation, Green decided to go into a recording studio. He dropped his pants, squatted over a microphone, and pinched out the steaming atrocity you see before you.
“One Stop Carnival” is every bit as dull as 90210, but with the added wannabe pastiche of white boy hip hop thrown in for good measure. Green–or his record label minders–apparently thought that substituting “da” for “the” on every other song title would add some street cred to this flushable collection of me-too beats and lame-ass rhyming.
On the opening track, Green leaps into his Captain Lame-Ass act as hard as he can in the first 30 seconds, blurting out “Yeah man…she was fat, but I ain’t gonna tell my friends…” and “Hey, yo…HOWS IT GOIN’?”
One-record-wonder Green even has the gall to include a track critical of the music industry. That’s a sign of defiance in many cases (reference the Sex Pistols one and only full length studio record from the original glory days of UK punk) but for One Stop Carnival, it’s a definite sign of trouble akin to having your movie directed by Alan Smithee.
And while we’re examining this dead cockroach up close, how about that album cover? Green was clearly going for some kind of Henry Rollins/Ice-T scowl, but instead he comes across in dire need of some stewed prunes.
And yes, believe it or not, this actually did make it to vinyl–at least according to Discogs.com. It was mostly distributed on CD and poor unfortunates who feel an overpowering urge can download this on MP3, but a “sampler” LP was put out as a promo of some kind back in ’96 when this stinking pile was dumped onto an unsuspecting public.
Morphine Cure For Pain Reissued by Light In The Attic Records
“Do you have a spare $225? Neither do we, but that seems to be the average out-of-reach price for an original vinyl copy of Cure For Pain these days.” That blurb is part of the write-up by Light In The Attic Records about their new reissue of this classic Morphine vinyl album.
Light In the Attic has long been a Turntabling favorite, label-wise, as they’ve reissued some absolutely fabulous titles including Betty Davis, the Deep Throat soundtrack, Mercury Rev and soooo much more. Light In The Attic is our kind of record label.
And Morphine’s Cure For Pain is our kind of record. “Thursday” is the track most likely to be spun over and over again round here, but this album is full of classics and should not be missed. There are 30 second samples of all tracks on the record–head over to Light In The Attic and listen for yourself–if you’re inclined to enjoy these sounds we’re betting dollars to donuts you make a purchase soon thereafter–assuming you haven’t heard this one already.
Sadly, the Morphine frontman died–on stage, it should be noted–in 1999 and a huge talent left us twisting in the wind with his departure. He died with his boots on, as it were, and left behind five albums of material to wonder over. Have a look for yourself: