Vinyl Art by Daniel Edlen

Some vinyl uber-purists might cringe at the idea that record albums are being used to create original works of art rather than take another spin on a turntable somewhere, but let’s face it–there are millions of records everywhere, and not all of them are in pristine condition, know what I mean?

That’s why I love the idea of using vinyl records in art–there’s a landill somewhere that will be lighter as a result, and those of us who love vinyl above and beyond what’s contained in those grooves the needle hits tend to be fans of this stuff. … Continue Reading

Vinyl Road Rage Update

by Joe Wallace

The weekend was full of interesting diversions–I took a side journey into the world of flea markets–the Texas vinyl collector’s old reliable alternative to the indie record shop. People who collect vinyl in Texas know flea markets very well and there are many bargains and rarities to be found. I’ll post a report on that soonest. I still have two excellent Austin record shops to write up and a look into the San Antonio market, too.

A good deal of Saturday was spent combing the flea markets, but the nighttime was spent watching Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains, which I can’t find ANYWHERE as an LP and while Amazon was offering downloads of the soundtrack when the DVD remaster came out, a rights dispute forced the tracks offline. … Continue Reading

Milty Zerostat: For Fanatics Only?

Does anybody reading this blog actually OWN one of these? Behold the Milty Zerostat, advertised as a dust-remover for vinyl records. It shoots out a stream of ions when you pull the trigger–ions that are supposed to rid your LPs of nasty pops and clicks caused by dust (which is attracted by an electrostatic charge on your records).

The Zerostat, according to the marketing hype, removes the electrostatic charge that attracts the dust. Zap the album, clean it off, and play away! So sayeth the hype. Does this actually work? I’d love to get a first-person report. At a triple-digit price tag, this one looks like it’s a collector-only gadget, but I’d love to see it in action and hear the results.

YouTube Fun: How Vinyl Records Are Made

This clip is just one of the many you can find on YouTube on our favorite subject. I couldn’t believe how many of these clips are out there! This is defintely an amusing timewaster. Now if we could just get a YouTube vid on how to master digital recordings specifically for vinyl…now that would be a contribution for the betterment of all mankind.