Tag Archives: records

Morphine Cure For Pain Reissued by Light In The Attic Records

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“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:



Moneytree Book and Music Exchange, Owensboro Kentucky

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Our Vinyl Road Rage 4 record store reviews continue with a look at Moneytree Book and Music Exchange, located at 1421 Triplett St Owensboro, Kentucky.

I had blown through Bloomington, Indiana fairly quickly with a mind to making Nashville in the same night (day one of Vinyl Road Rage is always super-ambitious for some reason). Along the way I phoned home to get some map support from my girlfriend, Jen and together we found this record store in Owensboro, Kentucky.

It’s good to see people buying and selling vinyl in out-of-the-way places, and Owensboro, Kentucky was a bit off the beaten path. But a quest to find weirdness on vinyl and rare titles means taking the side journeys when you can.

Moneytree (which is an odd name for a book and record vendor, I have to say) has a strange way of displaying a great deal of its vinyl titles–the best albums are mounted on the wall.

That’s not so unusual for the rare ones and hard-to-find records, but they’re usually not quite so high up! It was definitely a challenge to look at them in some cases, and every section of the shop had vinyl along the walls.

And yes, you’re seeing that correctly, those records are right near the ceiling.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of weird, rare or hard to find vinyl there. If you like classic rock, funk, singer-songwriter LPs or other 70s and early 80s-era vinyl this shop would be worth a stop, but for a prog, new wave, or obscurities collector, chances are good you’ve already got what you need, no surprises here.

A new collector might do well at Moneytree as long as they are looking for the previously mentioned titles. The store was friendly, well-lit, but a challenge to browse for all those near-the-ceiling albums. Naturally they did have a regular record bin, but the really good looking copies seemed to be reserved for the wall space.

I can’t say it was bad to stop here, as you’re just about ready to pull over on a trek from Chicago to Nashville…but my vinyl finds on Day Two of Vinyl Road Rage Four would prove to be much more exciting.

There’s much more Vinyl Road Rage record store reviewing to come..this is only the beginning! Up next, record stores and flea markets in the Nashville area…and some outrageously cool shops in Memphis, Tennessee that cannot be missed.

–Joe Wallace

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What is a WTF Record?

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by Joe Wallace

If you’ve read this site for any length of time you’re no doubt familiar with our obsession for WTF album covers. There is something wonderful about horrible, misguided, even offensive album covers. Trying to get inside the minds of the people responsible for the atrocities that grace album covers is half the fun of looking that them.

Naturally, the other half of the fun is exposing other, unsuspecting people to this stuff and watching them hurt themselves laughing.

But at some point, the album covers are not enough, and hence Turntabling has expanded its search for the bizarre, the unusual and seemingly from-outer-space records, too. I call them WTF records because that is basically your first reaction.

A WTF record doesn’t have to be BAD to qualify. There are plenty of good, quality WTF albums out there in the same way as there are enjoyable WTF movies, artwork, any consumer production you can think of.

Sometimes a WTF record is truly awful, and that’s how it earns the label. For example, who would want to listen to an entire record of Slim Goodbody nutrition sing-a-long music? But as a WTF album, Slim Goodbody’s “Health Is Wealth” is a real find–where else are you going to hear tracks like “Large, Lovely Liver” or “You Don’t Need a Brain”?

Sometimes the WTF factor is connected to who recorded the album. A record of Beatles covers is nothing new, but when Shatner does it, you’ve GOT to hear it at least once. The WTF value is at an all-time high when someone famous for things other than their relative merits as a songwriter is at the helm.

Isn’t that why the Grasshopper album by David Carradine is so collectible? Or Leonard Nimoy doing scary versions of old folkie tunes?

Then there are the weird records that provide a shock of recognition–maybe you didn’t know that before Dinousaur Jr. took off, they were just called Dinosaur.

When you spot the Homestead Records compilation The Wailing Ultimate featuring the track “Repulsion” by Dinosaur, you’ll get that WTF look on your face when you hear J. Mascis open his mouth and start in on his trademark wail.

Or perhaps you weren’t expecting to see a vinyl record featuring none other than Aleister Crowley? Discovering “Blue Sunshine” by The Glove is actually a side project by The Cure is a WTF moment for some.

And some of the most fun WTF albums are by far the weird ones–Marshall McLuhan’s The Medium Is The Massage, Moog reworkings of 70s butt rock classics, Sun Ra, TV preachers on vinyl, you name it. But whatever your WTF vinyl record poison, these albums are often neglected, unheard, or so obscure as to not get their proper due.

Turntabling aims to change that, one record at a time. So in addition to WTF album covers, we’ll be including a lot more coverage of WTF records here, too. Stay tuned, folks. It only gets weirder from here.

Shopping Bags For Crate Diggers and Vinyl Junkies

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Lately I’ve been hard at work designing and silkscreening cotton/canvas bags for crate diggers and vinyl junkies. I’ve got several designs now, two of which are currently for sale on Etsy. These bags hold any standard size vinyl records from 12-inch double LPs to seven inch singles. These are GREAT for vinyl shopping and convention-going.

One of my biggest complaints about doing record shows is that carrying around your vinyl finds is a major pain unless you’re toting a backpack. These cotton/canvas vinyl record shopping bags are great for shows whether you’re at a horror movie convention or your local record swap.

The images are linked directly to their respective sales pages on Etsy or you can check out the Skull Star Crate Digger’s Vinyl Record Shopping Bag or my personal favorite, the Aleister Crowley Beast 666 Crate Digger Bag pictured below.

If you find these bags are sold out when you click, please get in touch with me directly (jwallace at turntabling dot net) to make arrangements as I  usually have plenty in stock to sell at conventions and shows. Naturally, the vinyl seen here is NOT INCLUDED, heh. Did I mention these are only $9.50 each with free shipping in the USA?