Join Turntabling at the Music Box Massacre

Tomorrow, Saturday October 10 at noon til Sunday October 11 at noon, drop by the Turntabling booth at the Music Box Massacre, the amazing 24 horror movie marathon held yearly at Chicago’s Music Box Theater. We’ll be there selling new and used vinyl, soundtrack CDs, books and much more.

We’re giving away a limited Turntabling Favorites compilation CD with a dozen of the most-played tracks on our speakers to date! Buy anything from the table and get the comp for free, but only while supplies last. (This one will go VERY QUICKLY so get there early.)

Also, don’t miss the Reanimator reunion featuring Stuart Gordon and other luminaries. It’s going to be an excellent time! Hope to see you there. Join us at the Music Box Theater, 3733 N Southport Avenue, Chicago, IL 60613-3718. Telephone: (773) 871-6604 to get directions to the theater.

Stick It In Your Ear Springfield Missouri

by Joe Wallace

I blogged about the Springfield, Missouri record emporium Stick It In Your Ear a few days ago, but I wanted the shop to have its own entry here, so to recap:

Stick It In Your Ear is a delightful hodge-podge of vinyl, CDs and music-related ephemera. The store has its share of fun finds (Devo’s Greatest Misses and TuxedoMoon were two of mine) and it has to be said, there’s no telling what the dedicated collector could find rifling through the stacks here.

There’s a big collection of metal (not my thing at all except for the bad album covers) and a lot of soul and disco comps–never a bad thing.

Any record shop that bothers to categorize the albums in any fashion beyond genre makes me happy, and even better in this case is the breathless way those records are filed–note the exclamation points on every single band title in the photo below, as if every last one of these bands is both a rare find and the store owner’s favorite of all time. I LOVE that for some reason. Don’t ask why, I have no idea–but it’s endearing. … Continue Reading

CD Exchange Springfield Missouri

I only include this because I stopped there–I was giving it a pass when I spotted a sign out of the corner of my eye that said, “VINYL” in big block letters. Could it be? I haven’t been in a CD Exchange in YEARS, so I had to at least stop and look. Could this be a sign of an era of coolness for CD Exchange? Have they added as many titles as they have in the CD sections I remember from my last visits?

I was as disappointed as a frat boy at a chastity convention–two paltry sections of vinyl, all brand new and selling at frat boy prices. Don’t ask me WHY they’re frat boy prices, but I can just see some 20-something with his greek letters shaved into the back of his head shelling out $22 or for a Ben Harper LP. Whatever.

This shop wasn’t bad as far as CD Exchanges go, but that’s like saying you didn’t mind losing your thumb that much because it was the one off your LEFT hand.

I had already been completely underwhelmed by the endless series of Walmarts, strip mall nail shops and fast food joints. Springfield, Missouri was already starting to wear thin by the time I pulled in here. My first stop was a complete dud. I pulled in because the name Vintage Stock just screamed vinyl records of all sizes. I mean, they put VINTAGE in the bloody NAME. … Continue Reading

Cross Country Vinyl Chase Day Two part two

What a long strange vinyl bughunt it has been…From Chicago to San Antonio, I am now halfway through the driving insanity. Tuesday is OKC and Dallas…maybe even Denton if I feel REALLY sexy. I might just, after the stuff I was hearing all around me today at the record emporiums.

The following was overheard in one of the record shops I hit today–people with cell phones talking very loudly never know when they’re going to get their 15 minutes of fame. But when people are practically shouting this crap in your ear, it deserves a second go.

“Yaww, yew jist pour it in yore pee. Maik shore thu kristles are all, you know, like, dissolved and all or you’ll fail the teyust.” It was a 50-something woman who looked like an office drone. She sounded like a backwoods Tim Leary.

Then, ten minutes later, a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSON on the phone. “Yah, yah, you just pour the little envelope of crystals into your pee. Look to see if it changes color. You only go about three ounces of pee anyway, don’t worry about it!”

In Springfield, Missouri, we now know people like to put additives in their pee. Should I ever go back there?

And then…

Oh, but she looks far too INTO having that puppet so near…where is her OTHER hand?

But wait, there’s more. Just in case you hadn’t quite finished playing a game of canasta with the Moosehead Lodge brothers, here come Herb Alpert to trumpet you TO DEATH. That sticker boldly proclaims that this is the very very FIRSTEST TIME IN THE WHOLE OF FOREVER that A Taste of Honey has been released as a picture disc. I’m touching myself even as I write this, I am so excited about the idea of this picture disc EVEN EXISTING. A bargain at twice the price, eh Eugene? Yeah, daddy-o. Let’s take the Galaxy 500 for a spin to the malt shop. No, wait, wrong culture. Martinis, everybody?

Just when you thought it was safe to fire up the record player, another face from the past comes back at you like a spoiled cinema hotdog. I’m so tired from driving that I can only hope that last line made as much sense to you as it currently does to me.

I still owe record shop reviews a plenty. Vinyl Exchange, CD Warehouse in Springfield, MO and tomorrow’s Guest Room Records invasion. Brace yourself.

The Mad Vinyl Roadtrip Continues

By Joe Wallace

I am hiding out in the rec center at Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri–blogging incognito and trying to get a full charge on the laptop before the born-again security staff sic the wolverines on me.

Today has been a day of disappointments and joy. Photos to come plus a full report but suffice it to say that large chunks of Springfield, Missouri are some of the ugliest stretches of endless strip malls you’ve ever had the misfortune to view. I stopped in three music shops—one had no vinyl whatsoever in spite of having the word “Vintage” in its name, another had a pathetic two bins worth of all-new releases from bands I really don’t care about (except the Misfits, perhaps, who were always fun in their heyday). However I struck paydirt with the ultra-friendly Stick It In Your Ear.

Wes Nichols is the gent behind this VERY friendly store, and I highly recommend this place to anyone who wants to spend a couple of hours rifling through the stacks. There’s a large quantity of material here–hardcore collectors won’t be surprised by 75% of the titles, but I did manage to locate Tuxedomoon’s Ship Of Fools, which I hadn’t seen previously anywhere else.

I also scored Devo’s Greatest Misses on CD for the road, I needed a break from Big Youth, Morricone, Beck, and Big Black. What can I say, it’s been a long strange trip.

Tonight I plan to post some updates with more images including the uber-scary Shari Lewis LP I found and a picture disc I never, ever expected to be created for an album reissue that, well, makes me wonder who is BUYING this stuff. Besides weirdos like me, I mean.

The vinyl buying road trip continues. Vinyl Road Rage 2009 hits Joplin, MO next…I think. I didn’t hear good things about the shop I looked up so I might take a pass in favor of hitting Oklahoma next.

As I look around the room here, blogging away furiously, freshly scrubbed, 20-something faces stare at me. They know I’m not one of THEM, I’m not like the others. The girlies look slightly intrigued by my presence, the guys pretend to be indifferent while muttering “Praise the Lord”. I don’t know how much longer I can stay here before my cover is blown as an unrepentant libertine and non-trumpet player. More later.

You Read That Correctly: Vinyl Records For Sale Here

Turntabling is on the verge of getting much more active (and cool) with the addition of vinyl LPs for sale and related sundries. We introduced books and a random CD or two back a few months ago to test the response and the results were quite pleasing.

The majority of the music for sale here will be vinyl LPs, but some CDs will also make an appearance. Expect an interesting collection of sounds including Italian horror soundtracks, lounge and bossa nova, new wave/electronic, experimental, any quirky or offbeat stuff we can dig up.

If you have a band with vinyl releases, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your wholesale prices and a web addy where we can listen to digita samples. Turntabling’s areas of interest are diverse, but we need to hear it before we agree to stock it.

Stay tuned, the first LP titles go up for sale this week before the Labor Day weekend.

Dario Argento Blood Is Red LP Collection

Five original soundtrack albums from Dario Argento films on 180 gram vinyl with delicious gatefold sleeves. I scored one of these limited edition collections, called Blood Is Red, and I have to say the vinyl junkie in me is VERY pleased indeed. The films are Cat o’ Nine Tails, aka Il Gatto A Nove Code,  Four Flies on Grey Velvet aka Quattro Mosche Di Velluto Grigio, Profondo Rosso, Suspiria and Tenebre.

I have seen these selling for upwards of $175, so I was very happy to score mine for well under $70 and in tasty condition, too! Cat o ‘Nine Tails is a very underrated soundtrack, and it definitely gets lost in the shuffle compared with Tenebre and Suspiria. Any Goblin fan will swoon over this collection but the Morricone lover in me insists on giving the maestro his due as well.
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Obama Vinyl? Not Quite

Just for laughs, I googled “Obama Viny Record” to see what would come up. Lo and behold, this goofy bit of President Obama kitsch, just in time for Inauguration Day. It’s sold at Zazzle.com and comes in a variety of styles from slacker grey long sleeves to fitted.

The reason this image is lumpy is because I used the “muscle tee” style image from the Zazzle site. I have seen plenty of other “album” style shirts before, but this has got to be the one with the most cheese. Kitsch is fun, so I can’t bash this TOO much, especially in light of the OTHER shirts I found while surfing around for Obama vinyl. Like the “Jews Against Obama” shirt. According to Gothamist.com this shirt costs a staggering $250 and was designed by a guy who doesn’t like Obama for a variety of personal and political reasons, including that Obama’s middle name is Hussein. I am sure you can draw your own conclusions here. In crayon, if need be.

You can see a picture of this guy on the Gothamist post. In this photograph he appears to be the kind of person you find at record conventions who refuses to listen to The Damned because they were “too commercial” compared to the Sex Pistols. You know the type–the kind of dude who gets three beers in him and starts yammering away about how nobody understands his “genius”.

Yeah….riiiighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhht.

Golden Records Vinyl/Cassette to MP3 Converter

Golden Records is what I’d call a good entry-level vinyl-to-digital converter. If you have never tried to convert your vinyl records to MP3 or redbook CD formats, this is a great way to give it a try. Among the most attractive features of Golden Records is the normalizing function, which will give your new MP3s consistent volume for the entire album. Some of those indie/alternative albums like The Blasting Concept series and the amazing Homestead Records compilation The Wailing Ultimate are unfortunately the victims of wildly diverse recording and mastering techniques from track to track. Differing volume levels make listening to the tracks on MP3 a bit of a right pain in the arse—unless you use the normalizing function to make them all even across the board.

Audiophile purists won’t be so thrilled with normalizing as it can alter some of the dymamics of a song, but for most of us normalizing isn’t a bad thing at all. Golden Records is advertised as being designed specifically for vinyl and cassette transfer to MP3, including a handy set of fix-it features to get rid of clicks, pops and other artifacts.

If you’re an advanced audio nut you won’t need this software package, but Golden Records is great for anyone just getting started and needing a solution to get those all-time vinyl favorites running on your iPod in no time.