Here is yet another collection of glorious images from the road trip from Chicago to NYC, vinyl finds, kooky album covers and much more. There are still LOADS of record stores to review and post–we have more from Philly, Toledo Ohio and New York City to come…next week is going to be packed full of record store review goodness.
Double Decker Records in Allentown Pennsylvania is a crate-digger paradise. The selections are excellent–once more the big winners are fans of post-punk, new wave and metal. But the vinyl weirdness category is also a strength of Double Decker Records…I walked out of this shop a very happy vinyl junkie.
Double Decker is another shop where the people working don’t mind telling a brother where to find more vinyl goodness–I got the down low on several other good indie record stores along the Vinyl Road Rage 2 route and it’s so great to encounter down-to-earth people willing to chat about other shops and all things vinyl. Double Decker, I WILL return!
There are plenty of rarities on the walls, as it should be in every good record store…and the collector-friendly selection includes the old left-of-center favorites:
The classics…
To the utterly reprehensible…
Double Decker Records, like many of the shops on my journey, had at least one section that was quite literally a disaster area of vinyl—in other words a cluttery hodgepodge certain to yield at least one irreplaceable treasure, usually of sentimental value rather than collector cash cow cred.
What a great shop! Comfortable and easy on the knees–no bending and stooping to get to the weirdo vinyl titles usually relegated to a crate on the floor or under a table someplace…everything is easy to access, with plenty of surprises. Bravo!
Indiewax Records, at 6961 Market Street in Youngstown, Ohio, has a collection of hard-to-find vinyl titles (see the albums on the wall first if you’re looking for the collector’s stuff) and a giant pile of for-cheap sale vinyl.
Collectors of punk and post-punk 45s should be pleased, and there’s a selection of the usual used vinyl titles alongside the new releases. Indiewax also has gear, so a new collector could do some one-stop shopping here. They sell Audio-Technica turntables, cartridges and preamps, along with the usual slipmats and cleaning gear.
I’m not a seven-inch collector, but looking at the Indiewax selection it’s easy to see why people get lured into it. There are new seven inches coming out left and right, and the old stuff seems just as fun to seek and find as full length albums.
The sale bin is probably the most important spot for the noob collector, and there’s a doozy here at Indiewax. Youngstown Ohio doesn’t know what its got in the “five for a buck” bin…this is priceless for some of us crate-digging mashup artists who like to mix and match on the fly with the turntables.
Indiewax Records is friendly, fun, and I’d definitely come back. I say that practically anytime I have a pleasant experience in an indie record shop, but I really mean it–especially in light of the store’s support of local and regional artists.
Did I mention that any fan of The Dwarves should have a look in here? Behold this selection of Dwarves seven inches:
I’m writing this update from Newark, New Jersey. Vinyl Road Rage 2 has been one hell of a crazy trip. How crazy? Try 17 record stores in five days between Chicago and NYC. And it’s not quite done yet.
I am still writing record store reviews on the Cleveland stop alone–there are many more reviews to come for wonderful indie record stores from Akron, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Philadelphia and Greenwich Village. I have purchased more than 45 titles on this trip and am afraid that the total will be much higher before it’s all said and done.
Highlights of the journey so far: the crew behind the counter at Music Saves in Cleveland telling me about the record shops I didn’t know about there and helping me round out the list somewhat. Ditto for the gentleman working at Allentown’s delicious Double Decker Records, which had some of my favorite finds of the entire trip. Double Decker is a crazy mish-mash of old and new and you’ll find plenty to surprise you there. Do NOT pass by this store. More on that in my full review, complete with lots of pics.
Favorite goofy moments of the trip so far–a guy at Bleeker Bob’s Records in NYC asking me in a seemingly nervous way if the images I was taking were “for publication”. Not to worry, Bleeker Bob, no images I take with my iPhone are being used in a book or magazine. Ditto for the guy behind the counter of Rebel Rebel who confronted me about leaving Turntabling business cards behind. “WHAT are those CARDS?” It was funny to hear his reply to me telling him about Turntabling. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t one of those carpet cleaning guys.” No worries, matey.
I keep seeing the same album covers on the walls of some of the stores. It’s funny to be haunted by Wendy O. Williams, but even funnier was the posters I saw side by side of Madonna and Henry Rollins. For once, Madonna’s nipples were covered, while Henry Rollins’s were exposed. What a reversal!
I’ll have much more on Vinyl Road Rage 2, Chicago to NYC over the remainder of the trip and beyond. Tomorrow is another day of vinyl record shopping and obsessing in New York City.
… Continue Reading
Mishawaka, Indiana is a good place to stop on the way out of Chicago. Just two hours out of the city, you can stretch your legs, top off, buy an Indiana lottery ticket and keep your fingers crossed.
But don’t cross your fingers over finding gigantic piles of rare vinyl at Michiana Used Music and Media. Sadly, the picture below shows the sum total of all the vinyl you can sift through here–two bins with some above and some below.
It wouldn’t be so disappointing for a hardcore vinyl junkie–or even a newbie collector–except there was not much here except for the usual pile of vinyl cast offs from every collection in the world. The requisite AC/DC albums, all the Joe Walsh records you didn’t want alongside the couple you already have. Show tunes nobody listens to. And isn’t there ALWAYS a Fleetwood Mac record in there?
I really wasn’t expecting too much from this first stop on the vinyl road rage trip as the shop doesn’t present itself very well online–an afterthought really, but I WAS amused by a couple of things here. You may not be able to locate that copy of Danny Elfman’s Nightbreed soundtrack here, but if Barry Manilow makes you shriek in ecstasy, you have DEFINITELY found your new home away from home:
And I WAS amused/horrified to find this reissue of the Blind Faith album with one of the most crass and possibly illegal covers in recorded music history. At least tone-deaf Satan Metal bands like Witchfinder General have the decency to put topless women of LEGAL AGE on their covers. Not so with Clapton and company. Those at work should probably NOT click “read more” now. … Continue Reading
Discovered on the incomparable Analog Apartment, which we love. Please, please, PLEASE, Archer Record Pressing Plant, do not close, EVER. Three minutes of vinyl junkie bliss.
How to clean a vinyl album? It’s a question that plagues crate diggers from Lake Geneva to the Finland Station. (Heh.) Do you want to know how SOME people clean their vinyl records? One rocket scientist on a message board somewhere suggests you IMMERSE your vinyl records in STEAMING HOT WATER.
Run right out and try that if you’re crazy enough, and by all means, be sure to let us know how that worked out for you.
Other people claim a dab of Lysol does wonders–but I’m not into giving that a try, are you? Ditto for the dude who suggests Methylated spirits. No way–not unless it’s a copy of a Paul Williams record that’s been used as a sun visor on a 68 Volkswagon. I’d love to hear the damage done that way…could be the next house disco treat if you throw some beats under it.
The vinyl record cleaning method described at Rebuilt Tranny’s Rat Rod Record Exchange makes the most sense of all the methods mentioned online that I could dig up. Use a bit of soap on a synthetic fiber brush, scrub gently in the direction of the grooves, then rinse with water. Purists, avoid getting the center label wet or you’ll weep great oceans of tears. Dry with a microfiber cloth and you’re done.
Bravo, Rebuilt Tranny, for offering the most common sense vinyl LP cleaning method on the web. Oh, did I mention that he runs the vinyl through Audacity’s click and pop filter afterwards and makes nice, clean Mp3s out of his nice clean records? NOW you’ve got some clean sounding tracks.
I discovered a fascinating blog post at COLOURlovers (a craft blog, not a vinyl blog) called Unusually Colored Vinyl Records. It featured a variety of impressive colored vinyl productions including the Man Or Astroman release, “Your Weight On The Moon” on glow-in-the-dark vinyl pictured above. But the REAL treasure in this blog post was the mention of some seriously vintage post-war vinyl produced in Detroit by a company called Sav-Way Industries.
The Vogue Picture Discs are amazing for their detail and the instant visual reference to the post war era when they were made (1946-1947) but the real stunner for me was the visual theme of the Marion Mann track, “You Took Advantage of Me”.
Decades before The Tubes put out Mondo Bondage, here’s a very racy post-war vinyl record implying all sorts of naughty things with this picture. There are some 74 Vogue Picture Record titles in this collection, which you can view more of at the University of California Santa Barbara, but none of them are quite as provocative as this one.
Sure, it COULD be argued that this was an innocent depiction of the song’s theme, but lest we forget, post-war culture in the 40s was filled with double entendres created to titillate and amuse while maintaining “plausible deniability” in a so-called respectable society. Mondo bondage indeed!
–Joe Wallace
Ever wonder what it takes to make a vinyl LP from start to finish? The actual creation of the physical product, as opposed to recording the music itself is fascinating, and a company called TruTone Mastering Labs has put the entire process online in a step-by-step pictorial.
For me, the most interesting part from a visual standpoint is the plating process:
But you’ll be amused to learn that your favorite, most expensive vinyl collectible in your stack originally looked like THIS before it became the precious thing you revere now as a sacred object: … Continue Reading
by Joe Wallace
As of late I’ve become addicted to Anthony Bourdain’s writing. Bourdain is a kindred spirit–he’s got the kind of take no prisoners attitude and and a love for grit and realism that I find refreshing in the world of overly nice and excessively coiffed media ding-a-lings. In another life, I spent far too much time working in television to see things any other way, especially ON television.
I’ve been digging old episodes of No Reservations, the weekly Bourdain globe-hopping food frenzy, and what did I find in an old collection from 2007? Anthony Bourdain tackling Jamaica in all its ramshackle glory. The food makes me want to brave the trip, but the most exciting part of that particular episode for me was the look behind the Jamaican music industry, complete with in-house vinyl record pressing operations at some of Jamaica’s busiest and most ambitious local recording companies.
There was some amazing footage not only of vinyl records being pressed, but also the sink-or-swim no-nostalgia ruthlessness of these record labels when it comes to product that just isn’t selling well. Jamaica being poor as it is, can anyone blame these record labels for hacking up the unsold stock, melting it down and pressing another potential dancehall hit?
The vinyl-centric part of the clip below comes about three minutes in, but the entire show is really worth a watch as it’s an eye-opener for anybody who isn’t hip to Jamaica food, culture or the truth behind the Marley tee shirts. As Don Letts points out, a lot of people who don’t actually live in these conditions tend to romanticize poverty, Rastafari, and the place in general. To paraphrase Letts, the ghetto isn’t something people want to do anything but escape from. I found Bourdain’s no-nonsense approach to the good and bad of Jamaica to be very refreshing…and the look at the record biz there? Priceless for a vinyl junkie and dub lover like me.
I am based in Chicago but willing to travel. Call or send an e-mail to jwallace (at) turntabling (dot) net.
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