Tag Archives: vinyl road rage

Vinyl Road Rage #3: Images from the Trip So Far

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Vinyl Road Rage is Turntabling’s annual indie record store blogging road trip, where we search for the coolest record shops in the USA, rare and bizarre vinyl, and all the madness that goes with it. One of the best things about these trips–aside from the vinyl itself and the great people met along the way– are the photos. Here are some of the images collected so far. At the time of this posting, it’s Day Three and Cincinnati/Columbus are next. These pics are from Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky.

Oh, it’s one of THOSE record stores. Got no time for percussion purists, ESPECIALLY when the shop in question had “We Built This City” by Jefferson Starship playing at top volume. My stomach did a nine-G turn when I heard that walking in the door.

Louisville Kentucky’s Ear X-Tacy gets massive points for having vinyl listening stations so you can hear what your investment sounds like before dropping the cash. Guessing this applies to used titles only? I love the “no scratching” bit.

I love a shop that has EVERYTHING on sale. Yes, please. That box to the right of the sign is a Creeple Peeple box. Sweet.

The title says it all. Brilliant.

Vinyl Road Rage Day #2: Bloomington Indiana, Louisville Kentucky, Cincinnati Ohio

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by Joe Wallace

Day Two of Vinyl Road Rage #3 was filled with highway hypnosis. I went from Bloomington Indiana to Cincinnati Ohio, hitting a LOT of indie record shops along the way.

There are pictures, but they will be posted tomorrow–my camera is charging now and I’ll extract the images later. Suffice it to say that the trip so far has uncovered plenty of great shops.

I can tell you that Bloomington Indiana is great place to stop all around, but especially TD’s CDs and LPs at 322 E Kirkwood Ave. Not only did this shop have no fewer than four Goblin titles on vinyl (more? I lost count!) they also had a copy of the Terror soundtrack, which I have been lusting after for quite some time after letting a copy slip away ages ago, thinking “I’ll grab it later.” Foolish mortal!

Also great–Landlocked Music at 202 N Walnut Ave in Bloomington. Lots of new vinyl, but plenty of used titles to browse too. Like TD’s, this shop has a respectful section of experimental records that deserve a long look if you’re into those sounds (I am). I’ll have more in-depth reviews of these shops and others individually but I HAD to touch on some of the highlights.

Bloomington was much more clean-cut than Louisville, KY, which has a more Austin, Texas vibe to it. Sadly, there were no real rare, bizarre or otherwise lustworthy titles in Louisville. Record shops there seem to emphasize new titles more, and while there are plenty of used bins to pour over, my own personal obsessions went un-fed. Fans of 60s and 70s psych, garage and hippie titles will be pleased and any jazz fan will probably have a lot to crate-dig for.

Cincinnati record shops had to wait–there was a parking lot-style standstill just outside the city and I missed the shops thanks to the traffic. Tomorrow I will hit them and write up some notes later in the evening. Vinyl Road Rage #3 wraps up for the day on Saturday in Columbus where there are more record shops than police officers, near as I can tell.

Vinyl Road Rage Day #1: Joliet, Champaign, and Beyond

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by Joe Wallace

Vinyl Road Rage #3 is underway and day one was a crazy mix of brain-melting finds and wild goose chases. Joliet, Illinois was the first stop where plenty of interesting vinyl was found including a Legendary Pink Dots album on Play It Again Sam Records I didn’t know existed, some silly blooper vinyl (more on that later–the joys of DJing with that stuff can not be underestimated) and much more.

After Joliet, it was Champaign, Illinois–but first I had to escape Joliet, which wasn’t as easy as it sounds. After my first stop there, I went chasing after the apparently non-existent Monaro Records (the address and phone number turned out to be residential), then chased my own exhaust pipe trying to find the road out of town.

I did pass the old Joliet Prison, complete with a sign which reads “You’ve escaped Joliet”. If only. And why was EVERY SINGLE PLACE I stopped in today completely devoid of toilet paper? Just sayin’.

The hardware store I saw in one small town said it all; a neon sign proclaiming “Heating, Plumbing, GUNS”. If the zombie apocalypse happens, that’s where I want to live…but on a search for obscure vinyl, not so helpful.

Equally amusing–the tiny little cafe I went to this afternoon. When I walked in, the entire place STOPPED TALKING for a moment–the only thing really missing, as I mentioned on Facebook earlier, was the voice of a small child saying in a scared voice, “STRAAAANNNGER!”

Once I did get back on the road, Champaign was fairly profitable thanks to the very cool Backbeat Records, which yielded the Sisters of Mercy Some Girls Wander on delicious vinyl, Sousxie and the Banshees’ The Rapture on translucent vinyl, plus a fistful of soundtracks.

What I wasn’t prepared for is how early Central Illinois rolls up the sidewalks. Several record stores closed up shop at 5PM, which was fairly depressing in one case, and a great relief in another as the second shop to close before sundown seemed to be all CDs.

One of the craziest finds of the day, found in Champaign’s Exile on Main St. Records, was a record made in Russia which was apparently an unauthorized collection of Led Zepplin covers. I didn’t have the heart to shell out 20 bux for this, but the concept certainly is amusing to say the very least.

I am absolutely CERTAIN I made this joke LAST YEAR during Vinyl Road Rage #2, but apparently this Disney record is haunting me, so I say again–WHERE ARE THE DISNEY QUAALUDES to go with the Disney Disco Record?

I will be reviewing the individual record stores at some point, no time to hit all the ones I’ve covered so far in the earliest days of the trip…but the updates from the road will continue. Stay tuned for more vinyl road rage…including some video I’ve shot from the road. Tomorrow it’s Bloomington, Indiana, and Louisville Kentucky. On Saturday Cincinnati beckons, then Columbus on Sunday.

–Joe Wallace

Vinyl Road Rage #3 is on the Road

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by Joe Wallace

Today is the day–Vinyl Road Rage #3 is on the road. This post was the last thing to do before loading up the Dreadmobile and hitting the road. First stop is Joliet, Illinois where there are two stores waiting to be hit, then it’s down Champaign-Urbana way for more vinyl hunting.

For the uninitiated, Vinyl Road Rage is a cross-country blogging journey in search of indie record stores, vinyl oddities and rarities, and all the discoveries along the way that make these trips fun, surreal and worth the effort. This is the third Vinyl Road Rage, the first was from Chicago to Texas, the second was from Chicago to New York City, and this one is a great big circle around the midwest, hitting six states along the way including Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Today the goal is to make it all the way to Terre Haute, Indiana, where a shop called Headstone Friends awaits, but there are about five or six record stores in between in Illinois to hit.

Can I make it the whole way to Terre Haute? We’ll see. It’s a very ambitious first day to be sure, but should yield plenty of good stuff.

There will be lots of updates, images and other posts at my Facebook page as well as plenty of posting here as time permits. Later today I’ll post an update on Day One of Vinyl Road Rage and review some of the record shops visited so far. OFF WE GO!