Vinyl Road Rage: Austin, Texas Record Shops

More views from the Vinyl Road Rage Austin Texas stop. There were seven fabulous record shops hit in a single day: Waterloo Records, Breakaway Records, Trailer Space Records, Backspin Records (which is sadly closing down soon) the super awesome End Of An Ear, the equally great Friends of Sound, and Antone’s.

I’m sure there are other equally cool shops here in Austin, just haven’t found them yet!

Breakaway Records is firmly into soul, R&B, classic rock, and they have a gigantic selection of 45s, which makes the shop pretty impressive. Add to that their collection of turntables for sale and you have a recipe for greatness. I’m personally no fan of classic rock, but collectors–take note.

One of my new favorite record stores is Friends of Sound. Were they named after a Mission Giant CD? Unknown. But the shop is indeed awesome.

Note the prominently displayed album by The Feederz, “Ever Felt Like Killing Your Boss?” There will be a test later…

There’s nothing like a good scream contest. Just ask Harry Nilsson and John Lennon. Vocal chords are SOOO last century.

Hands down, my all time favorite category for recorded music. EVERY record store should have a group of records in a “Drug Sections” file.

Check those sensitive, singer-songwriter titles…it makes your heart weep with compassion.

Vinyl Road Rage: 21 Record Stores and Counting

by Joe Wallace

If you can’t make out what that sign says, it reads “Welcome to SLACKERVILLE”. Which is only fitting since I am currently reporting from Austin, Texas (home of Richard Linklater and the setting for his breakout pic, Slacker”) and have basically been the anti-slacker ever since hitting the road.

With 21 record stores now visited, Vinyl Road Rage is going like gangbusters. I’ve been reminding people that the individual record store reviews are coming, most likely once I get off the road and settled into a normal routine…but the updates from the journey will keep coming because there are plenty of wonderful discoveries along the way.

Two of my favorite discoveries so far on the trip are located in Austin. End of an Ear Records is a complete treasure, crammed full of rare, obscure, and wonderful vinyl.

I’ve been hearing about The Feederz LP, “Ever Feel Like Killing Your Boss?” for years, but have never seen or heard it until today when I found a copy sitting in the End of An Ear bin waiting for me, complete with its sandpaper cover and all.

Also discovered at End of An Ear, vinyl copies of the From Beyond and Big Trouble In Little China soundtracks, and soooo much more. This shop is a dream for collectors and there’s plenty in the way of both new and used LPs.

Also fairly impressive–the DVD section for both music and genre films. Austin has a rep as being a cinemaphile town, so the really good record shops seem to try to keep pace with that and the standard set by Waterloo Records, which has an exhaustive DVD section along with the vinyl. End of An Ear will please vinyl junkies who also love genre filmmaking.

And then there’s Friends Of Sound Records, which is difficult for a newcomer to find because while it is located on 1704 South Congress in Austin, the entryway is located in the alley—there’s no sign on the main sidewalk to let you know a great, eclectic and friendly indie record store is lurking there. But rest assured, friends, it DOES exist and IS worth a stop.

Friends of Sound Records had some wonderful, bizarre and obscure titles including a Polish New Wave record, a copy of the ultra-collector-riffic Cross and the Switchblade soundtrack in the budget bin, and plenty of other highly collectible weirdness.

My assumption is that because of their location they probably need a bit more support than other, more visible indie shops. Maybe I’m wrong about that, I have no idea, but I can tell you this–I will ALWAYS stop in this place when I’m in Austin. I did very well there and would NEVER pass it up if I had the opportunity to go. VISIT THIS SHOP, folks.

After these two discoveries, I totally geeked out and ate at the infamous Guero’s, which was featured in Tarantino’s Death Proof. Naturally the place looks completely different in many ways than in the film, but you can see where many of the scenes took place and it was a cine-nerd cheap thrill to eat there. So many of my friends hated this movie, but not me….

There are loads more updates coming, I just need to find time to get it all down. Video coming again soon, too.

Vinyl Road Rage: More Views From the Road

More views from Vinyl Road Rage Four. I have more from-the-road reports to file, including a look at Denton, Texas record shops, Dallas, Austin and much more. I’m still out on the road–currently reporting from Austin, Texas where there are a TON of shops to hit. It’s bee a very good vinyl buying trip so far and there’s more to come.

The mighty Waterloo Records in Austin, Texas–rated by several publications as one of the top ten record shops in the country, and with GOOD REASON. They are basically massive and awesome.

Waterloo has a staggering amount of vinyl in every category—and plenty of rarities hiding in these stacks–you gotta dig to find the good stuff.

At Mad World Records in Denton–very new and hip. Not a hell of a lot of vinyl, but I’m sure that will change soon. I HOPE it will change soon! Loads and LOADS of CDs for sale. The vinyl for sale there was a mix of old and new and the selection was pretty decent in spite of the small size of the collection.

At Good Records in Dallas–APTLY NAMED, I must say–wall to wall with thousands of titles–mostly new records, too. There is a small used section which was kind of underwhelming, but those new titles? WOW. Impressive. And this shop has a huge (for a record store) stage for live shows.

An amazing uber-limited edition soundtrack LP for Maniac by William Lustig starting Joe Spinell. WOW. I scored with this one. Only 500 made…

Crazy Vinyl Finds in Nashville and Memphis

My Vinyl Road Rage finds in Nashville and Memphis were pretty impressive. I have to say, The Groove in Nashville, plus Memphis vinyl shops Goner Records and Shangri La Records are all three quite stellar and worth a trip out of town to see.

I was so pleased with my finds that I had to vblog about a few of them. What do you get when you combine Jimmy Swaggart, the band Lucifer, and silent movie soundtracks? Answers below.

Vinyl Road Rage: Views From The Road

I’ll have a full update on day #2 later–it’s very late at the time of this writing and I need sleep soon, but here is a look at some of the things seen on the trip so far. These images were taken between Bloomington, Indiana and Memphis, Tennessee. The record stores along the way have been great and there is much more to come.

Also stay tuned for a new Vinyl Road Rage video sometime tomorrow (Friday December 9, 2011).

Jack White’s Third Man Records isn’t just a label, it is also a boutique-y record shop with loads of great atmosphere and interesting vinyl & merch. Tiny, but very well done–an impressive shop indeed!

Landlocked Music in Bloomington Indiana is a favorite stop…highly recommended, as is the shop pictured below, also in Bloomington–TD’s CDs and LPs.

Oh, to own this pricey-but-essential Nurse With Wound box set…agony of the damned is mine now that I know it exists, yet own it not.

Elvis on 8-track? That’s like asking if Stereolab is available on compact disc. I kept having to remind myself that I was in Tennessee and would be seeing a LOT of Mister Elvis over these few days.

Long before the New Kids on the Block, The Partridge Family was carrying the torch as a kiddie sensation–except the New Kids didn’t feature a mom, just some (probably) Svengali-esque manager.

Nashville’s answer to environmental activism: Think Globally, Act Hillbilly. Does that include squealing like a pig at the command of someone wearing a trucker hat and a shotgun?

Vinyl Road Rage Day One

by Joe Wallace

Vinyl Road Rage Four is well underway–the cross country indie record store vinyl blogging trip started in Chicago and I’m now camped in a Super 8 Motel just about 40 minutes from Nashville Tennessee.

The first stop was Bloomington, Indiana for another look at TD’s CDs and LPs, plus the always wonderful Landlocked Music. Both shops are definitely worth your time if you’re anywhere near Bloomington Indiana. I’ll post more details on the first day tomorrow–it’s been a very long day, but for now, feast your eyes on my grubby little v-blog on the day’s vinyl finds. (See the Youtube clip below).

As always, I’ll be blogging about the highlights of the day and saving the in-depth record store reviews for a bit later on when I’ve had time to catch my breath. Suffice it to say that today was a long, wonderful and wonderfully weird journey. Stay tuned for the details on that…here’s the vid clip.

On these videos, bear with me, it’s a work in progress and the flaws are PAINFULLY obvious.

Vinyl Road Rage: Laurie’s Planet of Sound Chicago, Illinois

by Joe Wallace

I thought I’d kick off Vinyl Road Rage 4 with a look at a record shop right in my own back yard. Before I get behind the wheel today to hit the road for Bloomington, Indiana, Nashville and points beyond, Laurie’s Planet of Sound definitely deserves a mention.

Laurie’s is literally two blocks away from my place, which makes it very handy to indulge in some early-afternoon record shopping, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to Laurie’s in the past two months when I sorely needed some new, obscure or bizarro vinyl titles to write about for my book in progress WTF Records: The Turntabling Guide To Weird and Wonderful Vinyl.

And that is the real draw for me–Laurie’s carries the usual stuff with plenty of new vinyl across the expected genres plus soundtracks, imports and more. But Laurie’s absolutely excels at bringing in rarities new and used that impresses me no end. In another life, my exposure to neighborhood record stores was rather unimpressive. Since moving to Chicago proper a few years back that’s changed.

But I’ve never been so spoiled as I have been with Laurie’s so close and so well-stocked with awesomeness. I’ve scored Legendary Pink Dots vinyl, Nurse With Wound, the Blacula soundtrack, some very tasty minimal wave titles, and my all-time favorite holy grail find: Punishment of Luxury.

Laurie’s is a must-visit if you come to Chicago for a visit. They carry DVDs including a variety of off-the-beaten-track titles that are just as obsessive-worthy as the vinyl (plenty of Something Weird titles, horror movie trailer collections, drive-in exploitation and other wonderful things), and there’s even a great, eclectic book selection, too.

The shop is friendly, fun to shop, and beware what they are playing on the turntable when you walk in–chances are you’ll be walking out with it before your shopping spree is done or regret NOT buying it when you leave. I had non-buyer’s remorse for AGES after walking out without the album by Social Climbers they were playing. What was I thinking?

This jaded record store blogger HIGHLY recommends Laurie’s Planet of Sound at 4639 N Lincoln in Chicago. And be sure and tell them Turntabling.net sent you. That might make them giggle.

Vinyl Road Rage 4

by Joe Wallace

It’s been a hell of a crazy fall and winter season, culminating with Vinyl Road Rage 4–the cross country indie record store blogging trip/shopping spree Turntabling does at least once a year (this year it was TWO) to find the weird, the wonderful, the rare and obscure at cool indie record stores all over the USA.

Tomorrow, Wednesday December 7, Turntabling hits the open highway once more for fifteen days of record stores and more. I’ll be driving from Chicago to Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock, Tulsa, Denton, Norman, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and back up north toward Springfield Illinois and finally back home in Chicago on Wednesday December 21. There will be plenty of updates here on my finds and experiences.

Fifteen days is a long time to be on the road, but there is much to do along the way so I have no doubt the time will fly by like mad.

I am taking an armload of limited edition promotional discs along on this trip. One is a Vinyl Road Rage 4 soundtrack featuring select cuts from the collection that will be on heavy rotation on my speakers during the road trip.

The other is a limited edition Paisley Babylon release called Republican Disco, currently unavailable in any other format or avenue besides my handing them out on the road at record shops and elsewhere. If you’re interested in either of these two limited edition promotion-only discs, contact me (jwallace at turntabling dot net) and I’ll let you know of their availability post-road trip.

With more than 17 record shops to hit along the way and plenty of other surprises in store, Vinyl Road Rage Four should be a very interesting experience. There will be daily updates here, plus video on the Turntabling.net YouTube channel and on my Facebook page.

The madness begins tomorrow–there will be a late update once I get off the road and then it really goes mental from there…join me! And record store suggestions are ALWAYS welcome–drop me a line on Facebook to suggest an addition to the route.