Up til now, I haven’t intentionally set out to find bizarre vinyl LP cleaning methods, but they keep appearing. Clearly this is some kind of signal given to me by the great gods of vinyl that I’m supposed to share these with the masses, so here is another video of an LP cleaning technique I personally will NEVER EVER use.
–Joe Wallace
I clearly have been living in a cave for many years as this is the first time I’ve heard of the series Vinyl Justice. And Frank Black’s appearance in this clip has rendered me an instant fan of the series (I was already a fan of Frank Black). Live forever and ever and ever, Frank Black. You are one of God’s own mutants. I am now, even as I type this, looking for more Vinyl Justice episodes. Sadly, embedding for this video clip is not available, but you can click the image above to see the episode on YouTube.
–Joe Wallace
Continue reading Frank Black on Vinyl Justice
When this seven-track vinyl EP by Elephant Stone arrived in the post, I knew I was in for something good. For starters, the band makes sure to point out in the press materials that it’s an analog recording. 2-inch tape to 1/4 inch before it got onto vinyl. My kind of recording aesthetics, those are.
Then there’s the record itself. If Shindig! magazine doesn’t get wind of this to further spread it to the masses, I’ll be very disappointed. The Elephant Stone Glass Box EP is chock full of psychadelic jangly pop that does indeed call back to the swirly, radio-friendly pop psychedelia, without being at all annoying about it.
Some of these genre-influenced bands get weighted down by their own musical obsessions, but in Elephant Stone’s case, it’s more about taking an influence and making it your own rather than aping it by rote down to the waistcoats and matching hairdos.
There’s some top-notch songwriting and playing on tracks like the moody Lies, Lies, Lies and the perky Strangers. On the B-side, Yesterday’s Gurl is an excellent slice of yearning with a great hooky Smithereens-style guitar riff tying the song together. Has to be said, 360 Degree Music has done well in adding Elephant Stone to the roster; this band provides a completely enjoyable listening experience–not a single bummer song on the vinly–and that’s no easy feat.
That said, the final cut Dhun (available for free on the Elephant Stone official site) is a total departure from the rest of the EP. It’s probably not the first track you should hear if you’re trying to decide whether to buy.
Instead, go to Pardon My Hindi and stream the Strangers and Savage Soul cuts–great stuff and totally representative of the band. Then you’ll know why you should buy this record now.
Continue reading Elephant Stone The Glass Box EP
I must confess–this looks completely crazy to me. Call me old-fashioned, but I just don’t think vinyl LPs are meant to be heated under any circumstances. The OTHER cleaning techniques shown here look perfectly sound–the record should get clean just fine using everything here BUT the steam.
This clip does show the record warping under the steam, and the presenter mentions that some do warp but that–in his words–the warping isn’t permanent. That’s not comforting, really…seems to me that a warped record would have a much more limited lifespan–how often could you get away with warping and re-warping a record after multiple cleaning? Not for me, thanks, but I welcome your opinions. Is this method crazy or not?
–Joe Wallace