Sometimes More is More Music as a medium is a dense format. From composition to orchestration, many things come together to create music. Music playback is rarely the focus of the process, but vinyl records make it a ritual. The physical act of playing a record is a significant reason the hobby is beloved. There…
Mad Scientists, Mummies, Zombies, Vampires, Oh My! It’s October, the time for ghouls and ghosts. This months mixtape is all songs that have monsters or similarly themed titles. I avoided the obvious ones, so no Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath. Per usual, genres and decades are all over the place. Enjoy this months mixtape. No…
Record Store Day, Part Deux. A reminder of what was supposed to be. A pandemic cannot stop the music. Originally Record Store Day 2020 set its sights for April 18th, 2020, but it turns out that it is no immovable object. The unstoppable force that is COVID-19 ensured that the day would be delayed. Record…
About the Artist King Crimson died in 1974. Long live King Crimson. After 1974’s psychedelic jazz infused progressive rock Red made a statement, Robert Fripp disbanded King Crimson. The band saw its fair share of drama and like any band, if it stretches too far it will snap. Fripp kept making music and decided in…
For Glory The term “holy grail†used to be reserved for items that are so scarce that their existence is almost mythical. The term first appears in Arthurian mythos and legends first written in the Middle Ages but has expanded its usage into modern vernaculars. Among vinyl collector, it denotes a sense of gravitas reserved…
Pick a Card Monthly subscription services saturate the market with everything from snacks to clothes. I gave Vnyl a try in the spring and was left unsatisfied. Music tastes are hard to quantify, despite what high tech algorithms and streaming services claim, and it is even more difficult to curate three records to a person’s…
Frank Ocean Endless (2016) To Infinity and Beyond I have written extensively on music that was never meant to have a physical release. The internets obsession with vaporwave manifested the gaseous into solid (link here), and this same fervent demand brought other albums into the physical realm. What is the point in this? Does art…
More Than Meets the Eye The image of a vinyl record is iconic; A black circle with a white label in the middle. There are variations to the format, as I have previously written about color vinyl, but that is just a variation on the color. There are records that are not made of vinyl,…
Variety is the Spice of Life Another five Friday month, another edition of Five for Five. This week we’re looking at some 60’s classics and some catchy dance music. Keep an eye out for these in your local record store bargain bins. The Zombies – Time of the Season Is he rich like me? A…
Vinyl in the Era of Coronavirus At the beginning of the year, I was optimistic to think that I would be spending my weekends travelling around Ohio interviewing the owners of my favorite record shops. I would get to know the owner and the impact their personality has on the community they serve, and how…
