Important Records, one of my favorite labels who have released albums by all kinds of amazing bands and artists including Dominique Leone, King Missile, Acid Mothers Temple, Barbez, KK Null, and on and on, is having a truly amazing sale: 36 CDs for $50, or 72 CDs for $100. Check out the list of albums available with this deal HERE.
They had a similar sale last year called the 44/66 sale, which I took advantage of. At the time, they ran out of materials earmarked for the sale in a touch over 24 hours, so act fast if you want in on this stuff!
10.29.2010
10.28.2010
Saving money and rocking out with linear tracking!
Looking for something a little better than my old Panasonic turntable, I picked up an old Technics slj3 linear tracking turntable last fall on Craigslist for $20.
I've been really happy with it so far. It sounds great, and it works with no trouble. And I discovered an even greater thing about these tables--they can play records that might skip on other turntables! I had an old Tom Waits record (Closing Time) that was a little warped, and it skipped on my old table. But with the Technics, it works fine. Then I noticed this at my local record store this week:
One of my favorite Zappa albums, Uncle Meat, on 2xLP. "Slight warp causes jump." I thought I'd give it a try. And sure enough, it plays with no jumps or skips. Other than a slight warp, the records are very clean. For $1.99, I'm psyched!
For those of you who missed out on this Miami Vice-era technology the first time around (like me), linear tracking turntables use a rod with a stylus attached instead of a tone arm. A motor controls the movement of the stylus back and forth on the rod. Seemingly, the contact with the record this way allows for a little more "play" in the stylus than a tone arm adjusted to have a light touch, so instead of sending a tone arm jumping, the stylus can move to follow the record up and down a bit without getting tossed around. This picture is kind of dark, but you can make out the white and red cartridge, which is on a rod that extends horizontally across the lid of the turntable:
Too bad these things didn't catch on more!
Uncle Meat itself was a huge influence on the Canterbury Scene, including amazing bands like Henry Cow. To my ears, this is the first record where Zappa was able to integrate his interests in jazz and classical music with rock and pop idioms of the time. It's a difficult album in spots, but it's also very rewarding. I continue to get more out of this record with every listen--and on vinyl, before Zappa's somewhat disappointing 80s remaster was used for the CD version, I think I like it even more. The bass drum in particular sounds much more "real" on the vinyl--the CD version is kind of squished. You don't get the "penalty tracks" of mostly uninteresting dialogue to skip over on the vinyl, either--it hangs together as more of a unified statement this way.
I've been really happy with it so far. It sounds great, and it works with no trouble. And I discovered an even greater thing about these tables--they can play records that might skip on other turntables! I had an old Tom Waits record (Closing Time) that was a little warped, and it skipped on my old table. But with the Technics, it works fine. Then I noticed this at my local record store this week:
One of my favorite Zappa albums, Uncle Meat, on 2xLP. "Slight warp causes jump." I thought I'd give it a try. And sure enough, it plays with no jumps or skips. Other than a slight warp, the records are very clean. For $1.99, I'm psyched!
For those of you who missed out on this Miami Vice-era technology the first time around (like me), linear tracking turntables use a rod with a stylus attached instead of a tone arm. A motor controls the movement of the stylus back and forth on the rod. Seemingly, the contact with the record this way allows for a little more "play" in the stylus than a tone arm adjusted to have a light touch, so instead of sending a tone arm jumping, the stylus can move to follow the record up and down a bit without getting tossed around. This picture is kind of dark, but you can make out the white and red cartridge, which is on a rod that extends horizontally across the lid of the turntable:
Too bad these things didn't catch on more!
Uncle Meat itself was a huge influence on the Canterbury Scene, including amazing bands like Henry Cow. To my ears, this is the first record where Zappa was able to integrate his interests in jazz and classical music with rock and pop idioms of the time. It's a difficult album in spots, but it's also very rewarding. I continue to get more out of this record with every listen--and on vinyl, before Zappa's somewhat disappointing 80s remaster was used for the CD version, I think I like it even more. The bass drum in particular sounds much more "real" on the vinyl--the CD version is kind of squished. You don't get the "penalty tracks" of mostly uninteresting dialogue to skip over on the vinyl, either--it hangs together as more of a unified statement this way.
10.27.2010
New/Old Cerberus Shoal album released!
So I was looking at blog stats and noticed that I've picked up some traffic via folks googling Cerberus Shoal and "An Ongoing Ding," the long-delayed unreleased album of theirs. I googled it myself, and much to my delight after years of waiting, it has been released in Japan in early October! It's available from the is collage collective, and while it's not their best (I'm especially partial to "Chaiming the Knoblessone" and "Bastion of Itchy Preeves"), it's a wonderful record. If you're not into ordering it from Japan, it's also available on iTunes domestically.
I was very bummed when Cerberus Shoal broke up, but it's great to get one more new taste of their work. Many of their records on North East Indie seem to be dropping out of print, and the small number of their albums that were available on iTunes are all gone except for this new release, so grab them while you can--they're worth your attention.
Members of Cerberus Shoal continue to remain active in a variety of other acts, if you're interested:
Fire on Fire
Dilly Dilly
Big Blood
Chriss Sutherland
Asian Mae
All interesting, but to be honest, I don't think any of those projects approach the magic of Cerberus Shoal.
In the meantime, don't forget to pick up a copy of their recent 7'' on Eternal Otter, which features 2 tracks from An Ongoing Ding--probably the last chance ever for Cerberus Shoal vinyl.
I was very bummed when Cerberus Shoal broke up, but it's great to get one more new taste of their work. Many of their records on North East Indie seem to be dropping out of print, and the small number of their albums that were available on iTunes are all gone except for this new release, so grab them while you can--they're worth your attention.
Members of Cerberus Shoal continue to remain active in a variety of other acts, if you're interested:
Fire on Fire
Dilly Dilly
Big Blood
Chriss Sutherland
Asian Mae
All interesting, but to be honest, I don't think any of those projects approach the magic of Cerberus Shoal.
In the meantime, don't forget to pick up a copy of their recent 7'' on Eternal Otter, which features 2 tracks from An Ongoing Ding--probably the last chance ever for Cerberus Shoal vinyl.
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