Friday, September 19, 2008

Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales

Week Ending 08/23/2008


1) LP - Bruce Springsteen "Born To Run" Test Pressing Script jacket - $3050.00

2) LP - Bent Jaedig "Jazzman 67" Danish Debut - $2,901.00

3) LP - Elvis Presley "Christmas Album" Sealed LOC-1035 - $2,650.00

4) LP - Elvis Presley "Aloha" Chicken Of The Sea Promo - $2,639.00

5) 45rpm - The Nothing "Scream 'N' Cry" / "Uniformz" Wide Awak Musik - $2,503.00

SOURCE: http://ccdiscoveries.blogspot.com/

Classic Rock Videos

This is the first of many classic rock vidoes, and I can't think of anyone better to start us off, but Little Richard!

Insound vinyl sales charging upward

Posted by peter

Want more evidence that vinyl is making a comeback? Look no further than to the online music retailer Insound.

The company's vinyl record sales have shot up in recent years.

"Oh, God, then it was tiny," says Insound president/founder Matt Wishnow. "When we first started, I mean, when we first started, the first six months, it was less than 5 percent. I would say even until as recently as two years ago, it was 15 to 20 percent. But, then about two years ago, maybe three years ago, when iTunes started really exploding, it was interesting. CDs started declining, but vinyl started growing at a much faster rate even than CDs were declining. So, it wasn't just about people not buying CDs and turning to vinyl; it was more that CDs were becoming less relevant. But, that as digital music became sort of the standard, that avid music fans were saying, 'You know what? The more people buy digital music, the more I kind of want to really celebrate music through vinyl.' So, it climbed from over 20 percent two years ago, and it's been steadily climbing ever since to the point where last month we were at 50 percent of our sales were vinyl."

While Insound deals mainly with today's current bumper crop of indie acts, the company also deals in classic-rock vinyl that stretches back to the '60s (check out Insound's current back to school vinyl sale). The new Brian Wilson LP is there.

Insound also sells turntables and other audio equipment.

Check them out here: http://www.insound.com/index.php?from=5141

Album Cover Art

Let's continue our look at controversial album cover art as well as the weirdest, best and worst album covers as complied by the staff at Gigwise.com

Controversial



40. Poison: ‘Open Up And Say… Ahh’ Is the second studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released in 1988 through the Enigma label of Capitol Records. The album, which ultimately sold eight million copies worldwide, proved to be the band's most successful release. It spawned four hit singles, which are "Nothin' but a Good Time", "Your Mama Don't Dance", "Fallen Angel", and their only number one single to date, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". The album is widely considered a classic in the glam metal genre. The original front cover of the album, which featured model "Bambi" dressed as a luminous red demon with a protruding tongue (similar to Gene Simmons of Kiss), caused controversy amongst church and parental groups. In previous U.S. releases, the album was released with a censored cover in which most of the model’s face was obscured. The 2006 remastered CD release features the original cover art. Boy a model with a large tongue really scares me!

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Weirdest


40. Led Zeppelin: 'Houses of the Holy' Houses of the Holy is the fifth album by English rock band Led Zeppelin released by Atlantic Records on 28 March 1973. The album title is a dedication by the band to their fans who appeared at venues they dubbed "Houses of the Holy." It was the first Led Zeppelin album to not be, at least unofficially, titled after the band. The album represents a turning point for the band, as they began to use more layering and production techniques in recording their songs.

Although Houses of the Holy initially received mixed reviews, it has since become regarded by critics as one of Led Zeppelin's best albums. The album produced the favorites "Over the Hills and Far Away", "Dancing Days", "The Song Remains the Same, "D'yer Mak'er", and "The Ocean", and it has sold over 11 million copies in the United States. In 2003, the album was ranked number 149 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The cover art for Houses of the Holy was inspired by the ending of Arthur C. Clarke's novel Childhood's End. (The ending involves several hundred million naked children, only slightly and physically resembling the human race in basic forms). It is a collage of several photographs which were taken at the Giant's Causeway, Ireland, by Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis. This location was chosen ahead of alternative one in Peru.

The two children who modelled for the cover were siblings Stefan and Samanatha Gates. The photoshoot was a frustrating affair over the course of ten days. Shooting was done first thing in the morning and at sunset in order to capture the light at dawn and dusk, but the desired effect was never achieved due to constant rain and clouds. The photos of the two children were taken in black and white and were multi-printed to create the effect of 11 nubiles that can be seen on the album cover. The results of the shoot were less than satisfactory, but some accidental tinting effects in post-production created an unexpectedly magical album cover. The inner sleeve photograph was taken at Dunluce Castle near to the Causeway.

Now, on my list, this is not a weird album cover, but in my top ten of the best of all-time. Different strokes for different folks as they say.

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Worst


40. Prince – ‘Dirty Mind’ Dirty Mind is the third album by Prince, released October 8, 1980. According to the New Rolling Stone Album Guide, "Dirty Mind remains one of the most radical 180-degree turns in pop history." With this album, Prince makes a decisive departure from his preceding more commercial album Prince. He seems keen to distance himself from the disco-ish light soul of "I Wanna Be Your Lover" and experiments with a New Wave-influenced, rock and roll sound. The title track, complete with a demo-like organ, is rich with punk sensibilities. The track "When You Were Mine" is full of bouncy guitar licks. However, it is the LP's second side (tracks 5-8) which gives the album its unique fusion sound and contains the tracks which were most controversial at the time, namely "Head" (a bawdy tale of Prince seducing a bride-to-be with oral sex) and "Sister" (a hyperdriven, punk-ish ode to incest clocking in at just 90 seconds). "Uptown" is the album's high point, with Prince singing about a utopian paradise where everyone is free to express themselves regardless of age, gender and skin color. This album was to set the scene emphatically for Prince's chart domination later in the 1980s. It fused black and white musical styles in a seamless fashion and showed that Prince was not afraid to push boundaries. In 2003, the album was ranked number 204 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. On its list of Top 100 Albums of the 1980s, Pitchfork Media had Dirty Mind at 87. I rank it as one of the top ten worst, Gigwise is right on here.

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Best


40. The Groundhogs : ‘Split’ (March 1971) The Groundhogs were a British blues band founded in late 1963, which toured extensively in the 1960s and continued in existence sporadically to the present day. The band's blues credentials were recognised when they backed John Lee Hooker and Champion Jack Dupree on their 1960s tours of Britain. The line-up for their first album, Scratchin' the Surface, released in 1968, consisted of Tony McPhee as singer and guitarist, bassist Peter Cruickshank (born 2 July 1945, Calcutta, West Bengal, India), Ken Pustelnik on drums (born 13 March 1946, on a farm near Blairgowry, Angus, Scotland) and Steve Rye on harmonica. They remain one of the lesser known yet critically regarded bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s blues rock groups. Interesting psychedelic cover for those acid lovers.

Vinyl Collective Stock Update

My vinyl record buddy Virgil, over at www.vinylcollective has just updated his stock. If you are looking for colored and collectible vinyl, this is the place to go!

"Got quite a few restocks for you and at least for us we have a few newer varieties of certain records. Ones to pay close attention include the Gaslight dbl 7″s, Alkaline Trio, Coalesce, Hot Water Music, Latterman, I Hate Myself, This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, Bananas, F.Y.P, Mono, and lots more." - Virgil

A WILHELM SCREAM “Ruiner” LP purple
Against Me! “Cavalier Eternal” 7″ grey vinyl
Against Me! “Cavalier Eternal” 7″ purple vinyl
Alexisonfire “Crisis” LP IMPORT picture disc
ALEXISONFIRE / MONEEN “Switcheroo” split LP picture disc
ALEXISONFIRE/THE BLED split 7″ purple vinyl
ALKALINE TRIO - CRIMSON (COLORED VINYL) LP import red
BLINK 182 - THEY CAME TO CONQUER URANUS 7″
Bright Eyes “Motion Sick” 7″
BURNING BRIDES “Hang Love” dbl LP blue and purple vinyl
Chuck Ragan “Feast or Famine” LP grey vinyl
CHUCK RAGAN “Los Feliz” LP (Grey Marble vinyl)
Coalesce “Give Them Vol 2″ LP grey vinyl
Coalesce “Give Them Vol 2″ LP turquoise
Communique “Poison Arrows” LP
CRIMINALS “S/T” LP orange vinyl
DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL Shade Of Poison LP Mustard vinyl
DEATH ó SYMBOLIC LP 180 gram
DEFIANCE OHIO “Share What Ya Got” LP brown vinyl
DEFIANCE OHIO “the fear the fear the fear” LP dark grey / black vinyl
DEFIANCE OHIO “The Great Depression” LP (grey vinyl)
DEFIANCE OHIO “The Great Depression” LP (pink/purple vinyl)
DEFIANCE OHIO “The Great Depression” LP (turquoise vinyl)
DETROIT COBRAS - TIED & TRUE LP orange vinyl
DWARVES “Way Out” 7″ picture disc
Floor “Dove” LP Green Vinyl
FYP “Extra Credit” 7″ clear pink vinyl
FYP “Made In USA” 7″
FYP “Toys That Kill” LP
GORE GORE GIRLS “Get The Gore” LP grey vinyl
Grabass Charlestons/Ergs split 7″ brownish vinyl
Grabass Charlestons/Ergs split 7″ green swirl vinyl
HOLD STEADY - STUCK BETWEEN STATIONS (1ST) 7″ import
HOLD STEADY - STUCK BETWEEN STATIONS (2ND) 7″ import
HOT ROD CIRCUIT - SORRY ABOUT TOMORROW LP
HOT WATER MUSIC “Caution” LP grey vinyl
HOT WATER MUSIC “Flight and a Crash” LP grey vinyl
HOT WATER MUSIC “Forever and Counting” LP reissue gold vinyl
HOT WATER MUSIC “Forever and Counting” LP reissue white vinyl
HOT WATER MUSIC “Fuel For the Hate Game” LP purple vinyl
HOT WATER MUSIC “Never Ender” LP purple vinyl
Hot Water Music “New What Next” LP grey vinyl
HOT WATER MUSIC “No Division” LP (blue vinyl)
HOT WATER MUSIC “No Division” LP (purple vinyl)
HOT WATER MUSIC “Till the Wheels Fall Off” 2xLP grey vinyl
I HATE MYSELF “Ten Songs” LP BURNT CLEAR vinyl
I HATE MYSELF “Ten Songs” LP purple vinyl
I SPY “Revenge Of The Little Sh*ts” 10″
LADYTRON “604″ dbl LP
LAGWAGON “Let’s Talk About Leftovers” dbl LP Y/R, Y/G splatter vinyl
LATTERMAN “We Are Still Alive” LP black and white vinyl
LATTERMAN “We Are Still Alive” LP purple vinyl
LATTERMAN “We Are Still Alive” LP red vinyl
LIFETIME “Lifetime” LP reissue white vinyl
Lucero ìAttic Tapesî LP + 7″
MONO “Memorial Dal Futoro” 10″ grey vinyl
NEW MEXICAN DISASTER SQUAD “Don’t Believe” LP grey
NEW YORK DOLLS ìOne Day It Will Please Us To Rememberî 2xLP
Of Montreal ìHissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?î 3LP
Of Montreal ìSatanic Panic In The Atticî LP
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS / DEAR LANDLORD†split 7″ black/grey marble vinyl
PELICAN - CITY OF ECHOES (180 GR) LP clear light blue
PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS “Mercy” LP (grey vinyl)
PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS “We Ride to Fight” dbl LP red vinyl
RADON “Metric Buttloads of Rock” LP Yellow vinyl
Rehasher “Off Key Melodies” LP pink vinyl
Rehasher “Off Key Melodies” LP yellow vinyl
RISE AGAINST ìSUFFERER AND THE WITNESSî LP
RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS “To the Confusion of Our Enemies” LP
RUMBLESEAT “Is Dead” LP berry mix vinyl
RYAN ADAMS & THE CARDINALS “Easy Tiger” LP orange vinyl
RYAN ADAMS “DEMOLITION” LP
RYAN ADAMS & THE CARDINALS “Jacksonville City Nights” dbl LP
RYAN ADAMS ìHeartbreakerî LP
SAVES THE DAY - STAY WHAT YOU ARE LP
SCOUTS HONOR ìI Am The Dustî LP
THE ARRIVALS “Marvels of Industry” LP
THE BANANAS “A Slippery Subject” LP
THE BANANAS “Forbidden Fruit” LP
THE DRAFT “Devil in the Shade” / “Na Na Na” 7″
THE DRAFT “In a Million Pieces” LP berry vinyl
THE DRAFT “Stop Wastin’ My Time” / “Up All Night” 7″ grey
THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM “Senor and the Queen” 2×7″ clear vinyl
THE QUEERS “Love Songs for the Retarded” LP colored vinyl
THIS BIKE IS A PIPE BOMB “Front Seat Solidarity” LP turquoise vinyl
This is My Fist “History of Rats” LP Pink vinyl
THIS IS MY FIST / FIFTH HOUR HERO†split 7″ Grey vinyl
V/A Read Army Hot Water Music, Avail, Weakerthans 7″ green vinyl
YOUNG LIVERS “The New Drop Era” LP purple vinyl