Week Ending 09/27/2008
1. 45rpm - Lester Tipton "This Won't Change" / "Go On" La Beat - $6,546.00 Start: $99.99 Bids: 32
2. LP - Sonny Clark "Cool Struttin'" Blue Note Mono - $3,750.00 Start: $5.00 Bids: 12
3. 45rpm - Eric Mercury and the Soul Searchers "Lonely Girl, Part 1" / "Lonely Girl, Part 2" SAC - $3,100.00 Start: $4,500.00 Bids: Best Offer
4. 12" - U2 "Three" #902 - $2,758.00 Start: $500.00 Bids: 27
5. 45rpm - T-Rex "Ride A White Swan" / "Summer Time Blues" Blue Thumb Japan Pic Sleeve - $1,799.99 Start: $1,799.99 Bids: 1
A Northern Soul 45 breaks past $5k this week, a Lester Tipton record on La Beat hitting past $6.5k. La Beat was a label out of Los Angeles that has a huge following in Northern Soul circles and many dozens of records on the label sell in the $30 - $300 range. At least from a glance, it seems La Beat, more than any other small label, has the largest number of high dollar collectible records.
As far as labels go, Blue Note likely has the highest number of high dollar LP's. And the #2 spot goes to Sonny Clarks' "Cool Struttin" on Blue Note. This record sells for over $3.7k. Next, another Northern Soul 45 from Eric Mercury sells on a Best Offer for $3.1k down from an asking price of $4.5k.
The famous U2 12" known as "Three" gets the #4 spot selling for over $2.6k. And last, a Japanese T-Rex 45 closes for a penny less than $1.8k.
SOURCE: http://ccdiscoveries.blogspot.com
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Album Cover Art
Well, here we are (drumroll please), we have arrived at Gigwise.com's list of the top ten most controversial, weirdest, best and worst album covers of all time (according to their crack staff). Let's roll up our sleeves and get to it:
Controversial
10. Slayer: ‘God Hates Us All’ This is the eighth studio album by the American thrash metal band Slayer. Released on September 11, 2001, the album received mixed critical reviews, although it entered the Billboard 200 at number 28. Recorded in three months at The Warehouse Studio in Canada, God Hates Us All includes the Grammy Award-nominated "Disciple" and is the band's last album to feature drummer Paul Bostaph.
Guitarist Kerry King wrote roughly 80% of the lyrics, adopting a different approach from earlier recordings by including prevalent themes such as religion, murder, revenge, and self-control. Limiting the lyrics to topics which everyone could relate to, King wished to explore more in depth, realistic subject matter. The band experimented musically by recording two songs with seven-string guitars, and a further two with drop B tunings. The album's release was delayed due to the graphic nature of its artwork for which slip covers were created to cover the original artwork, difficulties encountered during audio mixing, and the change of distributor by the band's record label during the release period.
God Hates Us All was originally intended to be named Soundtrack to the Apocalypse. However, Araya suggested that the title would be a better used for a box set, which the band released in 2003. The phrase God Hates Us All originates from the song "Disciple", during which the line is repeated over the chorus. The lyrics are in reference to God's allowance of acts such as suicide and terrorism, while seemingly doing nothing to prevent them. A member of the heavy metal band Pantera suggested using "God Hates Us All" for a shirt design after King played the song to the band. King agreed, although he thought the phrase would have more impact as the album title.
The original album cover depicts a Bible spiked with nails, covered in blood and "Slayer" burnt across it, while the liner notes feature Bible verses crossed out with a black marker. The idea was suggested by the band's record company, although King wished to have more time to develop a better cover. King thought the idea "represents a record company with absolutely no idea what the fuck they were going to do", and said that the effort "looked like a seventh grader defaced the Bible." King's concept for the cover was to insert nails in a shape of a pentagram, and have the nails miss keywords in Bible verses so it appeared as if it had been created by a sociopath who knew where every word appears. A slip insert was created to be placed in front of the covers in stores.
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Weird
10. The Handsome Beasts: 'O4' A pig (or two), a nun and a dog, hmmm, not too weird for me. But, the band is probably more famous for their cover art than they are the music...that's just sad, in my opinion
----------------------------------------
Worst
10. The Handsome Beasts – ‘Beastiality’ Need I say more?
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Best
10. The Velvet Underground: ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’ ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’ is often referred to as the ‘Banana Album’ because of Andy Warhol’s fruity creation on its front cover. I still don't see why everyone thinks this is a great cover- it's a freaking banana people!
The Velvet Underground & Nico is the debut album by experimental rock band The Velvet Underground and vocal collaborator Nico. It was originally released in March 1967 by Verve Records, a subsidiary of MGM Records.
Recorded in 1966 during Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable multimedia event tour, The Velvet Underground & Nico would gain notoriety for its experimentalist performance sensibilities, as well as its focus on controversial subject matter expressed in many of their songs.
Though largely ignored upon its release, it has since become one of the most influential and critically lauded rock albums in history, appearing as #13 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time as well as being added to the 2006 National Recording Registry by the Librarian of Congress.
The Velvet Underground & Nico is sometimes referred to as the "banana album" as it features a Warhol print of a banana on the cover. Early copies of the album invited the owner to "Peel slowly and see"; peeling back the banana skin revealed a flesh-colored banana underneath. A special machine was needed to manufacture these covers (one of the causes of the album's delayed release), but MGM paid for costs figuring that any ties to Warhol would boost sales of the album.
On the 1996 CD reissue, the banana image is on the front cover while the image of the peeled banana is on the inside of the jewel case, beneath the CD itself.
Back cover lawsuit controversy
When the album was first issued, the main back cover photo (taken at an Exploding Plastic Inevitable performance) featured an image of actor Eric Emerson projected upside-down on the wall behind the band. Emerson threatened to sue over this unauthorized use of his image, unless he was paid. Rather than complying, MGM recalled copies of the album and halted its distribution until Emerson's image could be airbrushed from the photo on subsequent pressings. Copies that had already been printed were sold with a large black sticker covering the actor's image. The image was restored in the 1996 CD reissue.
It's still a picture of a freaking banana to me.
Controversial
10. Slayer: ‘God Hates Us All’ This is the eighth studio album by the American thrash metal band Slayer. Released on September 11, 2001, the album received mixed critical reviews, although it entered the Billboard 200 at number 28. Recorded in three months at The Warehouse Studio in Canada, God Hates Us All includes the Grammy Award-nominated "Disciple" and is the band's last album to feature drummer Paul Bostaph.
Guitarist Kerry King wrote roughly 80% of the lyrics, adopting a different approach from earlier recordings by including prevalent themes such as religion, murder, revenge, and self-control. Limiting the lyrics to topics which everyone could relate to, King wished to explore more in depth, realistic subject matter. The band experimented musically by recording two songs with seven-string guitars, and a further two with drop B tunings. The album's release was delayed due to the graphic nature of its artwork for which slip covers were created to cover the original artwork, difficulties encountered during audio mixing, and the change of distributor by the band's record label during the release period.
God Hates Us All was originally intended to be named Soundtrack to the Apocalypse. However, Araya suggested that the title would be a better used for a box set, which the band released in 2003. The phrase God Hates Us All originates from the song "Disciple", during which the line is repeated over the chorus. The lyrics are in reference to God's allowance of acts such as suicide and terrorism, while seemingly doing nothing to prevent them. A member of the heavy metal band Pantera suggested using "God Hates Us All" for a shirt design after King played the song to the band. King agreed, although he thought the phrase would have more impact as the album title.
The original album cover depicts a Bible spiked with nails, covered in blood and "Slayer" burnt across it, while the liner notes feature Bible verses crossed out with a black marker. The idea was suggested by the band's record company, although King wished to have more time to develop a better cover. King thought the idea "represents a record company with absolutely no idea what the fuck they were going to do", and said that the effort "looked like a seventh grader defaced the Bible." King's concept for the cover was to insert nails in a shape of a pentagram, and have the nails miss keywords in Bible verses so it appeared as if it had been created by a sociopath who knew where every word appears. A slip insert was created to be placed in front of the covers in stores.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weird
10. The Handsome Beasts: 'O4' A pig (or two), a nun and a dog, hmmm, not too weird for me. But, the band is probably more famous for their cover art than they are the music...that's just sad, in my opinion
----------------------------------------
Worst
10. The Handsome Beasts – ‘Beastiality’ Need I say more?
--------------------------------------------
Best
10. The Velvet Underground: ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’ ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’ is often referred to as the ‘Banana Album’ because of Andy Warhol’s fruity creation on its front cover. I still don't see why everyone thinks this is a great cover- it's a freaking banana people!
The Velvet Underground & Nico is the debut album by experimental rock band The Velvet Underground and vocal collaborator Nico. It was originally released in March 1967 by Verve Records, a subsidiary of MGM Records.
Recorded in 1966 during Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable multimedia event tour, The Velvet Underground & Nico would gain notoriety for its experimentalist performance sensibilities, as well as its focus on controversial subject matter expressed in many of their songs.
Though largely ignored upon its release, it has since become one of the most influential and critically lauded rock albums in history, appearing as #13 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time as well as being added to the 2006 National Recording Registry by the Librarian of Congress.
The Velvet Underground & Nico is sometimes referred to as the "banana album" as it features a Warhol print of a banana on the cover. Early copies of the album invited the owner to "Peel slowly and see"; peeling back the banana skin revealed a flesh-colored banana underneath. A special machine was needed to manufacture these covers (one of the causes of the album's delayed release), but MGM paid for costs figuring that any ties to Warhol would boost sales of the album.
On the 1996 CD reissue, the banana image is on the front cover while the image of the peeled banana is on the inside of the jewel case, beneath the CD itself.
Back cover lawsuit controversy
When the album was first issued, the main back cover photo (taken at an Exploding Plastic Inevitable performance) featured an image of actor Eric Emerson projected upside-down on the wall behind the band. Emerson threatened to sue over this unauthorized use of his image, unless he was paid. Rather than complying, MGM recalled copies of the album and halted its distribution until Emerson's image could be airbrushed from the photo on subsequent pressings. Copies that had already been printed were sold with a large black sticker covering the actor's image. The image was restored in the 1996 CD reissue.
It's still a picture of a freaking banana to me.
Vinyl Record Comeback - How Is It Going?
By Thomas Stenumgaard
We have written earlier about how we view the future of the music industry, and what role we think vinyl will play in that future. So today we have been searching around a little bit to see what has been written about vinyl in the media lately. Below is a short wrap up of what we found:
CNET News.com- Making vinyl records the old-fashioned way. According to Jay Millar, the marketing and sales manager for United Record Pressing, it has everything to do with the emergence of Apple's oh-so-ubiquitous MP3 player.
"It really started picking up when iPods started coming onto the scene" Millar said. "Everything got so sterile with digital that people were not spending time" with the physical manifestation of their music.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9977878-52.html
Rollingstone - Vinyl Returns in the Age of MP3 - LP and turntable sales grow as fans find warmer sound in classic format.
There's also something less technical lurking behind vinyl's mini-renaissance. Whether it's inspecting a needle for dust or flipping the record over at the end of a side, LPs demand attention. And for a small but growing group, those demands aren't a nuisance. "There's nothing like putting the needle into the groove of a record" says country singer Shelby Lynne. "It's about as real as you can get. You got your vinyl, your weed, your friends, and while you're rollin', they're pickin' out another record. We're all taking music for granted because it's so easy to push a button. I mean, come on music should be fun.
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/20947918/vinyl_returns_in_the_age_of_mp3/print
CNN.com/US - Retailers giving vinyl records another spin
But it's not just about the sound. Audiophiles say they also want the format's overall experience the sensory experience of putting the needle on the record, the feeling of side A and side B and the joy of lingering over the liner notes.
"I think music products should be more than just music," said Isaac Hudson, a 28-year-old vinyl fan standing outside one of Portland's larger independent music stores.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/06/10/vinyl.records.ap/
We are convinced that the vinyl format will have a strong position in the future and the statistics show that the sales are increasing steadily. One of the reasons why we think so is of course the reasons laid out above. Vinyl offers a different context. A second reason, which we believe is important is that even if artists can record and publish their music on the Internet almost for free there will still, to some extent, be a need for putting out something physical. Since releasing something physical entails some kind of investment it also means that there is some kind of risk involved. We believe that artist will need to be willing to, to some degree, take that risk.
About the Author- Nylvi co-founder Thomas Stenumgaard writes about vinyl records and the future of the music industry. A new social marketplace for buying and selling vinyl records. For more information check out www.nylvi.com
We have written earlier about how we view the future of the music industry, and what role we think vinyl will play in that future. So today we have been searching around a little bit to see what has been written about vinyl in the media lately. Below is a short wrap up of what we found:
CNET News.com- Making vinyl records the old-fashioned way. According to Jay Millar, the marketing and sales manager for United Record Pressing, it has everything to do with the emergence of Apple's oh-so-ubiquitous MP3 player.
"It really started picking up when iPods started coming onto the scene" Millar said. "Everything got so sterile with digital that people were not spending time" with the physical manifestation of their music.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9977878-52.html
Rollingstone - Vinyl Returns in the Age of MP3 - LP and turntable sales grow as fans find warmer sound in classic format.
There's also something less technical lurking behind vinyl's mini-renaissance. Whether it's inspecting a needle for dust or flipping the record over at the end of a side, LPs demand attention. And for a small but growing group, those demands aren't a nuisance. "There's nothing like putting the needle into the groove of a record" says country singer Shelby Lynne. "It's about as real as you can get. You got your vinyl, your weed, your friends, and while you're rollin', they're pickin' out another record. We're all taking music for granted because it's so easy to push a button. I mean, come on music should be fun.
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/20947918/vinyl_returns_in_the_age_of_mp3/print
CNN.com/US - Retailers giving vinyl records another spin
But it's not just about the sound. Audiophiles say they also want the format's overall experience the sensory experience of putting the needle on the record, the feeling of side A and side B and the joy of lingering over the liner notes.
"I think music products should be more than just music," said Isaac Hudson, a 28-year-old vinyl fan standing outside one of Portland's larger independent music stores.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/06/10/vinyl.records.ap/
We are convinced that the vinyl format will have a strong position in the future and the statistics show that the sales are increasing steadily. One of the reasons why we think so is of course the reasons laid out above. Vinyl offers a different context. A second reason, which we believe is important is that even if artists can record and publish their music on the Internet almost for free there will still, to some extent, be a need for putting out something physical. Since releasing something physical entails some kind of investment it also means that there is some kind of risk involved. We believe that artist will need to be willing to, to some degree, take that risk.
About the Author- Nylvi co-founder Thomas Stenumgaard writes about vinyl records and the future of the music industry. A new social marketplace for buying and selling vinyl records. For more information check out www.nylvi.com
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