In rotation: 11/13/19

The Internet Archive is now working to preserve vinyl LPs: The Internet Archive is an absolute treasure with a gigantic task ahead of them. They have now set their sights on vinyl LPs and started the work of digitizing and archiving these recordings. Earlier this year, the Internet Archive began working with the Boston Public Library (BPL) to digitize more than 100,000 audio recordings from their sound collection. The recordings exist in a variety of historical formats, including wax cylinders, 78 rpms, and LPs. They span musical genres including classical, pop, rock, and jazz, and contain obscure recordings like this album of music for baton twirlers , and this record of radio’s all-time greatest bloopers. Since all of the information on an LP is printed, the digitization process must begin by cataloging data. High-resolution scans are taken of the cover art, the disc itself and any inserts or accompanying materials. The record label, year recorded, track list and other metadata are supplemented and cross-checked against various external databases.

Whangārei, NZ | Whangārei music enthusiasts enjoy record collectors fair: Bowie, Clapton, The Beatles and more music legends drew vinyl lovers to the Whangārei Record Collectors Fair on Saturday. The bi-annual event is in its third year and is a true treasure trove with its large range of second-hand records ranging from rock and pop, to reggae and punk, and of course, hip-hop and classical were also represented. Northern Advocate photographer John Stone captured images of music enthusiasts while listening to some fine tunes on Bank St.

Chicago, IL | Chicago’s Bloodshot Records Celebrates 25th Anniversary: It is the silver anniversary of a Chicago independent record label that sets the gold standard for roots music in the city and beyond. Bloodshot Records started on the fringes of the music scene and staked a claim with rock and country shot through with punk and soul. We visited their headquarters on the eve of the label’s 25th anniversary and got an earful…”We were seeing all these bands around town at tiny little clubs that didn’t necessarily know about one another, that were all touching on roots music in some weird way and kind of operating independently of one another and just very organically creating this sound. And we thought well here’s a good place for us to stitch it together and kind of make a scene out of it and give it a name and some kind of identity.” …If you profess to love independent music, you as a fan need to support it. You need to support these musicians because no one’s getting rich here. Everyone exists on the fringes and we’re doing it for a very basic love of it, but the economic model is largely unsustainable. We’re absolutely foolhardy to continue to do it.”

Springfield, IL | A record deal: Woman says ‘yes’ among the vinyl: Andy Krisak popped the question to Cori Claycomb Sunday. It was filed under “S.” Krisak, an underwriter for U.S. Insurance in Springfield, took a novel approach to the marriage proposal, spelling out “Cori, will you marry me?” over five different vinyl record sleeves and hiding them among the stacks at Dumb Records, 418 E. Monroe St. “I was stunned,” admitted Claycomb, who works in the education department at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. “I had no idea.” Both are huge music fans. Claycomb even did her college thesis paper on the resurgence of vinyl records. Claycomb admitted she has a precise way of going through record store albums, beginning with “A” and going straight through alphabetically. Krisak eventually steered her towards the “S” section where the proposal waited. “I’ve been planning this awhile,” Krisak said. “Finally, the planets aligned.” Dumb Records owner Brian Galecki was in on the plan and helping with the plastic sleeves, “so I had to keep a straight face when they walked in.” Galecki said it is “definitely” the first marriage proposal for the independent record store, which opened up in its current location earlier this year.

Rochelle, IL | My love of records is getting a new life: I love records. They are a magical disk to me. They made me a dreamer, a music lover and a musician. I spent hours, days and weeks in my childhood bedroom listening to records and staring at their covers. Those magical covers. And what was in the grooves of those vinyl delights was also magical. KISS, Rush, UFO, Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, the Ramones. Those might not be names that mean much to you, but they meant a lot to me during my teen years. I had a pretty decent collection of vinyl when I was younger. I bought plenty of records with money I made as a busboy or delivering pizzas. Yes, I also bought 8-track tapes and, later, cassettes, but I always loved albums. Not all of it was the harder rock mentioned above. I was a huge Elton John fan, and also had some pop music, plenty of progressive stuff and even some jazz fusion. I could sit in my bedroom, put on an album and stare at an album cover for hours. I read the names of the producers, where it was recorded, who the engineer was. I read the lyrics and scanned the “thank you” section many bands put in the liner notes for cool shout outs to other bands.

Franklin, IN | Scratching the Surface: Rows upon rows of some new, but mostly refurbished, vinyl records line the walls of Electric Key Records waiting to be sifted through and listened to as soon as a customer walks in the new store front. For Franklin resident Cory O’Sullivan, what once was an obsessive collection of post-punk music with his wife is now a business that they hope to continue to grow, including multiple genres of music, and a place for people to come and express their love for all music. Cory met his wife, Erin O’Sullivan, when they both discovered their love for music and joined a band together from 2000 to 2001, playing covers of post-punk songs. Cory O’Sullivan played the drums while his wife played the bass guitar. From there, they spent their time growing their joy for music together. At first it was just their own smaller collection, but then they started buying giant collections, some holding up to as many as 2,000 records. “It’s a lot of fun for us. It connects us together,” Erin O’Sullivan said.

Tampa, FL | Video store isn’t just hanging on. It’s thriving on horror. There is a place where the video store never died. Where movie posters plaster the walls and a giant novelty VHS tape hangs above the checkout counter. Where, on a recent afternoon, the owner placed an order for more inventory via an honest-to-goodness telephone. “I’m sorry, I just have to get his order in today,” said Mike Sandlin, owner of Grindhouse Video. He turned his attention back to the vendor on the line. “Puppetmaster, right, I need two of those …” There are racks for the “staff picks” (Kortney likes Horns, Colton likes Beaks: The Movie), and a small, adults-only room, obscured by a beaded curtain. There are nearly 2,000 square feet of shelves lined with DVDs and Blu-ray discs. There’s an entire room of VHS tapes. Who would buy those? Almost on cue, a man in a beanie walked into the room and began plucking tapes like Elvira: Mistress of the Dark and The Mummy. Sandlin shrugged and pointed at the guy. “A friend of mine told me about this place. I come here as often as I can,” said Hunter Barnett, 32. “With Halloween coming up I’m trying to get as much horror, monster, anything themed like that, that I can.”

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  • SUPPORTING YOUR LOCAL INDIE SHOPS SINCE 2007


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