Tag Archives: Vinyl Connection
GLORIOUS MELANCHOLY
GENESIS A rainy night in Glasgow, early 1980s. Three university students are making music together; writing songs, practicing, discarding, straining for the moment when something soars. The more they leave out the closer it approaches what they imagine. They persevere. BUSINESS The Linn company was formed in 1973 to produce the legendary Sondek LP12 turntable. […]
TRANSCENDENTAL (NEW) MUSIC
Josef Zawinul wrote the melody ‘In a silent way’ after visiting his Austrian family for Christmas. It is a wistful, almost folky melody that you can hear on the composer’s self-titled 1971 album. But more famously and influentially the tune became the title for a 1969 album that indicated a far-reaching change of direction for […]
HOW DO YOU THINK IT FEELS
1 The last time I recall pulling out a Lou Reed album was to refresh my memory of Rock n Roll Animal for one of a series of articles on the joys of ‘live’ albums. I didn’t actually need to play it again – it’s an album whose slashes and strokes are burned into my […]
MAGIC & LOSS [COVERART #19]
“Lou Reed” [RCA 1972] “Magic & Loss” [Sire 1992] Lou Reed [March 2 1942 – October 27 2013] * (Reflective piece here)
AUTUMN ALMANAC
Born in Melbourne, Australia on 25th October 1941: singer Helen Reddy. Her song ‘Delta Dawn’ was a #1 hit in the liberating year of 1973. Diary – Turned on the transistor and heard that dreadful song about the jilted woman who goes crazy. I’m going crazy trying to work out what to wear to school […]
ALL HOPPED UP AND READY TO GO
Part of the energizing outré CBGBs scene in mid-70s New York, the Ramones story is well known. How a lanky outsider by the name of Jeffrey Hyman linked up with Douglas Colvin and Johnny Cummings to form a three-piece called Ramones. Band manager Thomas Erdelyi recalled ‘they were terrible. It was the worst thing I’ve […]
OF FLEAS AND FAUST
Like a down-market department store for heads and hippies, Goesunder Flea Market in the heart of Melbourne’s retail district was the unlikely venue for an import record shop, yet that is where I first encountered Krautrock. It was my first year at the university, a 15 minute walk north of the city centre. I was […]
THE ART OF TEA
The on-line forum is a strange beast. Often it is a series of blokes (the record collector groups are almost all male, you know) taking turns at “show and tell”. The bargain of the century, my latest rarity, the best, the worst; there is no real dialogue or any genuine discussion but there is lots of […]
THE JOYS OF MUSIC TRIVIA – or – “Oh, I know that one, it’s…”
Last Friday in Melbourne was chilly. Cold even. Not altogether surprising, it’s winter and we’ve just passed the shortest day. But there was activity in the suburbs, as Vinyl Connection presented a Live Music Trivia Quiz at one of our favourite Record Stores, Quality Records…plus. It is a lovely store, with books, DVDs and CDs […]