VINYL VIEWS: 4/1/2021
Vinyl Views is our weekly blog where we feature album recommendations from our store team (Shayne and Jaxon), and reveal picks from guest contributors.
This week we are joined by that man of mystery, master of disguises, Gene Parmesan. So…let’s have a little fun on April one.
Scroll down to read this week’s album picks or get shopping! Looking for a prior week of Vinyl Views? If so, CLICK HERE!
Who is this week’s guest? We’re not telling, but it’s definitely time to have some fun with music picks, so let’s get to it!
Artist: Mandy Moore
Album: Coverage
Long before starring in NBC’s “This Is Us” or voice acting for Disney, Mandy Moore got her start as a bubblegum pop chanteuse. After going toe-to-toe with the likes of Britney, Christina, and Jessica Simpson, Moore dedicated her fourth album to trying to rescue the likes of XTC, The Waterboys, Joe Jackson, and Todd Rundgren from obscurity, and it’s a victory for intrepid listeners. While some of the songs chosen for this cover album are more obvious, original takes of songs like XTC’s “Senses Working Overtime” are given a new life. Stripped of its dour verses, nuance, and inherent English-ness (and with all of the record-scratch sound effects you’d wish that the original had), this one’s a striking beauty.
DON’T Check out the track Senses Working Overtime.
Artist: Komar & Melamid and Dave Soldier
Album: The People’s Choice Music
Democracy is amazing, right? We’ve gotten pretty far by putting important things to popular vote. While music is typically a medium of self expression, the two songs that comprise this album finally get rid of all of that hoopla and get to what’s important: listening to the group consensus and not just record exec’s selling us what they think we want to hear. This was based on opinion polling conducted by a professional polling company. While I’ve seen this classified as avant-garde, this music really is made with the everyday person in mind. So much of music is based on personal opinion, and I, for one, am glad that’s been taken out of the equation.
DON’T Check out the track The Most Unwanted Song.
Artist: Beck
Album: Sea Change
I figured I’d close on an uplifting note. I’ve always enjoyed the music of Beck, but sometimes it feels like he moves around a little too much. Pick a genre and stick with it! “Sea Change” finally gave me what I wanted, as Mr. Hansen does his best Donovan. A mellow, refreshing album from top to bottom. While most famous for his early single “Loser,” this album is an obvious Winner!
DON’T Check out the track Guess I’m Doing Fine.
Nega-Shayne is a multiversal doppleganger with strong opinions for better or worse. It’s best we give him an outlet though, just in case…
I fully intended to lead off this playlist with Chris Gaines but the coward has scrubbed all traces of his work from the internet, pfft! Check out my picks below and if/when you find yourself clamoring for more, hit up this tasty Spotify link yo!
(Warning: Explicit Content and just general content)
Nega-Shayne’s playlist this week is titled Furst.
Access the Spotify Playlist Here => 
Artist: Disturbed
Album: The Sickness
This nu-metal masterpiece has aged incredibly well in the twenty years since it’s release. From a promo cassette that became a staple in the “Bucket of Sin” to huge success, to meme, it’s legacy endures! Too bad they had to postpone their anniversary tour but better late than never!
DON’T Check out the track The Sickness.
Artist: Jackyl
Album: Jackyl
Jackyl’s first two albums were a staple of late night rowdy ping-pong playing at my Dad’s house back in the day. I think I actually bonded with my first girlfriend over it? Several years ago I was helping vend at their Music/Motorcycle/Whiskey-ad festival “Throttlefest.” We got stuck by the port-o-pottys, barely made a sale and were constantly harangued by, um, lovely women shilling shots. Basically exactly what you’d expect from an event headlined by a singing chainsaw!
DON’T Check out the track The Lumberjack.
Artist: Insane Clown Posse
Album: Mutilation Mix
ICP was a rite of passage for any adolescent boy in those years.We knew what magnets were though. Their branding is incredible. Why didn’t I form my own militia around cosplay and regional sugar water? The afore-mentioned “Bucket Of Sin” put an untimely end to this tape sadly. For some reason Shayne “Prime” keeps refusing to add this to his Halloween Mix.
DON’T Check out the track Cemetery Girl.
Artist: Farrah Abraham
Album: My Teenage Dream Ended
This album is a masterpiece. Its wild auto-tuned vocals flail all over the place. The vocal timing is off-kilter from the timing of the rest of the music. Farrah Abraham first achieved fame from the show 16 and Pregnant, and later released an album that accompanied a book. It is wild. Check it out.
DON’T Check out the track After Prom.
Artist: Viper
Album: You’ll Cowards Don’t Even Smoke Crack
Viper is one of my favorite people to ever exist. He unofficially holds the record for most albums released in a year, having released 347 albums in 2014. This one is often considered his most classic by his fans. You could say that it predicted the woozy sounds of cloud rap that came after him even. My favorite part of Vipers is his antics. I have no clue where to even start on that front, but one highlight is The Hornace Of Death which is an extremely small women-sized body wrap that he claims is supposed to make his organs smaller which is supposed to give him powers of some kind. Viper is surely a character. Check it out.
DON’T Check out the track You’ll Cowards Don’t Even Smoke Crack.
Artist: Corey Feldman
Album: Angelic 2 The Core
This album took 10 years to record. It is a unique listening experience with features from everyone from Fred Durst to Snoop Dogg. This one-hour thirty-four-minute monster of a double album is quite possibly the peak of music.
DON’T Check out the track Angelic 2 The Core.
How Do I Order Music (Or Other Things)?
Val’s is now open again (safely)! Bring a face mask and we will sanitize your hands on the way in. Social distancing, of course. Val’s halla has worked hard over this quarantine period to launch its Online Store which has thousands of titles for you to choose from. We will continue to add inventory everyday, but just let us know what you are looking for! We are happy to look through our off-line inventory of over 50,000 titles to see what we have for you. Also, we place orders with our distributor every Monday which means we see them in our store by Tuesday (most of the time). We sell records (as well as turntables), CDs, cassettes, 8-tracks, DVDs and more. To get started, you can Click Here to access the Online Store, or fill out the form below to let us know what you are looking for.
What About Delivery?
Val’s is offering Curbside Pickup and No-Contact Delivery Service to customers who live within a 5-mile radius of the Oak Park Arts District. Orders can also be shipped to customers outside that radius for a flat fee of $5. Order as much as you want – still $5 shipping! Stay safe and be well!