VINYL VIEWS: WEEK OF 4/11/22
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 hear from “Andres Lopez” who recently unloaded some of his incredible collection on us!
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I’m not a man with a life, I’m a gamer with many lives. I’m a dad of two and work some mad hours, so when I have time to listen to music it better be fast. Love me some punk and always get a kick out of reliving favorite video game moments with soundtracks. Hope you enjoy some of my picks.
Artist: Mikel And Gamechops
Album: Zelda & Chill
German beat maker Mikel gives his take on Koji Kondo’s great music of Zelda. This album is a beautiful hip-hop lo-fi listen that can be enjoyed by both fans and first-comers. Mikel gives us a vast selection of music from all eras of Zelda, but never fails to incorporate his own originality into the music. While there’s a lot of video game music that mimics or adds to the original composition, very few give such a fresh take as Mikel did here. Just take a look at this amazing cover of Link and Zelda taking a break from battling Ganon to enjoy a nice local cafe’. I would also recommend Mikel’s other work such as Pokemon & Chill and the 80′ synth heavy Mario & Chill.(Rainbow Road never sounded so good)
Check out the track Song Of Storms
Artist: NOFX
Album: So Long And Thanks For All The Shoes
Titled after being thrown more shoes then they could count while playing shows, this record does not let up. You will get NoFX’s greatest blend of fun, personal, ska, harmonized, fast pop punk 16 track offering with no filler. These California based punks have a career of 18 full length albums, all of which are amazing, but this one is the cherry on top. The vinyl has a Melvin introduction and a reggae intro to “Murder the Government” that you will not hear in any other medium. The closer of this record, “Falling In Love,” tells the tale of a tragic ending of a married couple you can’t miss. Also be sure to keep the record spinning to hear Howard Stern’s take on the band.
Check out the track It’s My Job To Keep Punk Rock Elite
Artist: Michael Zucker
Album: Super Mario Bros. 3/Legend Of Zelda
Nintendo is not a company that puts out many of their soundtracks on wax. Enter Michael Zucker giving us an amazing overture of the #1 selling Mario title, “Super Mario Bros. 3.” It’s all here in the most nostalgic rushes out there. Begin your journey 1-1, grab your star, and fight on airships to the NES sounds. This is pressed on a beautiful yellow 45 and as a treat Zelda is on the flip side. Even cooler is the question block on the black cover. Really pops.
.Check out the track ALL OF IT
From: Shayne:
I get precious few days off so I’m always torn between procrastinated housework and rewatching Buffy for the billionth time. One thing that’s a guarantee though is a pot cooking for hours! This playlist is all about that comfort only the king of foods can provide!
Summon The Soup!
Access the Spotify Playlist Here => 
Artist: Basuraastillada
Album: Pecho de Algodón de Azúcar
For this week’s vinyl views, I will be talking about some of my favorite EP’s, and shining a light on them.
Basuraastillada are an emo band from Columbia, who in 2020 released a collection of four of my favorite songs from that year. The modern emo scene has felt very diverse, with bands from all over the world supporting each other. This record has tinges of lo-fi, and uses the style of playing popularized from the Midwest emo scene of the 90’s and early 00’s. This EP is absolutely phenomenal, and I would highly recommend checking it out. Listen to the song Fogata for a taste of what this release has to offer.
Check out the track Fogata
Artist: Charli XCX
Album: Vroom Vroom
This is a fun one. This EP was where we saw Charli shape into what we know her as today. This whole EP was produced by SOPHIE (may she rest in peace) and is just 4 tracks of loud, slightly experimental, pop bangers. Each song makes me want to dance, it’s all super infectious.
Check out the track Trophy
Artist: Earl Sweatshirt
Album: Solace
While this is technically only one track, I would still count it as an EP, as it feels like multiple songs strung together creating a singular piece (as well as the fact that it is labeled as an EP by fans). This is some of Earl’s finest work. This is some super dark and dreary experimental hip hop, with amazing wordplay and super sparse and dark instrumentals. Earl is in my opinion maybe hip hop’s strongest living lyricist. This EP shows off his genius, and is absolutely phenomenal.
Check out the track Solace
How Do I Order Music (Or Other Things)?
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 distributors every week. We sell records (as well as turntables), CDs, cassettes, 8-tracks, DVDs and more. 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!