Double Decker Records , located in Allentown about 40-45 minutes from my place of residence, is a store I normally go to when in pilgrimage mode, which is to say any visit is going to be an expensive, albeit fruitful, one. I met up with a good friend and proceeded to comb through the stacks for a couple of hours, leaving the store with an uncomfortable and somewhat heavy 12" x 12" brick nestled beneath my arm. I'm slowly working my way through these. Here are the first two:  feedtime Cooper-S Released: 1988 Rough Trade Partially integral to the development of sounds specific to the pacific northwest, or just Mudhoney's sound in general, feedtime of Syndney, Australia is muck-borne blues punk. Hyper slop'd and urgent,  Cooper-S , which was originally released in 1988 via the now-defunct Australian label  Aberrant Records , is a covers album that boasts some gravelly interpretations of "Fun Fun Fun" by The Beach Boys, three Rolling Stones tracks (my favori...

Axebreaker : The Whited Sepulcher  The Whited Sepulcher by Axebreaker Ultravox : "Passing Strangers" Magazine : "Vigilance" Tangerine Dream : "Betrayal (Sorcerer Theme)" Die Kreuzen : "Wish" Paul McCartney : "Temporary Secretary" U.S. Girls : "National Anthem" & "Pearly Gates" The Jesus Lizard : "Bloody Mary" Goblin: "L'alba Dei Morti Viventi" Oh Sees : "A Few Days of Reflection" OCS : "Cannibal Planet" Sleep : "Marijuanaut's Theme" Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Saccharine Trust : "A Good Night's Bleeding" Smart Went Crazy : "Song of the Dodo" Charles Mingus : "Hearts' Beat and Shades in Physical Embraces" Sun Ra and His Arkestra (featuring Pharaoh Sanders and Black Harold ) Glenn Branca : "Lesson No. 1 for Electric Guitar" Joseph Loduca : "Ash's Dream / Dancing Game / Dance of the Dead" Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Weather Report Black Market Columbia Records Released: 1976 Van Halen s/t Warner Brothers Records Released: 1978 A Place To Bury Strangers Onwards to the Wall EP Dead Oceans Released: 2012 J Dilla Ruff Draft Stones Throw Released: 2007 Tangerine Dream Firestarter (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) MCA Records Released: 1984 Tom Waits Real Gone Anti Released: 2004 Cabaret Voltaire Code EMI-MANHATTEN Released: 1987 The Fall Dragnet Superior Viaduct Reissued: 2016 John Coltrane & Alice Coltrane Cosmic Music Superior Viaduct Reissued: 2017 Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Some recent purchases from... Thrill Jockey Records : Uniform Wake In Fright Thrill Jockey Records Released: 1.20.17 Uniform 's Wake In Fright was issued as an "art edition" limited to 200, white vinyl housed in a screen-printed homage to Mad Max that's sealed with a wax stamp.  Needless to say, these are gone.  I won't say that the screen printed cover does much to enhance the actual album, but it's still pretty cool. I reviewed Wake In Fright at No Ripcord .  I recommend picking up a copy .  Castle Face Records : Damaged Bug Bunker Funk Castle Face Records Released: 3.10.17 As with any specialty Castle Face vinyl release, you jump on it as quickly as possible.  For the latest Damaged Bug release, the excellent Bunker Funk , I was able to pick up the Half-Candy/Half-Poison version.  It's a three-sided double-LP with an etched side that comes in a gatefold sleeve.  There were three other specialized editions of Bunker F...

Death Waltz Recording Company/Mondo : Angelo Badalamenti Twin Peaks Originally released: 1989 Reissued: 8.10.16 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me Originally released: 1992 Reissued: 1.25.17 Death Waltz Recording Company Am I a bad fan since I haven't opened either of these yet?  Angelo Badalamenti 's excellent soundtracks for David Lynch 's Twin Peaks series and its accompanying film provided a necessary and magnetic dimension to this tale of murder and this town's cast of weirdos affected by the event.  Truth to be told my hesitation to break these open is for purely geek reasons, most significant of which is that I need to acquire some plastic sleeves so I can safely file them onto my shelves.  Those die cut covers, while well-conceived and beautifully crafted, can be easily damaged. The other reason is that the soundtrack vinyl is no longer for sale . I managed to buy this copy from a seller at Discogs, which was a thankfully quick and painless experi...

'Twas the season...  Wire Nocturnal Koreans Pinkflag Released: Caught Wire 's Nocturnal Koreans mini-LP just before 2016 elapsed thanks to my wife who has, interestingly, managed to gift me one Wire album over the last (now) three Christmases.  I think I got the Document & Eyewitnesses compilation in 2014 and Wire's s/t LP last year.  I wouldn't call this a bad tradition. While I really liked the title track when the album came out, I'll admit this isn't my favorite of the band's recent output.  I may need to give it a few more listens.  I would never accuse the band of phoning it in so to speak, but maybe plateauing a bit.  Either way, I'm always happy to be expanding my collection of Wire LPs. Flying Lotus You're Dead Warp Released: 10.6.14 You're Dead by Flying Lotus slipped by me in 2014 and has been on the "I'll get to it someday" wishlist for the past couple of years.  I should've jumped on ...