The Vinyl Ape 🦧

THE SMITHS
Louder Than Bombs
2011 Europe 2xLP reissue

When you’re in the mood for a sad, mopey bastard with his shirt open…
there can only be one choice.

Louder Than Bombs was the second Smiths album I ever heard, and the first of theirs that I bought with my own money.

After stealing my older sister’s boyfriend’s cassette copy of The Queen Is Dead (and having my mind blown), I then set out to find as many Smiths albums I could find.
My local Good Vibrations had the CD version of this, and Strangeways, Meat Is Murder, and the self-titled soon found their way into my collection.

Johnny Marr remains one of my all-time guitar heroes. And even though Morrissey grew up to be one of the douchiest twats of all time, my love for this band will never waiver.

One of the best compilations of a band’s work, PERIOD.

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #TheSmiths #indie #alternative #1980s #80s #80sMusic #louderthanbombs #morrissey #johnnymarr

THE MONKEES
The A's, The B's & The Monkees
2026 Worldwide 2xLP reissue

Now we’re cookin’ with gas, baby!!!

I have a great sentimental love for The Monkees. The show was on every day in syndication after school when I was a kid, and I used to watch it all the time.

This is a GREAT collection, part of Rhino’s Start Your Ear Off Right (SYEOR) series.
Everything you could ever want from them is here, including one of my favorite songs of all time, “Porpoise Song”.

If you can’t appreciate The Monkees, then you’re just a twat.
Great songs, man.

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #Monkees #themonkees #1960s #60s #60smusic

MUDDY WATERS
The Best of Muddy Waters
2025 Europe Ltd. Edition reissue

Having a hard time getting up and going this morning, and I suppose this isn’t helping. 😂

Saw this in the used bin the other day (who the hell disposes of Muddy Waters records?!?!), and I couldn’t resist.

Ten years ago, I really didn’t own that many blues records. However, over the last decade I have really started to accumulate a LOT of them. Other than Lightnin’ Hopkins, Leadbelly, and John Lee Hooker, there’s no artist I have more records of than Muddy.

This collection SOUNDS really good. I was very pleasantly surprised by that. It’s borderline audiophile to my ears, and I wish all blues reissues took the same aural care as this one does.

Sail on, my little honey bee.
Sail on.

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #blues #MuddyWaters #Chicago #chicagoblues

POPULAR MECHANIX
Western World
1982 Canada pressing

I’ve been listening to a lot of what I like to call “nervous” sounding music.

This Popular Mechanix record definitely fits THAT bill.

This rad band from Winnipeg levitates somewhere between that angular and slashing Gang Of Four-style #postpunk and fun, danceable #synthpop.

Think of a child between Talking Heads and Wire, and you’ll get close.

An awesome, coolly detached sounding record.

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #artrock #postpunk #newwave #indie #alternative #1980s #80s #80sMusic #popularmechanix

SILVER APPLES
Silver Apples
1997 U.S. Remastered CD reissue

I usually don’t buy too many CDs nowadays, but when you see something this cool, you gotta grab it.

This CD compilation combines BOTH of the first two Silver Apples albums: the self-titled debut, and the equally as great Contact.

Awesome and weird late-60s electronic music that was WAY ahead of its time.
Pulsing, droning tones made entirely from oscillators made by Simeon Coxe himself.
NO KEYBOARDS.

Minimal, repetitive, hypnotic… long before every Kraut and his mother were doing it. It’s a bit of a cold, interstellar kind of psych music, and it set the table for a lot of genres; #synthpop , #industrial music, #electronica … all of it.

The band SUICIDE gets a lot of credit, but maybe it’s Silver Apples that should have gotten the same flowers and parades.

If you don’t know it, do these visionaries a favor and lend them your ears.

Great little set.
#vinyl #retro #vintage #art #music #cd #cds #physicalmusic

D.R. HOOKER
The Truth
2024 U.S. reissue
Sea Blue vinyl

This trippy, head-fuck of a record has been described as music that would have been made by an LSD-damaged Frank Sinatra or if Lou Reed was a divorced suburban dad.

And you know what?
That’s actually really accurate.

Donald Hooker II’s debut album straddles a very fine line between drug-soaked Planet Zero #psychedelic music and evangelical music.

Don’t spend TOO much time trying to define it though, because you might miss out on a great fucking musical experience.
It being a private pressed self-released title, it has NO BUSINESS being as interesting as it is.

Hooker was a former hippy with a history of substance abuse, who had just recently turned to Christianity when he assembled a collection of local Connecticut musicians to record these 10 songs.
GREAT sounding reissue of this, too.

Original presses go anywhere from $1k-4k! 😬

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #1970s

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Out Of The Fog (The Halifax Underground 1986)
1986 Canada pressing

THIS is a killer record!

This was the very first compilation of Halifax underground bands ever recorded and released.
Thirteen curated songs that tell the story of what was happening in the musical underground of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1986.

A wonderful mix of great #powerpop #newwave #harcore and #indie music with some legitimate GREAT songs.

The album opener, “Love Don’t Wait” by Basic English, is a note-perfect #alternative power pop gem.

“Vietnam” by False Security is a tight, mean, and gnarly punk tune.

And a COOL surprise…

The October Game’s “Grind” is the VERY FIRST recorded appearance of soon-to-be superstar Sarah McLachlan. It’s a cool tune, and a much different vibe than what she’ll be known for a little further on down the road.

Really great collection of songs, eh?
#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #1980s #80s #80sMusic

THE NIGHTINGALES
The Nightingales E.P.
1982 UK pressing

Taking a midafternoon break from reorganizing my library and cleaning my house in a bit of a pre-emptive spring clean.

The Nightingales were a rad little #postpunk #indie band from Birmingham, UK. 🇬🇧

This was an E.P. that they put out the same year that their full length debut album Pigs On Purpose came out.

I particularly love “Which Hi-Fi?”, but all four of these songs are great. Really cool tunes.

Three full-length albums in four years during their initial run in the #80s , and all of them are pretty damn good.

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #1980s #80sMusic #indie #alternative #artrock #TheNightingales

VARIOUS ARTISTS
National Lampoon's Animal House (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Canada reissue [rainbow labels]

There are certain movies that I’ve seen so many times in my life, that the music from those films are tattooed on my brain forever.
You see a movie like this over 200 times (no, I’m not joking), and you remember every musical cue.

The Animal House soundtrack is just a great collection of classic rock n roll and R&B, as well as those phenomenal Elmer Bernstein “Faber College” themes.
It’s even got a pair from The Wild Bull himself, John Belushi.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that I’ll probably watch Animal House 200 more times before I die.

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #1970s #70s #70smusic #movies #film #70smovies #animalhouse

JAWBREAKER
Live 4/30/96
1999 U.S. pressing

One of the most rare, expensive & cherished records in my whole library.

Other than Nirvana, there was no other band that changed my world growing up quite like Jawbreaker. I am a life-long devoted fan, & there’s nothing of theirs I don’t own.
That circle of life was completed a few years ago when I was finally able to acquire one of these.

Only 200 of these were pressed.
100 copies were sold to fans through a lottery system, the other 100 were given to band members.

The fan copies are hand numbered out of 100 on the rear cover right.

Ones that are NOT numbered were amongst the ones gives to the band and friends.
Mine is not numbered.

My dedication to this wonderful, life changing band knows no bounds.

I even flew to Chicago in 2017 to see their reunion show at Riot Fest.

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #1990s #90smusic #90s #jawbreaker #indie #punk #alternative

One last non-spin item for the night…

We haven’t played a round of this in a long while, but we can tonight. A little game your friendly neighborhood Vinyl Ape likes to call:

FILE UNDER WEIRD SHIT YOU FIND INSIDE OF AN ALBUM JACKET.

There’s a billion thrift stores and Salvation Armies on the island where I live that have records with these “Victoria University Library” stickers and tags on them, as well as glued on little pockets to hold the check out cards.

THIS copy of Instruments And Music Of Bolivia record had ALL three, including the check-out history slip!

I love finding shit like this. It gives you an extra little peek into the life of a record; where it’s been, whose life it was a part of, stuff like that.

At minimum, I’m at very least the 16th person to have enjoyed this record over the course of its existence, but VERY likely it’s been played or owned by many many more.

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music

FRANK SINATRA
September Of My Years
1965 Canada pressing

Old Blue Eyes gets last spin of the night, and a perfect end to any Monday.

This is such a gorgeous, lush sounding album, and I’ve always felt this is Frank at his best.

I have such a deep adoration for this record, and it’s pretty much the only Frank album I truly give a shit about, and the only one I’d ever need to own on vinyl.

Released very shortly before Frank turned 50, it’s an album I relate to more and more as I myself get older; reflecting back on my younger years and feeling nostalgic for more innocent and simple times.
I’ve loved this album since I was a kid, but it’s only as time’s gone by that I’ve truly understood and connected to it deeply.

If I’m going to listen to Sinatra, it’s ALWAYS going to be this.

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #1960s #60s #60smusic #franksinatra

A little further material about The Glass Cage post I just made:

This story and record has attracted lots of attention. Not just in my town of Nanaimo where TGC was born, but by notable famous music nerds like Henry Rollins.

Here’s a link to a brief news report on The Glass Cage unearthing.

My friend Jason (and his label and store Supreme Echo) has made it his life’s mission to preserve and document the musical history of Vancouver Island.
His passion, knowledge and care for VI underground music and art is unrivaled.

Pay his sites a visit, and check out the news piece on The Glass Cage here:

https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/sawatsky-sign-off/article/im-flabbergasted-mystery-record-discovered-at-bc-thrift-store-makes-decades-old-musical-dream-come-true/

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #psychedelic #psych #garage #garagerock

THE GLASS CAGE
Where Did The Sunshine Go?
2026 Canada pressing

I’ve got a special one for you guys.

My friend Jason Flower is owner of Supreme Echo (both the label & brick + mortar store) & through his hard work (as well as others) this has seen the light of day.

It starts with Marcus Pollard finding a mystery acetate record at a thrift store.
There’s no info on it, but he buys it anyway.
The music on it is some of the most awesome #psychedelic #garage rock he’s ever heard.

It took Marcus 2 years to solve who it was.
One day, on a garage rock blog, somebody messages “That’s my band!”

That somebody was now 77yr old warehouse worker (& singer of The Glass Cage) Norman Roth.

He was 18 when they recorded these 7 songs, & they’re INCREDIBLE.

Marcus, Jason, the band, & countless others put a lot of work into making sure these songs finally got their release.
INCREDIBLE.

https://supremeecho.bigcartel.com/

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music

OVERLORD
Overlord
1985 Canada 12” @ #33rpm

Some super-rare Canadian #HeavyMetal from the distant land of Ontario.

Only 1000 copies of this 4-song metalpalooza were pressed, but MOST of those 1,000 were destroyed in a flood that happened at the storage unit in which they were being held.

A small amount were sold to local record stores in 1985, and the surviving rest were sent to record labels in an effort to get the band signed. That never happened, and the only document of the spry, young Overlord is this rare artifact.

Come for the scarcity, stay for “X-Rated Man”.

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #metal #canada #1980s #80s #80sMusic #ontario #OVERLORD

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Extra Beat - Wer Reggae Beatet (Bietet) Mehr?
1970 Germany pressing
White Vinyl

A feel-good start to the morning with an EXCELLENT #reggae comp featuring some of the best to ever do it; Jimmy Cliff, The Upsetters and The Maytals just to name a few.

Perhaps if there’s any of my flowers back in my hometown of Boston (or ANY of New England) reading this, they can get the tropical, sunny reggae glow off of this post to help combat the blizzard that they’re experiencing right now.

Stay safe everybody.

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #reggae #funk #soul #1970s #70s #70smusic

TANGERINE DREAM
Legend (Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack)
1986 Canada pressing

Last spin of the night, & a perfect one for me right now.
I need to chill hard.

As a movie, I’m not really a fan of legend. The 2 things that I love about it is Tangerine Dream’s soundtrack, & Tim Curry’s magnificent performance as Darkness.
The rest I can do without.

But MAN is the music so good.
This record is fetching quite a hefty sum at the moment, & I’m not sure why, exactly. But whatever. I’d never get rid of my copy anyway.

One last note on the GREAT Tim Curry.

THAT dude is a TRUE legend.

He’s 79 now, and it breaks my heart to see him struggle with such health issues all these years.
Dude was a huge part of my childhood.
He could do it ALL.

Actor, musician… nothing he couldn’t do.

Rocky Horror, Legend, Clue, Annie, the TV miniseries version of It, Hunt For Red October… it goes on & on.
❤️

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #80s

MORRIS DAY Color Of Success 1985 Canada pressing AWWWWWWW SHEEEEIIIIITTTTTT! The coolest motherfucker to ever walk the planet Earth, and that is FACT. His first solo album away from The Time, and it’s a straight banger. Good news, everybody. Morris Day is still alive walking the Earth at 69 years old, and doing it better than all of us combined. Still cool enough to divide by zero, and still responding “Say please” when God says “Let there be light.” My day just got a lot better. I hope Morris Fucking Day lives forever. #vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #80s #1980s #80sMusic #minneapolis #morrisday #funk #soul #synth #synthpop

JOY DIVISION
1979 BBC Recordings
2022 Europe pressing
[unofficial]

I was in the mood for some Joy Division today, but wanted something a bit different than Unknown Pleasures or Closer.
So I decided on this EXCELLENT sounding bootleg of the band’s 1979 BBC sessions.

Killer set list here. And again… it SOUNDS killer. The fidelity is top-notch and it sounds like they’re in the room.

These white-covered Radio Broadcast releases have all sounded fantastic.

Man, were these guys incredible live. They are absolutely ON FIRE here.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #postpunk #alternative #joydivision #iancurtis #punk #1970s #70s #70smusic

LAURIE ANDERSON
O Superman
1981 U.S. 7” single @ 33rpm

One of the most inventive, unlikely, baffling, and MOVING “hit” singles of all time.

Just two alternating chords using an Eventide Harmonizer and a Roland VP-330 vocoder, the song was broken and championed by the great John Peel on BBC RADIO 1.

Lyrically, it’s mind bending, and many people, including Anderson herself, has said it’s about many things.

I’m not particularly interested in any of that. Just that when I hear it (still to this day), it strikes such an inexplicable emotional nerve in me that I can’t explain.
It’s a remarkable piece of art.

Perhaps Anderson summed it up best.
“Technology cannot save you.”

#vinyl #vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #artrock #1980s #80s #80sMusic #synth #electronic #poetry #laurieanderson #osuperman

COCTEAU TWINS
Heaven Or Las Vegas
2022 UK 🇬🇧 Remastered reissue

A little early morning bliss to start my day.

When people recount near-death experiences, they cite how they were “floating towards a bright light”.

If that ever happens to me, I’m assuming (or I at least HOPE) that the bright light is aurally accompanied by Elizabeth Fraser’s voice.

#vinylrecords #vinylcommunity #vinylcollection #retro #vintage #art #music #indie #alternative #artrock #goth #CocteauTwins #1990s #90smusic #90s #1980s #80s #80sMusic