Turntable

The pandemic ground live music to a standstill through much of 2020, but great albums continue to be released. That includes the third studio album from the British punk outfit Idles.

This week wasn’t the first, tenth, or maybe the hundredth time Reverberation Vinyl owner John Anderson was spinning what’s become known as Desert Blues on the turntable in his Bloomington store.

Recent Illinois Wesleyan grad Brandon Chopp picked up the Phi Beta Kappa Liberal Arts Scholar Award at the Bloomington school for his senior thesis on the late 1960s musical output of provocative songwriter Frank Zappa.

Reverberation Vinyl owner John Anderson is enamored with many styles of folk, psychedelic and instrumental music. That music is often on the turntable when you enter his store across from Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington.

The sound of classic soul music is enjoying a renaissance. Artists including Sharon Jones & the DapKings, Leon Bridges, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, and Jill Scott have taken inspiration from late 60s and early 70s soul when writing and recording new music.

A Japanese singer/songwriter/guitarist who has shape-shifted among four different personas is getting extended turntable play at Reverberation Vinyl in Bloomington.

When the Memphis-based alt-country rockers Lucero plays the Monarch Music Hall in Peoria this Sunday, Sept. 30, they'll be performing songs from "Among The Ghosts," their latest album getting plenty of play inside Waiting Room Records in uptown Normal.

The contemporary music world lost perhaps its greatest voice Thursday morning when Aretha Franklin passed away at age 76.

John Anderson has filled a record store niche in the Twin Cities with an eclectic mix of genres at Reverberation Vinyl, his store on Main Street across from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington.

The last time singer-songwriter Neko Case played the Castle Theatre in Bloomington, the sold-out crowd missed out on her new album. The recording "Hell-On" was still a few months away from release.

An emerging Los Angeles-based post-punk band has been wearing out the turntable at Waiting Room Records in uptown Normal.

Jeff Wilson of North Street Records in Uptown Normal suggests the new Beatles Christmas box set for the Beatles fan who has everything. The box set was released Dec. 15.

Supersuckers returns to Bloomington-Normal to play the Castle Theater on Thursday, Aug. 10.

The indie-rock band Dawes plays the Castle Theater in Bloomington on July 31. Occasional GLT Music Critic Taylor Bauer considers the California born and bred quartet to be one of the most exciting bands of the past five years.

Occasionally I like to drop in on local record stores to hear what's playing on the turntable while customers browse the bins.  This week I stopped by Waiting Room Records in uptown Normal, where owner Jared Alcorn was playing an album a little out of left field for the a store named after a Fugazzi album.

North Street Records owner Jeff Wilson paused to contemplate the 50 year anniversary of The Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album.

"I can't believe all Beatles records are starting to be 50 years old," said Wilson sitting next to the turntable behind the counter in his store. "I guess it's like the world's classical music, especially Sgt. Pepper because it's so iconic."

Reverberation Vinyl owner John Anderson has spent the last few weeks dropping the needle on the turntable in his store onto late 1960's and early 1970's Pentangle albums. Though not old enough to have been at the show, the group's May 11, 1970 concert at Illinois Wesleyan's Fred Young Fieldhouse has him obsessed with unearthing a recording from that show.

With Deafheaaven set to bring its black metal/shoegaze sound to the Castle Theater in Bloomington March 18, their last two albums are getting heavy play on the turntable at Waiting Room Records in uptown Normal.

The Los Angeles based bluesy roots-rock band "The Record Company" brings its swagger to Bloomington to play The Castle Theater February 26.  The band has seen its arrow pointing upward since the release of its debut album "Give It Back To You" last February.  Former GLT staffer and occasional music critic Taylor Bauer sat down in the GLT Studio's with Jon Norton to talk about the The Record Company and its critically acclaimed debut album.
 

GLT's Jon Norton likes to stop by local record stores to hear what's on the turntable while customers browse the bins.  He recently dropped in on Jared Alcorn at Waiting Room Records in uptown Normal to hear a sound that flashed him back to the 1980's.

GLT's Jon Norton occasionally drops by local record stores to hear what's playing on the turntable while customers browse the bins.  This week, Trevor Basham of Waiting Room Records in uptown Normal introduced him to a quirky Australian who both conceptually and physically adopts the persona of a failed lounge singer.

Reverberation Vinyl on Main street in Bloomington is not unlike other local record stores.  As you're browsing the bins, the music playing on the stores turntable or CD player is fairly representative of the owner's personal taste.  But at Reverberation Vinyl, you're likely to hear sounds that color a bit more outside the lines.

GLT's student music reviewer Matthew Mullins is spreading the word about a new soul album by an emerging artist.  The Normal Community West High School senior says Allen Stone's Radius has barely left his turntable this month. Mullins said like himself, Stone is a young guy from a small town.

"He grew up in the church singing and playing guitar.  He just signed with Capital Records" said Mullins.  "He's a singer-songwriter with a lot of soul.  His biggest influences were Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, and Sam Cooke."

Occasional we ask GLT's Jon Norton to drop by local record stores to hear what's playing while customers browse the bins.  It's a feature we call "What's on Your Turntable?" Norton recently stopped in at Waiting Room Records in Uptown Normal, where store owner Jared Alcorn gave him a CD preview of "Tween," the new release by the Baltimore, MD based pop/rock duo Wye Oak.  

Occasionally we send WGLT's Jon Norton out to local record stores to hear what's playing on the turntable while customers browse the bins.  This week Norton stopped by Reverberation Vinyl across from Illinois Wesleyan on Main Street in Bloomington.  Owner John Anderson was flashing back to lush recordings from the 1980's and 90's by Mick Head, an artist practically unknown to the general public due to bad timing and a lot of bad luck.

Rabid fans of Radiohead likely already downloaded the bands new album "A Moon Shaped Pool" when it was released in early May.  June 17 is the official release date for the CD and LP.  On this edition of "What's On Your Turntable," WGLT's Jon Norton dropped by Waiting Room Records in uptown Normal, where owner Jared Alcorn was spinning an advance copy of the album.  He gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up. 

Occasionally we ask WGLT's Jon Norton to peruse local record stores to hear what's playing on the turntable while customers browse the bins.  Recently he stopped by Waiting Room Records in uptown Normal, where owner Jared Alcorn was spinning the new album by "Anohni." He summed up the album as violent, haunting, and devastating.

Occasionally we ask GLT listeners to let us know what's playing on their turntable. Alt-Country rockers The Jayhawks recently played the Castle Theater in support of their latest record. WGLT's Taylor Bauer, who helps out during Morning Edition, brought in the band's just released album "Paging Mr. Proust."

Matthew Mullins is a 17-year-old junior at Normal Community West High School with a passion for music bordering on obsessive.  He said he devours all types of music, but especially classic rock, blues, and jazz. 

"I actually got into jazz in general from my teacher at Normal West, Mrs. (Sarah) Williams, who introduced me to jazz.  And I had a deep appreciation for jazz around sixth grade.  I listened to all the greats ... Bill Evans ... Dave Brubeck.  Then I started expanding from there.