Music videos of records on turntables
My 3-year-old wanted to know what a record player looked like. Since mine is in storage, I naturally hit YouTube. That's where I stumbled across this genre of "music videos" where the visual is simply the vinyl spinning on the turntable. I'm sure some of them are essentially "sales videos" for collectors showing their stuff, but I still find them curious.
the latest
latest episodes
Creepy. I just uploaded my first 2 turntable videos last night for a 7" I put out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl8gVIQA67s
I always thought that this was done to provide MP3 files of songs to people with YouTube ripping software. P2P right out in the open!
This only makes sense if you ignore the video aspect altogether and concentrate on the audio track.
Anyone else remember Dave Mason's "Alone Together" album (June 1970), a "Marbled vinyl" LP? http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=298588
@DANBACK, Nice! The meme spreads!
And @NIXIEBUNNY, the whole fun comes from *not* ignoring the video. That's what makes it delightfully strange!
I've been seeing these for a while because I have a yen for tunes from the old days; i.e. before video.
They're a charming hack: you need a vid to use YouTube as storage for your tune, but rather than just dropping in a photo or a lame slide show, you shoot your turntable.
I'm particularly fond of this system when it comes to 78s - the turntable is often as interesting as the tune.
Kinda reminds me of some comments Jack White made about watching records spin: http://www.canoe.ca/deadweather
Neil Young recently put out a box set of old archival recordings. Apparently on the DVD and Blu-Ray versions of the set, the visual is simply a reel to reel player playing the song.
reminds me of the music video The Replacements were "forced" to produce for play on MTV in 1985. A static shot of a crappy stereo playing their song, Bastards of Young. Westerberg doing his best to stick it to the record company.
I had no idea people did this. Virtual vinyl FTW!
Sunday, Monday, Happy Days!
I like
http://www.youtube.com/user/78s4FR
Most videos for the Korg DS-10 are like this too. Dude creates a song, and films a video of his DS playing the song.
I assume it's laziness more than some kind of statement.
Weirdly enough, this is super common for electronic dance music released on vinyl from the 80s through the early 00s. Usually done to demonstrate ownership of the actual record, especially if rare, rather than just some bootleg .mp3
Bastards of Young! The best part was at the end of the video when the speaker gets kicked in.
Not only do I own a record player, but the 15 year old asked for a record player last Christmas. (Why? Because My Chemical Romance released a 2 LP collector's box of their latest album. Ahem.) Still, I feel like there's lots of 70s-90s technology that was once ubiquitous that is now near completely obsolete -- rotary dial telephones, audio and even video cassettes, floppy disks (of any sort up to and including Zip disks), etc.
Nixiebunny sez: I always thought that this was done to provide MP3 files of songs to people with YouTube ripping software.
You don't need software. Check out www.vidtomp3.com.
Let's not forget this 20 minute reflection on the world's most famous 6 second drum sample, "Amen Brother":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SaFTm2bcac
Yeah, this is very common for old 12" dance records. I figure it's either/both easier and better-looking than those white-text-on-blue slides that I assume come from MS movie maker, and image slide shows that may be a bit more tedious to put together. record song, plop video on top, done.
as for marbled vinyl, i have hundreds (ok, maybe a hundred). very common over the past 20 years for limited edition stuff. furthermore on this angle, split enz (and others) have engraved holograms over (or under, i don't know) the grooves.
Gilbert Anonymous here:
I remember when I was a boy the PBS station KQED would have "music videos." The camera was fixed on the album cover while the music played!!
@3,
"Of course" I do. It was the only album with marbled vinyl at the time. :-) Alone Together was a good album, very engaging and good songwriting.
And now, my "counter-challenge" to BB readers: anyone remember "Second Winter" by Johnny Winter, circa 1969, which was a double album with "only" three sides; the second side of the second record was shiny and blank...no grooves at all. According to the explanation on the album, "they wanted to make the album as loud as possible, but only had enough material for 1 1/2 records, so...
The only "three-sided" album I've ever heard of, from that period.
I thought this was for legal reasons to get around copyright, etc.
A site that uses the YouTube API to play videos of 45's of old ska tunes:
http://watchmy45.com/
Sunday, Monday, Happy Days.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Happy Days.
etc.
I remember there was a great guy I subscribed to on youtube that put a load of great ones up, very diverse, and they got taken down :(
http://www.mnftiu.cc/2008/10/03/friday-face-offs-fortunate-son-8th-place/
So am I the only one who immediately clicked on all four of those videos and listened to them all playing at the same time?
real ones are better - you get to see it spinning in 3D, can feel the weight of the arm, then hear the scratches...
#19: Monty Python's Matching Tie and Handkerchief was a three-sided album, but with only one disk.
One side had two parallel grooves, so when you started the record on that side, you didn't know which was going to play.
And to make matters worse (read: even better) the label on each side of the disc were exactly the same.
DEVOPHILL, as soon as I saw that nice grid of videos, I clicked on each one to see them all playing.
If i build a page of 16 of them - like I told myself I should do - I shall post a link.
btw, wax cylinder videos FTW!
These are extremely easy to do, but the trick is to use the line out on the record and plug it into the camcorder's mic line in (at least that's how my friend dose it).
funny, I twatted the other day about how lame these are.