The Vinyl Countdown

This first appeared in our September print issue. But not all of you managed to snatch an issue from the stands before hordes of ravenous magazine freaks ran screaming through your local purveyor of fine glossies grabbing every copy they could, so this is for you. Next SPIN print issue is out in December so get ready.

Don’t think of record collecting as an expensive hobby. Instead, consider it an investment in joy greater than the total of all the iced lattes you’d consume this month.

Perhaps earmark some of those funds for a reissue of the Beastie Boys’ third album, Ill Communication, which is out now in a massive presentation across three 180g LPs with lenticular cover art and 12 bonus cuts and remixes, all stored in a hard slipcase. Think of it as a turbo-charged version of the highly collectable 2009 edition—only better.

Oasis, the mighty victors in the ‘90s Britpop wars, have commemorated the 30th anniversary of their debut LP, Definitely Maybe. This one benefits from a cool remastering job, as well as the previously unreleased best moments from Noel and Liam’s first attempt recording at Monnow Valley Studios in Monmouthshire in tandem with alternate versions from the final, preferred sessions at Sawmills Studios in Cornwall. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ seventh album, Californication,has come back to life across two slabs o’ vinyl—one red, the other blue. Maybe the colors are a tribute to the marks left on wasted bro-dudes after they end their “Scar Tissue” karaoke moment by falling down the steps.

Besides SPIN in print, you know who else is back after 12 years? Cosmic country troupe Beachwood Sparks, whose new album, Across the River of Stars, will tickle most of your psychedelic synapses. The limited-edition vinyl pressing comes in a multi-colored swirl from the shades on the cover. The late Mark Lanegan’s sixth album, Bubblegum,has been given the boxed set treatment (as Bubblegum XX) featuring the original album remastered as a double-LP with the addition of Here Comes That Weird Chill (Methamphetamine Blues, Extras & Oddities). You get three additional tracks appended and a fourth LP of previously unreleased songs and demo versions, so seek it out now.

Moody psych-pop alchemists the Church’s first four records (Of Skins and Heart, The Blurred Crusade, Seance, and Heyday) have been reissued by Universal Australia and are being imported stateside. If you don’t know where to start, we’d recommend Crusade (out now) followed by Heyday (September), which teed up their U.S. college rock staple, Starfish. On the classic tip, UMe is bringing forth a 50th anniversary edition of Frank Zappa’s Apostrophe’—the best-selling entry in the late singer/guitarist/composer’s voluminous catalog thanks to the immortal hit “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow.” There’s a limited-edition pressing on metallic gold vinyl and a two-LP set with a ride-along seven-inch of “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” pressed on glow-in-the-dark with yellow splashed vinyl. Gross. But fun!

Lamb of God’s Ashes of the Wake is considered by many to be the album that cements their position as uncompromising metal avatars, both musically (think a helix of Slayer and Gothenburg-style melodic death metal) and socially conscious. Epic just gave the title the deluxe reissue action with the addition of previously unreleased live tracks and some murderous remixes by the likes of HEALTH, Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, Final), Kublai Khan TX, and Malevolence. Going further leftfield, you may recognize drummer/composer Zach Barocas as the engine room of strident post-hardcore pioneers Jawbox. His new band/consort New Freedom Sound features some notables, including J. Robbins (Jawbox), Mark Cisneros (the Make Up), and Gordon Withers (J. Robbins Band). Their accessible avant-garde is in full bloom on Second Freedom: Every God Needs a Witness, now available on the Bandcamp page for Barocas’ label The Cultural Society. If you (like this writer) prefer your post-hardcore to be the aural equivalent of repeatedly thrusting your hand in a large bag of broken glass and angry bats, Epitaph Records has augmented Crimes, the fourth album from supersonic, sassy Seattle quintet the Blood Brothers as a two-LP set (on baby blue and bubblegum-colored wax) with an extra selection of B-sides and an etching on the fourth side. Look for it Oct. 4.

That same day, the Warp label will release an expanded edition of Selected Ambient Works Volume II, the classic release by British electronic maverick Aphex Twin. You get four full-length helpings of vinyl and a load of ephemera, plus the option of a version in a hinged wooden box with the logo chemically etched on top (the cost resembles your average monthly cable bill). And finally, Matador is readying the next batch of catalog reissues from legendary psychedelic/psychotic maniacs Butthole Surfers. Locust Abortion Technician, Hairway to Steven, and Cream Corn From the Socket of Davis arrived Sept. 20, just in time for Gen Z to hear what they’ve been missing and for Gen X types to listen to while trying to wriggle out of their ankle monitors. We don’t think you’ll need it, but keep some Naloxone near your turntable just in case.

One more thing: Did you know that your favorite band makes more from the purchase of a vinyl copy of their music than they do from a couple thousand streams? Support artists, not shareholders…