Trip #22: I'm Counting UFOs, I Signal Them With My Lighter 🛸
Trip #22: I'm Counting UFOs, I Signal Them With My Lighter 🛸
Your weekly dose of grooves.
Welcome to The Wax Museum, where we hit you with vinyl and streaming recommendations from the future (upcoming releases), present (Album of the Year leaderboard), and past (essential records). Today’s a banger, so let’s get right into it!
🎧 Listen to this week’s Trip! Spotify | Apple (2 Hours of Vibes)
We start with the best thing I heard this week: this quasi-cover “Knockin’” by MJ Lenderman. The Asheville artist has been on quite the tear lately, as guitarist for Wednesday, drummer for Indigo de Souza, appearing on the upcoming Waxahatchee album, and creating his own solo records. “Knockin’” sounds like an instant rock classic and is an exciting taste of what’s to come.
Now on to the exhibits!
The FUTURE Exhibit: New Vinyl Releases
Highlighting the notable new records coming out this Friday, August 11.
New Albums
The Band CAMINO - The Dark | The pop band’s second album arrives on black, opaque white, and clear neutral vinyl.
Bonnie Prince Billy - Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You | Will Oldham is back with 12 new emotionally-charged tracks.
The Hives - The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons | Swedish rock band The Hives return after a 11-year absence to explore the disappearance of the band's mysterious sixth member Randy Fitzsimmons.
Jungle - Volcano | The UK dance duo is back with the grooves; their fourth album features collabs with Erick the Architect, Channel Tres, Roots Manuva, Mood Talk and Bas.
Neil Young - Chrome Dreams | Chrome Dreams is a lost Neil Young album featuring 12 songs recorded between 1974 and 1977 from projects abandoned.
New Vinyl
Chastity Belt - No Regerts (Black & White Swirl) | The Washington band’s debut celebrates its 10th Anniversary on colored vinyl.
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture | The live show where Bowie retired his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust celebrates its 50th anniversary.
De La Soul - Aoi: Bionix | De La Soul’s sixth album is pressed to vinyl for the first time since 2001.
The Donnas - American Teenage Rock 'N' Roll Machine (Fire Orange with Black Swirl Vinyl) | The Donnas’ second album gets a fresh reissue from the original masters and features band commentary along with the original pin-up calendar.
Freddie Gibbs - Freddie | Freddie gets a much-needed reissue, as the OG often goes for hundreds of dollars on Discogs.
Khruangbin / Men I Trust - Live At Rbc Echo Beach | Live at RBC Echo Beach features performances by Men I Trust and Khruangbin, two bands who sound incredible live.
Oliver Coates - Aftersun Soundtrack | Perhaps the most heartbreaking movie soundtrack of 2022 comes to vinyl on light blue wax. Head down to the Rabbit Hole section of this newsletter to read more of my thoughts on Aftersun.
Pink Siifu - GUMBO'! | Pink Siifu’s most recent album, released in 2021 and featuring tracks from The Alchemist and The Avalanches, finally arrives on vinyl for the first time.
The PRESENT Exhibit: AOTY Leaderboard
Behold the 2023 Album of the Year Leaderboard. Two tracks from three albums get added each week. Standings change throughout the year.
🎧 Full AOTY 2023 Playlist: Spotify | Apple (74 Albums and Counting…)
This week features Art School Girlfriend, London Brew, and Django Django!
Art School Girlfriend - Soft Landing
Get Vinyl: Blue Colored Import | Vinyl with Signed Print | Welsh OBI Edition
Art School Girlfriend, the North Wales artist also known as Polly Mackey, shines brightly in her latest release Soft Landing. With a blend of mellow pop and indietronica, Mackey has created a late-night vibe full of captivating, expansive soundscapes. Her soft melodies cascade over the album's ambient keyboard tones and hypnotic drum machine beats, echoing the likes of Portishead and The xx’s Romy.
The album opens with an arresting 1-2 punch of "A Place to Lie" and "Close to the Clouds," both perfect tracks to propel us on this journey into sultry vocals and techno pulsations. Soft Landing marks a compelling step forward for Art School Girlfriend, leaving us eagerly anticipating her future endeavors.
Django Django - Off Planet
Get Vinyl: Black | Discogs (colored variants)
Django Django's fifth release Off Planet is an audacious and innovative project that sees the London quartet embrace their experimental and electronic roots. The 21-track space-themed opus is divided into four distinct parts, each representing a unique planet and unveiled in a staggered release throughout 2023.
The sprawling 80 minute record is reminiscent of a new Gorillaz album: ambitious yet inconsistent, featuring an array of guest artists, and some stunning high points, with hooks and creativity aplenty.
Sound off on your favorite part in the comments; I lean toward Part 2, with the groovy head shakers “Come Down” and “Golden Cross.”
London Brew - London Brew
Get Vinyl: Black | Discogs (colored variants)
London Brew beckons listeners into a mesmerizing realm of psychedelic jazz, a reverberating homage that channels the spirit of Miles Davis without falling into mimicry. Originally conceived to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bitches Brew with a live performance, the project's purpose evolved due to the pandemic, metamorphosing into an exuberant manifestation of artistic innovation and jubilation.
This record boasts an ensemble of British jazz virtuosos, including Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings, and Benji B. The convergence of saxophones, turntables, tubas, and more paints a vivid portrait of South London’s music scene.
London Brew emerges as a living, breathing testament that unites Miles Davis' legacy with the poignant pulse of pandemic-era sentiments.
Best of all, the vinyl can be had for a steal, currently going for only $13 as of this writing.
The PAST Exhibit: 2001’s Must-Have Vinyl
Each week we look at a year gone by to find ten timeless albums that are must-haves in your vinyl collection. All vinyl are easy to find unless otherwise stated.
Archive: 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002
🎧 Full Essential Vinyl Playlist: Spotify | Apple (220 Records and Counting…)
Incubus - Morning View
Get Vinyl: Black | Discogs (colored variants)
Southern Cali’s Incubus built on the success of S.C.I.E.N.C.E. and Make Yourself with Morning View, their biggest smash hit to date. Perhaps because it was recorded at a beachside mansion in Malibu, Morning View is much softer than their earlier nu-metal catalog, opting for groovy melodies and tender lyrics.
THC-soaked jams like opener “Nice to Know You” and “Wish You Were Here” are still setlist staples 20+ years later. "Aqueous Transmission" takes us home with an epic 8-minute track featuring a Japanese orchestra and was intended to make "the listener pee their pants from relaxation,” says frontman Brandon Boyd.
Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American
Get Vinyl: Black | Discogs (colored variants)
Jimmy Eat World’s Bleed American played a pivotal role in the emo resurgence of the early 2000s. The Ringer’s Andy Greenwald, in his book Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo cites Bleed American as a primary factor in emo reaching mainstream media attention:
“[Bleed American] being their poppiest, most universal album to date, [the band] broke out of the indie/emo ghetto, but by doing so, they also defined its sound 'as' emo for hundreds of thousands of new listeners.”
Bleed American remains a nostalgic touchstone for those of us who grew up during the early 2000s, with an especially packed A-side of catchy hooks and relatable songwriting.
The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
Get Vinyl: Black | Discogs (colored variants)
White Blood Cells, the third album by Detroit garage rockers The White Stripes, was met with unanimous acclaim and has been featured in numerous Best Albums of the Decade and Century lists thanks to hits like “Fell in Love with a Firl” and “We’re Going to Be Friends.”
Speaking of the latter, The White Stripes took the stage for their first live performance in years during the final episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2009. They delivered a raw rendition of "We're Going to Be Friends." This memorable appearance ended up being their last live performance as a band.
If you still need this one on vinyl, the Peppermint Pinwheel variant, released in 2021, can be had for under $30 on Discogs.
Aaliyah - Aaliyah
Get Vinyl: Discogs (colored variants)
Aaliyah is the third and final album by R&B singer Aaliyah, featuring her trademark sultry vocals over futuristic Timbaland beats. One month after release, Aaliyah shot a music video for single "Rock the Boat" in the Bahamas but died in a Cessna plane crash on the flight home. This amplified the album's impact and became a bittersweet farewell to an artist who was a rising music and film star with a promising future.
This vinyl was hard to find until Vinyl Me, Please released Aaliyah as their Essentials Record of the Month for April 2022, and you can now snag it for around $30 on Discogs.
The Strokes - Is This It
Get Vinyl: Black, New Cover | Black, OG Cover | Discogs (colored variants)
The Strokes crafted one of the greatest debut albums of all time with Is This It, featuring basslines and catchy hooks seemingly from the heavens. Here’s what The Guardian had to say about its importance to alt-rock during the 2000s:
"Probably the most important rock album of the past 10 years: it prised the zeitgeist away from nu-metal, restored the pre-eminence of rattling neo-new-wave, and was the chief catalyzing influence on Arctic Monkeys."
Vinyl Me, Please started a rock track in July and Is This It was the inaugural vinyl, and it was the first time “New York City Cops” and “When It Started” were included on the same record. The beautiful Blue and Orange Splatter vinyl can be had for $36 for members and $42 for public. Become a VMP member with this link and get $10 off your first order of $50+.
Daft Punk - Discovery
Get Vinyl: Black | Discogs
Daft Punk’s sophomore effort Discovery marked a pivotal moment in the evolution of electronic music. It embraced an accessible approach to electronic sounds, bridging the gap between underground dance music and mainstream pop. Singles like "One More Time" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” have been sampled, remixed, and referenced by countless artists. Discovery’s lasting influence continues to inspire musicians and its long-term reverberations are impossible to quantify.
Gorillaz - Gorillaz
Get Vinyl: Black | Discogs
The idea to create Gorillaz germinated when Blur’s Damon Albarn and comic book creator Jamie Hewlett were watching MTV. Hewlett recalls:
"If you watch MTV for too long, it's a bit like hell – there's nothing of substance there. So we got this idea for a cartoon band, which would be a comment on that."
The album's hit singles "Clint Eastwood," and "19-2000” gained widespread attention for their catchy melodies, memorable hooks, and creative music videos featuring the now legendary Gorillaz characters.
Tenacious D - Tenacious D
Get Vinyl: Black | Discogs (colored variant)
The D! What a debut by Jack Black and Kyle Gass. The comedy duo enlisted some all-star help with Dave Grohl on drums, Phish’s Page McConnell on keyboard, and The Vandal’s Warren Fitzgerald and OFF!’s Steven McDonald on guitars. “Wonderboy” and “Tribute” are comedy classics, and you can still hear them live, as they continue to tour 30 years in.
The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
Get Vinyl: 20th Anniversary | Discogs (colored variants)
James Mercer and company’s debut is often regarded as a touchstone for the early 2000’s indie rock scene. Singles "New Slang" and "Caring Is Creepy" propelled the band to stardom thanks to their corny yet iconic inclusion in the 2004 film Garden State.
Oh, Inverted World is certified platinum (over one million units sold); this is just the third platinum Sub Pop album, after Bleach by Nirvana and Give Up by The Postal Service.
CAKE - Comfort Eagle
Get Vinyl: Translucent Green | Black
CAKE’s fourth album still sounds unique today, with the perfect mix of trumpet and guitar, quirky charm, and their signature spoken-sung vocals. The first side of Comfort Eagle may be Cake's musical peak, highlighted by standout tracks “Shadow Stabbing” and “Short Skirt / Long Jacket.”
Just this month, it was announced that Comfort Eagle was finally coming to vinyl for the first time; you can grab it at CAKE’s store in translucent green for $36.98 or standard black for $25.98.
The RABBIT HOLE Exhibit
Welcome to the non-music wing of the Museum. Take a trip down the pop culture rabbit hole with new recommendations each week.
📺 Videos from all trips can be found here.
Aftersun | With the soundtrack arriving this Friday and its recent addition to Paramount Plus streaming, I’d like to use this space to recommend Aftersun, the 2022 semi-autobiographical film from first-time writer/director Charlotte Wells.
The plot is simple: 11-year-old Sophie goes on holiday with her father; twenty years later, Sophie, who’s about to start a family of her own, looks back at home videos from that trip.
Aftersun is a cinematic gut punch that lingers for days, leaving an indelible mark. The film is a nostalgic masterpiece, transporting us back to the 90s with an authenticity rarely seen since the decade's end.
Paul Mescal (known for Normal People and being Phoebe Bridgers’ ex) delivers a standout performance, earning a well-deserved Best Actor nomination. While Wells should have snagged a Best Director nom herself, it's Frankie Corio who steals the show as Mescal's on-screen daughter, delivering one of the best kid performances I’ve ever seen.
The film's impact stems from its exploration of aging and the fleeting nature of memories, leaving us contemplative about the people in our lives and their enduring fragments. If your parents are still around, give ‘em a call.
If you don’t have Paramount Plus, you can rent it for a few bucks on Prime Video or YouTube.
Exit Through The Gift Shop
Thanks for visiting! If you would like to support The Wax Museum, become a paid subscriber for just $3.33 a month and be entered into our monthly vinyl giveaway. There are less than 20 paid subs at the moment, so your odds will never be better. This month the winner will choose one of three AUTOGRAPHED vinyl:
Fleet Foxes - A Very Lonely Solstice
Girl in Red - if i could make it go quiet
Alex G - God Save the Animals
Lastly, if you collect vinyl, and I would hope you do if you’ve made it this far, you must follow Twitter’s #1 vinyl deal finder. Expect about five to ten tweets a day. Be sure to turn on notifications because some deals go fast!
Thanks for visiting and leave a comment card on your way out!