By Jeff Elbel
RECORD Pi ’ s VINYL REVIVAL
RECORD PI
Smart Vinyl Record Flattening System
There are various homegrown options for flattening dished , wobbly , puckered , and warped vinyl . Many of these methods are dubious and imprecise , leading possibly to flatter Prices subject to change on all specials
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lasts forever . But I ’ m trying to achieve immortality by not dying .” I go along with that one more . But yeah , it would be nice to achieve immortality with a nice song . But the , uhh , rewards of it are kind of nebulous . But because I ’ m a believer in reincarnation , I always imagined being John Lennon , who reincarnated sometime , maybe in the ‘ 90s or the 2000s . And I guess Mozart or Beethoven could reincarnate , but when they encounter their own music , it would be hard . But imagine Lennon dying , then he reincarnates , and one day he encounters The Beatles playing somewhere . One really wonders what it would do to that guy . In fact , that ’ s almost a little story in itself , don ’ t you think ?
IE : It ’ s amazing you even came to play music , the way you ’ ve described your family dynamic as a kid . Your dad was a keyboardist who treasured music , and your mom actually hated it . There was constant bickering , and you ’ re the end result . SK : I am . I am . The result of two opposites .
IE : What conclusions have you come to at this point ? SK : Well , I can ’ t do anything about this life . But I hope , and not just with decisions I made about music and stuff , but one hopes when one is reincarnated back into this world , that next time I ’ m tempted to do some of the things I did in this life ,
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records but damaged grooves and inferior sound . Conventional kitchen ovens cannot accurately regulate the low temperatures necessary to safely relax your vinyl between panes of glass , and the more stable food dehydrators many DIY vinyl repair mavens once favored are
a little voice inside of me goes , “ Didn ’ t you learn from that last time ? What happens if you ’ re rude or arrogant , or hubristic ? Or if you underestimate people ? I hope that I can remember the lessons that I ’ m supposed to learn . I think we come to Earth and elsewhere – this is just one destination – but we come to Earth over and over and over to learn until we can qualify to move on to whatever ’ s next . So you keep moving up the scale , down the scale or staying the same , according to what happens . But when you become an Enlightened Master , you don ’ t have to come back here anymore – you can go on to whatever ’ s next , being unified with the Universe or some other glorious thing . But if you fuck up every time , you have to keep coming back and learning your lesson . I think this stuff is absolutely fascinating .
IE : But aren ’ t there some defiant days when you just want to address any skeptic or naysayers with – to paraphrase Woody Allen again , and that awesome Marshall McLuhan line – “ I am Steve Kilbey ! And you know nothing of my work !” SK : Ha ! You know , I just might use that one ! But I don ’ t worry so much about people arguing . I worry more about just being ignored . I think people even noticing what you do and then saying something negative about it is better than being completely ignored . I think that ’ s my greatest fear – not so much being misunderstood , but just having even been interested enough to try and interpret it . But I will say that ! “ I ’ m Steve Kilbey ! And you know nothing of my work !”
Appearing 3 / 26 at Thalia Hall , Chicago . no longer readily available at affordable cost . Various solutions have been offered at varying prices , and many perfectly sane people will simply recommend buying a replacement LP . But if your favorite import or vintage LP is out of shape and new copies are scarce , what ’ s a vinyl addict to do ? The team at Record Pi has engineered an innovative solution that produces strong results at a reasonable cost for anyone who has invested in a vinyl collection stretching beyond a bookshelf or two . The set includes a briefcase-sized heating case , a temperature regulator with monitoring capability via the free Smart Life app , and an adjustable heavy steel alloy plate with a clamp for locking down vinyl during heating , cooling , and flattening . Different insulating fabric spacers are available for 12 ” records and 7 ” records . A sixpage guide walks users through the flattening process and provides an email address for questions . A tutorial video is available on the company ’ s website . Record Pi ’ s fundamental process involves conservative experimentation in order to find the appropriate time and temperature necessary to flatten a troublesome platter while not exceeding those values into damaging levels of duration or heat . The test subjects for this Gear review were a copy of Midnight Oil ’ s Head Injuries with a nasty wedge-shaped hump that caused the needle to jump during the opening track “ Cold Cold Change ” and a dished copy of Lone Justice ’ s Live at the Palomino 1983 that might have stood a decent chance of acting as a funnel or peanut
Continued from page 17 who profit from the depletion of natural resources at the expense of the poor . The song ' s musical accompaniment falls between Son Volt ' s " Tear Stained Eye " and Camper Van Beethoven ' s " Sweethearts ." It isn ' t all fistshaking at the Man , though . " Perfect Crime " finds its protagonist feeling like Lady Luck may soon smile on him in matters of love , despite having done time in the big house of the heart . Maybe lockup wasn ' t all that bad , anyhow . " Folsom ' s where you wanna be ," sings Mallonee . " Johnny Cash would come and play . He said , ‘ I love each and every one of you ,’ and then he ’ d bow his head and pray ." Mallonee ' s better half Muriah Rose joins " One Moment Stands Out " on harmony vocals . It ' s a sweet song in remembrance of the day that passion first caught flame . " Lord , I asked You for a heart of gold ' cause I didn ' t have one myself ," sings Mallonee in thanks for his beloved . The sentiment is revisited during " Beneath Those Carolina Pines ." Rose joins again as the couple sings about putting in the hard work during " Rough Patch ," acting as Emmylou Harris to Mallonee ' s Gram Parsons . Mallonee often works as a lone wolf , but the album includes crafty friends who elevate several tracks . Pedal steel player Bill Pratt ' s history with Mallonee includes the memorable Permafrost and Beatitude albums . Pratt adds evocative and weeping lines to accompany Mallonee ' s acoustic guitar during " Must Have Been First Thing Come Into My Head ," where Mallonee apologizes to his lover for rash talk . " Let ' s travel on as one to where Love gets the last word ," he sings . Atlanta-based guitarist Mark Konzal trades twanging Telecaster lines with Mallonee ' s
bowl . Record Pi ’ s instructions recommend first trying a two-hour bake cycle at 125 degrees , with increasing duration until achieving desired results while minimizing risk to the record . The company ’ s literature notes that all warps differ and require varying levels of effort to correct , stating that some warps may require up to 10 hours of bake time . More severe cases may require baking at a higher temperature than the nominal 125 degrees Fahrenheit , with similarly escalating time increments . Record Pi ’ s temperature regulator nominally maintains temperature within +/ - one degree of the target temperature during baking . The goal isn ’ t to produce a perfectly flat LP but rather to return the platter to playability within the normally acceptable tolerance of any given new record . Gear ’ s experiment with the Midnight Oil LP is documented in a video seen via the link below .
The contorted record ultimately became playable after an overnight bake at 130 degrees Fahrenheit . The dished Lone Justice record relaxed noticeably and played well after a fourhour session at 130 degrees . Planned upgrades to the Record Pi system include a timer option within the Smart Life app . For now , it ’ s easy to set a timer within your phone app and shut the heat down via Smart Life . In summary , Record Pi offers a practical tool yielding good results at a sensible price point . It ’ s a worthwhile investment for vintage vinyl aficionados . MSRP is $ 350 , with an e-mail list discount offered at the time of this writing . ( recordpi . com ) Link : https :// tinyurl . com / IE-RecordPi
chiming guitar on " Mother-Lode ." Veteran Vigilantes of Love bassist Chris Bland joins several songs , including the Stonesy reflection of hard times " Taking Us All for a Ride ."
The reflective " Whatever ' s Left of Me Now " finds Mallonee taking stock and sorting through troubling news of the kind that awaits everyone due to the relentless march of time . Ultimately , he swears an oath to find joy in whatever years or hours he has left . "' Til Your Heart Got in the Way " and " Nothing Lasts Forever " include fleeting reflections on Mallonee ' s younger days as a critics ' choice being hailed as the next big thing , starting on the path that got him where he is today . He ' s still putting in the hard work and crafting art from everyday life like it ' s the only thing he knows how to do . For those who prefer their music to carry an artifice-free stamp of authenticity , Here it Opens with a Prayer , but it Closes with a Song rings true enough to believe . billmalloneemusic . bandcamp . com
– Jeff Elbel
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