“My very first experience with vinyl records was when I was very young—maybe 3 or 4 years old, but I clearly remember my parents spinning the soundtrack to Purple Rain and also Sex Pistols records.
“I remember looking at the cover of Purple Rain and being very confused by the raw sexuality and attitude of the image of Prince on a motorcycle. It wasn’t, and still isn’t, appealing to me but nevertheless it was VIVID, which I have grown to appreciate.
Flash forward 20 years and I find myself enthralled by collecting records that are Misfits/Danzig related. Not only because I love the music, but because all the artwork looked so much cooler in vinyl’s size, compared to a small, meager CD case – ugh! Plus, Misfits would always do cool variants, like make colored vinyl or glow in the dark vinyl, which made it so much more special than the mirror-like image of a boring CD that could get scratched and easily ruined.
I would often hang albums like Earth AD or Die Die My Darling, or a picture disc of Famous Monsters on my wall like game trophies I had hunted down in the wilderness of Seascape. Proud of my collectible records, I soon realized this was the superior format to my ex-girlfriend, aka compact discs…
When it came time for my band to release its second full length record, it was a no brainer that we’d put it out on glorious vinyl, even though it cost a lot more money and was kind’ve a pain in the ass. I have never felt more satisfied with a release than when I held our copy of Dead Stars Drive-In on vinyl in the post office with our singer Dusty. I felt like, for once, everything had gone right and there were no fuck ups, in beautiful translucent blue and purple vinyl. Yow, I need a cold shower and a cigarette after that!
Bottom line is that a well done vinyl release will always be more collectible and cooler than a CD or a digital release, or now a LP with a digital download card…can’t beat that shit!”
—Emilio Menze
Enter to win Stellar Corpses’ brand new LP, Dead Stars Drive-In on either blue or purple vinyl (your choice!) by sharing your favorite Halloween LP or single – and briefly why – in the comments below. Trickiest answer treats themselves to the LP! We’ll choose one winner with a North American mailing address a week from today, 11/7!
