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12" 1970s 33 rpm Compilations Soundtracks

The Persuader

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, as stereo sound systems became more affordable, many record companies produced what you might call stereo samplers, compilations of sound effects and popular music which sounded impressive in the new format. They were sold very cheaply, or even given away, a freebie thrown in with a new record […]

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12" 1950s 33 rpm Classical LP Soundtracks

Winter is coming

When I was a teenager, I sort-of-learned to play the flute. I never got very good at it, because I rarely practiced. My feeling after each lesson, as I packed the flute into its brown plastic case, and the case into my school bag, and began the long journey home (two buses and over an […]

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12" 1940s 33 rpm Blues LP Soundtracks

Screen time

We are an extremely visual culture, and becoming more so. As images and video becomes easier and easier to create and manipulate, and as screens become better and lighter and more portable, our ability to just read, or just listen, gradually erodes. I teach at a university, and it is a constant battle to keep […]

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1980s 45 rpm 7" Pop Rock Single Soundtracks

Records, tattoos and manure cake

This was one of the very first records I sold online. The purchaser lives in Queensland, Link is his name, and he is a fan of eighties pop. He bought a few discs, and we exchanged some emails. I asked why he was into the eighties stuff: was he, like me, there at the time? […]