One of the hardest rocking bands of all time meets one of the most refreshing cocktails this side of hells bells. This whiskey cocktail, our AC/DC Back in Blackberry Fizz,  is the perfect pairing for an album that is pure fire from the first riff to last. All you need for this recipe is:

AC/DC BACK IN BLACKBERRY FIZZ

1 1/2 oz Starward Whiskey

2 tbs Simple Syrup

1 tbs Blackberry Juice

6 tbs Club Soda

Mint Sprig

Add ice to your cocktail glass. In cocktail shaker with ice: add whiskey, simple syrup and blackberry juice and shake it all night long. Pour into glass while straining out ice from shaker. Top off with soda, garnish with blackberry and mint, and have a drink on me!

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Their most recent album, 2015’s Better Nature has become a fan favorite, and considered an underrated classic by indie rock aficionados. Better Nature was also the first LP released on their own independent imprint New Machine Records, and was fan funded with a Pledge Music campaign, allowing the band the freedom to make this record entirely on their own terms. The sonic pallet of this record was showcased with the lead single “Nightlight” with its grinding guitars and epic chorus, the song was an exciting introduction to a new era for the band’s sound. Retaining all of the classic trademarks of their debut, but with a darker mood and more complex arrangements.

Better Nature’s second single “Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance)” was an infectious entry into the band’s catalog, with one of the groups most memorable melodies, and swooning interplay between Nikki and Brian’s beautifully complementary vocals. Over the span of the album’s ten tracks, the band hit some major highs, with some of their most beautiful moments and engrossing arrangements to date. The record, helmed by the production skills of Garret “Jacknife” Lee who has worked with U2, R.E.M. and The Cars, delivers an incredible analog experience. The album packs a punch, with diamond sharp clarity, expert mastering and incredible use of dynamic range. The album has a wonderful sense of space and breath, and avoids the trappings that many over-polished modern rock records seem to fall into. An album that could easily be classified as a sleeper classic, that is finding a greater audience with each passing year. However, there is no substitute for hearing it for the first time in its full analog glory on a high quality stereo console.

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On tracks like “No Option” and “Leave,” Post Malone showcases his vibe at its best, laid back, with a voice that doesn’t 100% fit the mold of other current artists in trap. It almost has a throwback 90s feel to it in some ways, but there is a deeper level he achieves with his tracks than the typical throwback party anthem. There’s another dimension of  depth that seems to be resonating with his fans, an emotional chord that he effortlessly strikes on almost every track from Stoney. While he is rooted purely in hip-hop, one of his other passions is emo music, and this complexity is on full display on tracks that strike a balance of his two favorite worlds like “I Fall Apart.”

Whereas the traditional function of emo music is pure catharsis and release of angst for its listener, there’s a perspective that comes across in Post Malone’s lyrics and delivery that almost achieves celebratory heights. There are other artists in trap that display an emotional complexity, but this usually comes across as a representation of the binary, either party anthems or slow jams. But its the nuance and his turn of phrase displayed, unusual word usage paired with his voice and delivery that makes this debut what it is. The record was even able to withstand a guest appearance from Justin Bieber, which actually is one of his best cameos, and sees him blending into the Post Malone aesthetic.

This record is well produced and sounds excellent in its vinyl format, and is an exciting journey from first track to last. Make no mistake this album is primarily a trap record, but Post Malone is one of the first who has taken this extremely minimal sonic pallet, and woven it into a flow that pushes this genre into new territory, to become a genre defining work that will influence a flood of new talent entering the game.

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Dear LUNO,

I’ve been looking into purchasing a vintage mid-century modern record console from the 1960s, and some of the models I’ve considered look like they’re in excellent condition, but are selling way above what I’ve noticed the original price tags were. Are vintage vinyl console record players worth the price, and how do they stack up against just investing in a new stereo console? What should I look for in a record console beyond the basic style that I’ve been seeking? 

Thanks in advance for your response,

“Confused Console Shopper”

~~~~~~

Hi “Confused,”

Where to begin? There are so many options out there for vintage record consoles, and a wide variety of quality. Depending on the brand you’re looking at, the price for some of the rarer heirloom vintage stereo record consoles, or collectors pieces, can be astronomical.

Here’s the main issue, most vintage 1960’s consoles weren’t known for impeccable sound quality, so depending on whether you’re looking to use the piece as a decoration, or as an actual daily use working hifi stereo system, should help you decide if you should look for a brand new versus a vintage unit. Consoles like our EGB2, and other brand new mid-century modern style consoles have significantly better components than they put into their classic 1960’s predecessors.

You should also check to see if the console you’re looking into has all of its original components, or if they’ve been updated to new equipment, which in many cases will give you much greater fidelity. For the money, purchasing a new unit can give you exactly what you’re looking for, and in many cases with LUNO’s consoles, you can customize some of the features, so you find exactly what you’re looking for.

Another suggestion is to look for units that are entirely analog, many new record consoles have equipment that allows you to output to a digital signal, and other digital equipment, which compresses the full original analog signal into a digital signal, and kind of defeats the purpose of listening to a vinyl record. LUNO’s record consoles are 100% full analog from stylus to speaker, giving you the warmth and fullness that analog records are so well known for.

If you have a specific console that you have questions about drop us another line, and we’re always glad to help out!

Yours truly in interior design,

LUNO

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THREE CLUBS

This may not sound like a complement, but Three Clubs seems like a place that Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave would meet up to shoot heroin. It’s very dark, it embodies the style and comforts of another era, but it has a version of class that is almost so out of place in 2018 that it becomes a little seedy. Their jukebox is CD based, but its selection is fantastic and covers some bases that really suit their environment, and put them on the map as one of our favorite Los Angeles jukebox landmarks.

THE 101 COFFEE SHOP

There’s no better place to get the old school Los Angeles coffee shop experience, and play some incredible music, than The 101 Coffee Shop. An institution for generations of hipsters, but in this case the hipsters got it right. Hanging out here you get to touch a bygone that we all seem to long for, a simpler time that was richer in many ways, but somehow we keep pushing further away from into the complexity of technology. Great food, awesome jukebox, need we say anymore?

SWINGERS

Another great fixture of the classic Los Angeles coffee shops, Swingers is well known for having a very eclectic jukebox. Their selection over the years has included titles from artists as diverse as Bjork, The Smiths and Link Wray. After a night out at Hollywood clubs, most likely listening to some form of the current top-40 music being blasted at a volume that makes it almost impossible to realize how bad it really is, Swingers lets you unwind over some great food, conversation with your friends with a background of incredible music.

SEVEN GRAND

A whiskey bar that is as luxurious and handsomely decorated as you could possibly hope for, with the added bonus of an amazing selection of tracks on their jukebox. Some nights they have a live jazz combo, which is always a great night out too. But my favorite nights here are those when you get to pick out tracks from the albums you love, enjoy some incredible whiskey cocktails and just talk about music.

JOHNNIES PASTRAMI

Not the first place that may come to mind when you think of jukebox, but they have them, and the also have a pastrami sandwich that’s so good, it could make many vegetarians rethink their stance on eating meat. This place is caught in a time-warp, but in the best way possible. When you’re here enjoying one of the best late night food spots anywhere in the world, listening to Elvis, you start to realize what a special place Los Angeles is, and how lucky those are who explore it and discover its secrets.

The post The Best Los Angeles Jukeboxes | LUNO appeared first on Luno.

EGB2 RECORD CONSOLE

KC27 RECORD CONSOLE

The Shell Stereo Cabinet

• 2 Door Options
• 2 Leg Options
• 2 Finish Options

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Oakley’s Thump Sunglasses

These wearable works of art, created by Oakley were endorsed by Dog The Bounty Hunter, and sold for a whopping $495 when they were first introduced. Beyond their stellar celebrity endorsement, and style that looks like it could have hoped right off of one of Wesley Snipes enemies in Blade, they had extremely limited storage when they were first released compared to the standards of mp3 players of that time. People say they were difficult to use, however they also say you have to suffer for fashion, and inconvenience is a small price to pay to look this good.

ZUNE MP3 Player

Despite users who were so excited about the technology that it actually lead one man to get a Zune tattoo, these units couldn’t compete with the more ubiquitous Apple “Mp3” offerings. They actually had some cool features in which you could share music directly between Zunes, however there were some limitations, you could only play acquired tracks three times within three days of having shared them, among a few other drawbacks. They tried to reinvigorate interest with an updated HD version of the player, that included gaming, but it wasn’t long before the Zune became the first digital mp3 player to go the way of the 8-track.

Sony Mini Disc Players

Despite being promoted in almost every late 90s movie about hackers or futuristic crime, they never caught on as being a popular format. Not to say they didn’t have their extremely loyal cult, who still use mini discs to this day. Some extremely obscure sub-genres of music still put out albums on this format, but price and a transformation of digital downloads with the advent of Napster had already began to change the landscape of storage capacity, and how people were listening to music. From a design standpoint this was one of the most practical updates to optical format data storage, that allowed for protection of the media with a plastic covering, based on the same data access door used on computer floppy discs.

8-Track Cassette Players

8-Track players, and the associated audio equipment, were extremely cool looking, so many of the players had incredible design, however many users had various complaints about these audio players. Many would report that the unites functioning and track switching were very noisy. It was also not a very reliable format, they would frequently have issues with playback and track switching. The 8-track tape players were also most popularly installed in cars, however the tapes themselves couldn’t stand up to the extreme heat of being stored in cars, as they would warp and melt into an unplayable condition.

DataPlay Disc Players

Almost an identical clone of Sony’s mini disc technology, however there were a few twists to DataPlay’s offering that was incredibly unique. As illegal downloading began to slowly dismantle the commercial music market, the DataPlay discs and players utilized a complex digital rights management system, which almost all but prevented the illegal copying or trading of tracks. It also allowed for those who have purchased a disc to pay to unlock additional content that was already recorded to the disc itself with a secondary purchase. With limited commercial releases available on the format, fans could however get their hands on Avril Lavigne’s first record and then pay to unlock multi-media and extra content. If that doesn’t give you a picture of why we aren’t using this today, then I don’t know what will.

Take a look at some audio equipment that we are very grateful for here.

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