Vinyl Album of the Week
January 29, 2022 5:55 AM   Subscribe

Vínill vikunnar is a weekly radio program on Iceland’s state broadcaster RÚV. The idea is simple, the play a whole vinyl album from start to finish. Each album is introduced in Icelandic, before playing side A, and the presenter speaks in the middle while they turn the record around and play side B. The picks range from canonical albums from the 20th Century ( Billy Holiday, David Bowie and Lauryn Hill), to world music (Osibisa, Umm Kulthum and Mulata Astake), to indie classics ( Siouxsie Sioux and the Banshees, P. J. Harvey and The Pixies), to the overlooked (Alberta Hunter, Alice Coltrane and Maki Asakawa), and of course Icelandic music (Einsöngvarakvartettinn, Björk and Ellý Vilhjálms). There’s lots more to choose from, and shows are streamable for a whole year.
posted by Kattullus (5 comments total) 33 users marked this as a favorite
 
KLAQ in El Paso used to do this when I was a teenager in the 80s. It was the Midnight Album Feature, and they let you know what was going to be played (usually a new release) well ahead of time. Basically it was a setup to get your TDK SA-90 ready to go in your recorder so you could have a new album without having to pay for it, using the excuse of promoting a new release.
posted by hippybear at 6:16 AM on January 29, 2022 [3 favorites]


Do yourself a favour and listen to that Alberta Hunter album now. It's wonderful. And here she is at the Smithsonian.
posted by Paul Slade at 7:04 AM on January 29, 2022 [3 favorites]


Surprised to see Alice Coltrane described as "overlooked." But if so, check out these selections from "World Spiritually Classics 1: The Ecstatic Music Of Alice Coltrane" and "Journey In Satchidananda" with Pharoah Sanders. Cheers.
posted by Dean358 at 7:29 AM on January 29, 2022 [1 favorite]


Surprised to see Alice Coltrane described as "overlooked."

She absolutely is. I own a record store and can't tell you the number of people who see her stuff and say they've never heard of her -- even jazz folks who know her husband's work. I think Ptah the El Daoud is one of the greatest records ever.
posted by dobbs at 8:16 AM on January 29, 2022 [3 favorites]


I'm ashamed to admit it, but I'm a long-time jazz fan and only somewhat recently became aware of Alice's work. A legend in her own right, and definitely worthy of wider recognition.
posted by milnak at 8:54 AM on January 29, 2022 [1 favorite]


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