Vinyl Talk

I have to say, I’m really obsessing over vinyl lately (even more than usual). I received my copies of the new UK Sainsbury’s exclusive colored LP’s (pictured here). I love that (just like the 2 colored re-issues from last year) these new 180 gram pressings are super thick, heavy discs. They definitely feel substantial and high quality. The artwork quality of the sleeve for Like A Virgin could be a lot better (the sleeve has no lamination, it’s completely matte, which is very strange), but the Ray Of Light one is pretty good. The Like A Virgin disk is not completely 100% see-through, it has a bit of a hazy/silvery effect, but I think it looks really cool.

Elsewhere, I also bought the Japanese vinyl pressing of Ray of Light from 1998 last week that I have wanted for a long time. It was a bit pricey but I finally decided to bite the bullet and go for it since I’m digging on vinyl so much lately! I can’t wait for that one to arrive. This one is special because it has a gatefold sleeve, unlike the German editions which were just a regular jacket.

I’m looking forward to any new re-issues we get in the coming months! It’s certainly a lot more special when they go the colored vinyl route, so I hope they release more of those. Since You Can Dance has yet to be re-issued, I’m thinking I would love a red vinyl pressing of that! I’d also love a teal edition of Bedtime Stories to compliment the original 1994 USA pink vinyl promo. Fingers crossed!

EROTICA: 25th Anniversary

The Erotica album is 25 years old today. Can you believe it? TWENTY FIVE YEARS. It just blows my mind. A quarter of a century ago, Madonna released this brilliant album. People were so caught up in the controversy regarding the SEX book, that the album suffered as a result. If the critics and general public had actually stopped to listen to the record, they would have realized that it wasn’t as controversial as they assumed it was. It wasn’t some raunchy CD at all. Aside from a few cuss words (and the sexually descriptive rap track Did You Do It?), the album was pretty harmless. Many people don’t find it sexy at all, but rather cold. It explores broken relationships more than sex, really. Regardless, it’s good to see the album getting some respect 25 years later. Positive articles have been posted at Billboard and Rolling Store. Hopefully the recent vinyl re-press will introduce this record to new listeners. I’m also tickled that Madonna herself gave a shout out to the album on her Instagram!

New Colored Vinyl Releases

I am SO excited that Like A Virgin and Ray of Light have been released today in the UK as Sainsbury exclusives! In case you’re unaware, Like A Virgin was released on clear vinyl and Ray of Light on double blue vinyl. As soon as I saw picture of them on Instagram, I went over to ebay and bought my copies. I love all this colored vinyl we’ve been getting these last couple of years! I really hope they do Erotica at some point. As with the last time around with the True Blue and Like A Prayer colored vinyl releases, these came out of nowhere without warning and just popped up at UK Sainsbury shops. I absolutely can’t wait to get mine!