"Jack White is vinyl's best friend:" Third Man's Deluxe Lazaretto ULTRA LP (wax review)

Whether or not you're a fan of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, or his recent work with Neil Young, you really can't deny the sheer impact that Jack White's own Nashville-based Third Man Records has had on the vinyl record industry or the modern day Blues-Rock revival in recent years. Entirely intentional or not, White has single-handedly helped usher in the 21st century resurgence of the age-old waxed medium; the former Record Store Day ambassador has gotten involved in a number of unique record-centric projects including producing Young's latest covers album, A Letter Home from inside a 1940's Voice-o-Graph portable recording studio and somehow managed to record, press, and sell the world's fastest record in record-breaking time this past Record Store Day. While Jack White's second solo album, Lazaretto was released last Tuesday, June 10th, I was lucky enough to receive my pre-ordered "ULTRA LP" the weekend prior to it's official release. The Roots band leader Questlove [Gomez] perfectly described the underlying sentiment behind Third Man's special edition package as, "dude. Jack White is vinyl's best friend. I'mma cop 20 copies of #Lazaretto. y'all ain't gonna believe what he hooked up @thirdmanrecords," in 140 characters or less, of course. It's honestly the most intricate, inter-active vinyl I've ever seen and trust me, I've seen a lot of vinyl in my record diggin' days! While Third Man's creative team might not have exactly invented all of the special features etched into Lazaretto, it's definitely the first time the greater record-buying public has seen this kinda thing on such a large scale. Jack White and fellow Third Man Records employee Ben Blackwell quickly outlined a few of Lazaretto "ULTRA LP"'s cutting-edge features in a 9-minute promotional video; Side A essentially plays in reverse from the outside in and end with an infinite locked groove (as does Side B), Lazaretto as a whole is a 3-speed record... playing at 33 1/3, 45, and 78 RPM, "Just One Drink" utilizes dual-groove technology and features either an acoustic or electric intro, relevant to where the needle is dropped, 2 vinyl-only hidden tracks are etched below the center labels, and Side A features a hand-etched "floating hologram" angel. Lazaretto itself features a different running order than the CD/digital versions and "absolutely zero compression [was] used during recording, mixing, and mastering." It's a great modern day Blues-Rock record and whether you were into The White Stripes or not, Third Man's special edition "ULTRA LP" is without a doubt worth $20; I recently ordered a second copy because I know one is libel to get scratched up while I'm attempting to discover it's countless special components!

"Let Me Shine for You:" Lindsay Lohan for Playboy (Winter 2011-12 Leak)

Lindsay Lohan essentially embodies exactly "What NOT to Do In Hollywood :" Fame, fortune, success... sex, drugs & Rock "N" Roll . Within a fairly short period of time, Lohan somehow managed to obtain a plentiful helping of POWER @ a very young age. This gradual rise-downfall was captured on film; Between 1998-2010, she portrayed a wide array of roles across the silver screen in movies including: Mean Girls, Bobby , Herbie Fully Loaded , Georgia Rule, Machete , and Freaky Friday . Between rapid-paced film shoots, Lindsay Lohan also found time to record 2 Pop Rock albums for Casablanca , Speak (2004) and A Litter More Personal-Raw (2005). Needless to say, Lindsay Lohan has gotten roped up in a lot of troubles and woes with the law over the last 3-5 years... a vicious cycle of drugs, arrest, court, rehab, "daddy issues," jail time [Repeat]. That's the pure basics of it - But Google that shit for additional info, if necessary. Towards the end of

[W]reckless, Topless American Youth: Lana del Rey - "Born 2 Die" (Britney Spears Birthday 30)

Lana del Rey [Lizzy Grant] effectively became 2011's "It Girl" with the release of her phenomenal debut single, "Video Games" (Stranger) . Like many struggling singer-songwriters, Grant has been signed, dropped, and significantly changed her public image since bursting onto the scene (2009). With that said, it can be assumed that Lana del Rey has collected just as many "haters" as she has avid supporters. To be perfectly honest, the only other artist I can think of that made this much commotion... garnered so much wide-spread buzz/hate and critical acclaim -- right out of the gates -- with just one track is Britney Spears . And maybe in this post- Mike musical era, that's the true synthesis of Pop Culture: Britney Lynn Spears . After months of repeated teasing and speculation, Lana del Rey 's major label debut, Born 2 Die will [finally] be released this coming Jan. 30-31, 2012. Pitchfork reports that it will feature "Off to The Ra

Liberty Bell Cracked In 1/2: Ween - "Freedom of '76" (Gene Ween's Final Send-Off)

Chocolate & Cheese (1994) was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I was in some sort of BMG Music Club , where you'd buy 5 CD's and then get 10 for "FREE." It was all sent through mail order and you picked the titles from some special booklet. I'm almost positive that Chocolate & Cheese's side boob-baring album cover was what initially drew me in... mind you, I was 12-15 and the zany Ween logo/middle finger CD graphic really didn't hurt either. Honestly, I forget how I really felt about it @ the time, but a few years later, my older cousin Josh told me that Ween were this BIG college "jam band." CKY did some sort pf 93.3 radio takeover to promote their new album and played "Freedom of '76" late that night on air. Needless to say, I re-visited Chocolate & Cheese @ about 20-something this go 'round and I fucking loved it! Ween were really weird, yet talented... almost too talented. I can vaguel

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