The Jazz Detective label has done truly great work in preparing Chet Baker’s new 180g 2LP set, Blue Room: The 1979 VARA Studio Sessions in Holland, for its Record Store Day 2023 release on April 22. Read on to see why Mark Smotroff feels should be near the top of your own RSD 2023 acquisition wishlist. . .

Is it any wonder why something called Vinyl Obsession instantly became our favorite TV show? Airing on Sunday nights at 8:30 p.m. EST on AXS TV, this half-hour LP-centric show follows a pair of musicians and/or rock-adjacent celebs shopping for their five favorite albums at Grimey’s in Nashville. Naturally, we had to find out how Vinyl Obsession came to be, so AP editor Mike Mettler got on Zoom with executive producer and AXS TV VP of programming Katie Daryl to get all the LP-obsessive details. Read on to see what Daryl had to say about how the idea for Vinyl Obsession moved from brainstorm into reality, who her main dream guest would be for Season 2, and what her own personal top LP choices are. . .

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Record Store Day — and it really should, as the very next RSD is slated for this Saturday, April 22. Since its 2007 debut, RSD has grown into an international pilgrimage event for vinyl-loving music fans around the world — and it shouldn’t surprise you in the least that we collectively love Record Store Day here at AnalogPlanet, seeing how we’ve been proud RSD supporters since Day 1. Read on to see what two of AP’s intrepid album lovers, vinyl evaluators, and inveterate collectors — namely, chief LP reviewer Mark Smotroff and AP editor Mike Mettler — cite as their top-tier RSD 2023 choices. . .

AXPONA is officially in the books, and what an amazing show it was! Let’s all do it again next year, shall we? As mentioned here last week, our full show report is forthcoming in both text and video form. In the meantime, I’d like to draw our collective analog attention to another cool product seen at the big show — namely, the SOTA Quasar turntable. Read on to learn more about the Quasar and all its earthly-yet-cosmically cool features. . .

AXPONA is in full swing, and we’re all over it. Our full show report with be forthcoming, but something that caught our collective analog eye early on is the Technics SL-1500C-W turntable, which is the matte white version of the company’s well-loved SL-1500C direct-drive turntable. Read on to learn more about the new matte white version of this fine ’table, what it’s SRP will be, and when it’ll become available for obtainment accordingly. . .

The Flaming Lips are one of those bands that have always endeavored to create their own sonic universe, and we almost never know exactly what planet we’ll be on when we drop the needle on their latest vinyl venture and/or most recent archival collection. Case in point — the 180g 5LP baby-pink vinyl box set for July 2002’s Yoshimi Battle the Pink Robots being released (finally!) on April 14, a collection that includes the remastered core album, demos, non-album tracks, live radio sessions, and many other live tracks galore. In a recent Zoom interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Flaming Lips visionary vocalist Wayne Coyne discusses the ins and outs of the making of the Yoshimi vinyl box set, how the word “realize” became such an integral part of the band’s songwriting, and how a few hundred test tapes fueled the beginning and the end of one of the album’s most enduring songs. Read on to realize all the LP-related Yoshimi details. . .

The Kuzma family of moving coil cartridges is such a fine sight to see. To wit: Meet the Slovenian company’s CAR-30, which dependably revealed the peculiarities and personalities of individual records during the course of our review period. Read on to see Ken Micallef’s expert take on all the Kuzma CAR-30 has to offer, and how well it stacks up with its MC cart competition. . .

We’re often asked by younger/newer AP sitegoers who have budgetary concerns where they can get started in this ever-widening turntable universe of ours, so we like to suggest a number of entry-point options where they can come join the analog party at their pace. All LP-lovin’ comers welcome, after all. With this in mind, today, we’re putting the spotlight on Mitchell Acoustics and their quite affordable uStream TT2 turntable. Read on to see how the TT2 might fit into your own starter-system plans, and/or those of someone you know. . .

These days, a new Depeche Mode album is cause for celebration, and the band’s just released 180g 2LP set, Memento Mori, is worthy of deep listening and devoted examination. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if Memento Mori stands tall with other classic entries in Depeche Mode’s storied vinyl catalog. . .

We’re very much looking forward to all the new analog gear expected to be shown at this year’s AXPONA in Schaumburg, Illinois from April 14-16, and Luxman has already given us an advance taste by letting us know they’ll be introducing their brand-new flagship PD-191A turntable at the big show. Read on to get all the respective specs, features, and stats about this cool, vintage-looking new ’table. . .