PLAYLIST: Mondo Radio (12/03/25)

Here's the playlist for this week's edition of Mondo Radio, which you can download or stream here. This episode: "Sound in Space", featuring stereo demonstration discs and more. If you enjoy it, be sure to also follow the show on Bluesky, Facebook and Tumblr!

Artist - Song - Album

Pete Rugolo - Stereo Space Man - Music From Out Of Space

RCA Records - Band 1 - Sounds In Space

Audio Fidelity Records - Side 1 - Stereo Spectacular: Demonstration & Sound Effects

Spike Jones And His Band That Plays For Fun - Two Heads Are Better Than One - How To Get The Most Out Of Your Stereo

Bob Prescott With Cy Harrice - The Artillery Range - Cartoons In Stereo

Popular Science Monthly - Percussion - Hi-Fi Test Record, Vol. 2

Woody Herman's Herd Feat. Buddy Rich - Hi-Fi Drums - Hi-Fi Drums

The Greene String Quartet - The Doors Trilogy (A. Love Me Two Times B. You're Lost Little Girl C. Hello, I Love You) - Molly On The Shore

Henry Morgan-Isobel Robins With The Mickey Leonard Quartet - Morgan-Tone System - The Saint And The Sinner

The Stan Freberg Show - Herman Horne On Hi-Fi - The Best Of The Stan Freberg Shows

Henry Morgan-Isobel Robins With The Mickey Leonard Quartet - Hi-Fi - The Saint And The Sinner

Cook Laboratories - Side A - Cook's Tour Of Stereo

Westminster Records - In A Little Clock Shop (Dick Leibert, Organ Of The Byrd Theater In Richmond, Virginia) - Stereo! Stereo! Stereo!

Westminster Records - Realistic Sounds, Big And Small: Buzz Saw And Motor, Telephones, Automobile, Breaking Glass, Typewriters, Lions And Elephants, Riveters, Jet Planes - Stereo! Stereo! Stereo!

Shure - Introduction - An Audio Obstacle Course

Shure - Level, Channel Balance & Phasing - An Audio Obstacle Course

HiFi/Stereo Review - Speaker Phasing; Channel Identification; Channel Balance - Stereo Test Record For Home And Laboratory Use

HiFi/Stereo Review - Frequency Response, Left Channel - Stereo Test Record For Home And Laboratory Use

Bell Telephone Laboratories - Intensity - The Science Of Sound

Bell Telephone Laboratories - Loudness - The Science Of Sound

Jim Fassett - Side 1 - Strange To Your Ears: The Fabulous World Of Sound

Folkways Records - Short Wave Radio - Sound Patterns

FEATURE: Behind the Curtain: A History of Bloopers

By their very definition, bloopers and outtakes are, quite literally, throwaway bits of footage, but they've attained an oddly permanent place in our popular culture.

Read the full piece here.

FEATURE: Milwaukee Embraces The Delphines

There're plenty of good reasons for it, but nevertheless Milwaukee really seems to love the Delphines these days, and what's more, the feeling is mutual.

Read the full piece here.

VIDEO: Collection - The Sensational K-Tel Collection! 25 Smash Hits!

The K-Tel company used to sell all kinds of crap to gullible (or drunk) TV viewers, novel kitchen gadgets destined to collect dust and the like, but they really made their name in the music business, licensing the biggest pop hits of the day and releasing them as compilations. With hideous covers and titles like 20 Power Hits or K-Tel's Pop Explosion, these collections were unabashedly tacky, but they also have a weird kind of resonance, encapsulating a moment in pop music history like a fly trapped in amber. Presented here for your consideration are 25 of their most mind-melting musical commercials ("As Seen On TV!"), selected from across years of K-Tel bombardment. Enjoy!

Problems viewing the video? Watch on Network Awesome!

FEATURE: Adventures in Record Collecting #2

In this new and mildly exciting new feature, I go record shopping and tell you about what I bought:
Date: 09/03/11
Location: Goodwill, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
Money Spent: $2.09 USD
Number of Records Purchased: 2

The Records:

Simon & Garfunkel - The Graduate: Original Soundtrack Recording:

Simon & Garfunkel get the credit for this soundtrack to Mike Nichols deserved classic film The Graduate, but there's a lot to like about the jazzy lounge numbers provided by David Grusin as well. With that said, S&G cuts like "April Come She Will" and, of course, "The Sound of Silence" are still lovely.

Henry Mancini - The Music from Peter Gunn:

A nice collection of soundtrack music from the NBC/ABC detective series Peter Gunn, composed and conducted by that master of film and television scores Henry Mancini. I've never seen the show (and was surprised to learn that legendary filmmaker Robert Altman directed many of the early episodes), but the theme song is an immediately recognizable part of our collective consciousness. The rest of the album has a decidedly more conventional jazz feel, but is still perfect for creating some classically cool ambiance.

Since I had not planned on buying any records, today's outing was a pleasant surprise. Although it would have been even better had that copy of the 2001: A Space Odyssey Soundtrack not looked as if someone had smeared peanut butter on it, as I definitely would have bought it.

FEATURE: Adventures in Record Collecting #1

In this new and mildly exciting new feature, I go record shopping and tell you about what I bought:
Date: 08/14/2011
Location: Milwaukee Record & Music Show, American Serb Hall, Milwaukee
Money Spent: $8.00 USD
Number of Records Purchased: 6

The Records:

ABBA - Super Trouper:

I hate to break it to you, but if you don't like ABBA, you're a hater, plain and simple. For those of you who do like ABBA, it's worth remembering that, although their greatest hits compilations have sold several million copies, the original albums are more than worth a listen. Like many of their later-era efforts, Super Trouper features a few mega-hits (the biggie in this case being "The Winner Takes It All") interspersed with rock-solid album cuts. My only compunction about buying this is that every time I listen to it, I'll have to wonder what sadist decided to package records with crumply, bunchy cellophane inner sleeves.

Herbie Hancock - Future Shock:

The 1983 LP whose hit single "Rockit", and its heavily-rotated video, launched scratching into the consciousness of the general public via a guest appearance by Grand Mixer D.ST, Future Shock was the first manifestation of Hancock's interest in electro-funk. Great record, it's going to warrant a lot of repeat listens.

Herbie Hancock - Perfect Machine:

It was five years before Hancock released this, the last installment in the Future Shock  trilogy. It may be a bit rougher around the edges than the first, but there's plenty to love here, especially with tunes like "Vibe Alive" and "Beat Wise". I've actually been familiar with this one for a while, so I knew it was a good buy, especially for 50 cents.

Prince - Purple Rain:

A classic, no explanation needed. Glad to finally have it on vinyl, it will look nice slotted next to my "Let's Go Crazy" 12 "

Yazoo - Situation 12" Single:

Though they only released two studio albums, Yazoo (known as Yaz in the U.S.) made them both count. A taste of the first, Upstairs at Eric's, "Situation" became one of their most recognizable songs. Strange to learn that Alison Moyet's laugh was sampled for the "Macarena". While not that much of a radical departure, the dub version on the reverse is rather nice too.

Sylvester - Step II:

One of the greatest disco divas (even if he was a man), Sylvester's "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" is a dance floor classic, not to mention one of the earliest examples of what became known as Hi-NRG. The rest of the album doesn't disappoint either, even when the tempo drops.



Overall it was a good excursion. Everything's in nice shape and I didn't spend too much. Although I didn't find as many bargains as I would've liked to either. Thanks for reading and stay tuned!