Vinyl Revival

Yeah, Amazon Prime Day is coming up (October 6-7, 2026). What used to be once a year has expanded to twice yearly – one in June or July and the other in October. As I have previously mentioned, the worst time of the year to buy from Amazon is on Prime Day, because they are flooded with so many orders that many times I’ve gotten the wrong time, item delivered to the wrong address, missing item(s), and so on. It’s so bad that I just don’t bother with their sale – so what I suggest is to order things before, or wait a week after Prime Day. You may pay a little more, but it’s worth it to not have to deal with the pain.

Since we’re still about a week out from Prime Day, I am doing a little shopping. There’s something called “Early Prime Day”, and I’ve already started seeing discounts on Marvel Comics trades (which I don’t really collect). I also noticed they are discounting vinyl up to 30%, which is better than nothing. As a recent vinyl record collector, it’s something I’m interested in. However, I didn’t really see anything that I liked. I have my eye on The Smiths’ Louder Than Bombs for $30. It’s a double-vinyl 180g set, that’s why it’s normally $40. But still, $30 seemed so steep to me, especially because I’m quite happy with my lame CD that I purchased for $15, so many years ago at the Wherehouse.

As I previously mentioned, I am really happy to see the Vinyl Revival for the past few years. I think length-wise, the 25-min limitation of one side is the perfect amount of time to absorb music. It is pretty much my prefer way of listening to music these days. “Make a cup of tea, put a record on.”

Also, with my Sony A7C back home, I’ve been buying various camera accessories for it. My other camera (Sony A7IV) is a concert camera with a long lens… so I’m treating the A7C as more of a home studio and cat camera. The C is for Cat, I guess. The lens on the A7C is a 16-28mm Sigma, and it just needs more light to perfectly capture the product or cat.

So, I’m looking for sales on lights and flash. One thing you quickly notice is that for professional-graded lights, it can get really, really expensive. The light setup could easily top $1k if you want the best. I’m cheap, so I’ll be looking at flimsy setups. The cheaper option is flood lights, and for two light and tri-pod stand (height up to 60 inches) for about $30 is not bad. You still will need to provide the USB adapter to power the light.

I’m still doing research on Flash. Since I think I need the hotshoe for my eyecap, for a camera light, I thought I might go with just a video light. I saw this really cute TTArtisan Mini LED Light that is in a shape of a roll of film. It’s held by magnetics, so you can easily put it on or off. Three light color settings (3000K/4500K/6000K) and for $10, it won’t break the bank.

Legendary band U2 and Third Man Records (Jack White’s record store and vinyl pressing company) have joined forces for their special independent record store edition of Carnaval De Luz – in complete yellow vinyl and yellow/black packaging art. The new record arrives November 13, 2026.

In some ways, the new album is also celebrating their 50th anniversary as a band. What a time it must have been in 1976, when four teenagers (Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.) got together in Dublin and started writing music together.

Like many of you, of course, I own The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, Rattle and Hum, and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb… But the last time I got a U2 album, it was for Songs of Innocence, which randomly showed up on my Apple iTunes account. I can’t say I’ve kept up with the latest U2 whereabouts, but Carnaval De Luz sounds like a good start to hear them again… plus, I’m happy to see we’ll be hearing some posthumous music with Dolly Parton on their collaborative track “Torn”.

Since I’m a cheapskate vinyl collector, I don’t want to pay $40 (which is pretty much the new standard price for new vinyl). I am looking at the Amazon cover artwork for the album, on CD for $21, so that might be a good option if you want a different version than the standard artwork (as well as a 16-page booklet with photos and exclusive album imagery).

Carnaval De Luz comes out on November 13th, 2026, via Interscope Records.

You know me, I love me a bit of Alien and Aliens. I may have seen the films when I was waaay too young, and it may have scarred me for life… but I love the fear. The sequel by James Cameron made the original film into more of an action/sci-fi film and it’s great. I remember seeing it in theaters and that final scene with Sigourney Weaver in the power lifter was such a great moment!

Since then, I have own various DVDs and Bluray releases of those Aliens movies (including boxsets, steelbooks, and various Anniversary editions). I’m a fan!

Now Varèse Sarabande announced three new 40th-anniversary vinyl reissues of James Horner’s celebrated Aliens soundtrack. For collector, that “Xenomorph Glow” glow in the dark vinyl is to die for! Unfortunately, according to Craft Recordings, the pre-order is sold out. The album will be released in November 13.

Still, the more accessible standard edition is good enough. If you want to put some effort, Barnes & Noble has a green vinyl variant.

Tangerine Records (the record label owned by Ray Charles) has released Ray Charles Live In Concert: The Complete Performance, an expanded edition of 1965’s Live In Concert. The record originally captured a fraction of Ray Charles’ 1964 show at LA’s Shrine Auditorium.

If you missed out on the original 1965 release, this is a great opportunity to hear the concert. For old fans who already own the original release -the new album is freshly remastered by five-time GRAMMY winner Michael Graves and mastered for vinyl by Jeff Powell. Hear the pianist’s entire 75-minute concert, like you’ve never heard it before.

Trivia: Ray Charles didn’t even know the 6,000+ capacity Shrine show was being recorded. Ray’s manager, former top-rated Los Angeles DJ Joe Adams, recorded the show in secret, with only producer Sid Feller in the know. It could have gone horribly wrong, if Ray had a bad night or had technical difficulties with the instruments or with his full orchestra (tenor saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman, trombonist Julius Preister, and alto saxophonist Hank Crawford)… but as history would have it, the recording went on to be R&B Top Ten.

Read more Technology (Sony) and Vinyl Records.

vu ♥ wheartm.com ♥ @weheartmusic ♥ weheartmusicgroup