"Hell is for Children" Played on Original Vinyl

The Song of the Week - "Hell is for Children"

In light of the situation on the US southern border where thousands of children have been separated from their parents, we are highlighting "Hell is for Children," the passionate and angry song about child abuse from Pat Benatar on this week's "Song of the Week."

Children as young as three months old have been separated from their parents and sent all over the country. The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services of Texas (RAICES) is one of the largest immigrants and refugee organizations in the country, providing legal services to immigrants and their families.   Consider donating by clicking the image below.

K-Tel's "Rock 80" this month on AiV

This is by far my favorite K-Tel album.  It introduced me to the Romones. The Pretenders.  Blondie. Pat Benatar.

This is K-Tel's Rock 80.  I got this album on cassette for Christmas in 1980 and wore that tape out.  I must say, it was this album that shaped my musical tastes in the early 80s.  I was drawn more to the new wave music and early alternative music thanks, in part, to Rock 80.

This album will be streamed in its entirety on Adventures in Vinyl for the month of May.

Adventures in Vinyl can be heard at the following times:

Saturday, 12:30 pm (Central)  
Sunday, 4 pm (Central)
Tuesday, 1:30 pm (Central)
Wednesday, 2 am (Central)
Thursday, 10 am (Central)

K-Tel's "Dimensions" from 1981 on the next Adventures in Vinyl

This month we are celebrating the 20th episode of Adventures in Vinyl.  That's right, we have highlighted 20 K-Tel compilations over the last 2 years.  And we have many more to go.  After all, K-Tel produced over 160 compilation albums between 1971 and 1985.

In the month of February, we are featuring a compilation from 1981:  Dimensions.

This album features Juice Newton, Pat Benatar, Air Supply and one of my personal favorites from 1981:  Billy Squier.

In 1981, I received Billy Squier's album Don't Say No for Christmas. "The Stroke" was all over the airwaves in 1981.  And I played that album until it was worn out.  Pat Benatar, too.  Big fan.   Air Supply, not so much.

But then again, that is the magic of K-Tel.  Going over these old records I am still amazed at the eclectic nature of the song selections.

And Dimensions is no different:


Dimensions is the featured album this month on Adventures in Vinyl:  the only radio show dedicated to the lost art of the K-Tel compilation. Join us for a musical time trip featuring not just music, but movies and news as well.

Adventures in Vinyl is streamed at the following times (central):

Sunday, 4 pm
Tuesday, 1 pm
Wednesday, 2 am
Thursday, 10 am
Saturday, 12 pm

After the month is over, the episode will be available on a downloadable podcast.  If you missed last month's episode featuring Dynamic Sound, it is available here.

It's 1984 on Adventures in Vinyl. Get Ready for "Sound System"

1984 was the year I got my driver's license.  It was also the year of the Macintosh computer. Night Court premiered on NBC and a gallon of gas cost $1.10. Michael Jackson was severely burned while filming a Pepsi commercial and his album Thriller was the best selling album for the second year in a row.

It was a stellar year for movies as well:  Ghostbusters, Amadeus, Gremlins, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom---just to name a few.  Entertainment Weekly recently argued that 1984 was the greatest year for films ever, even better than 1939.

It was also the year K-Tel released Sound System, which features songs from Huey Lewis and the News, Pat Benatar, the Police, the Kinks and Styx.




Take a trip with us to 1984 on Adventures in Vinyl.  Sound System is the featured album for July Plus, movie clips, trivia and music from 1984 as well.   

Adventures in Vinyl is the only radio show dedicated to the magic of the K-Tel record compilation.  It can be heard on Vinyl Voyage Radio (all times Central):

Saturday 11 am
Sunday 4 pm
Tuesday 1 pm
Wednesday 2 am
Thursday 10 am

K-Tel's Finest: Rock 80 This Week

My favorite K-Tel album by far is Rock 80. This is Retro Repeat month on Adventures in Vinyl and this week we will be rebroadcasting the Rock 80 episode. The episode airs Saturday, May 19 at 11 am (ct), Sunday May 20 at 4 pm (ct) and then at 1 pm May 22, 2 am May 23 and 10 am May 24. Here is the original post describing the album:

Prior to 1980, my musical tastes generally sucked.  Oh, I listened to the standard hits on the radio, but had no coherent musical wants or likes---outside, that is, of what was always played in my house:  John Denver, Neil Diamond, Olivia Newton-John and Barry Manilow.  Yes, I admit it, I could sing along to several Manilow tunes.  Remember, I didn't have any older brothers or sisters to show me the way (Think: Almost Famous). But then, in 1980, everything changed.  I discovered good music.

And I can thank K-Tel for that.

For Christmas in 1980, I received a cassette from my parents.  It was K-Tel's Rock 80.  And this album introduced me for the first time to what would become some of my favorite bands:  Cheap Trick, the Ramones, the Pretenders.  I started listening more to rock radio.  I would sit sometimes for hours, waiting patiently for a single song to add to my collection of mix tapes. 

This is a classic K-Tel album.  It only had fourteen songs, unlike the other K-Tel albums in my collection.  Most of the K-Tel albums had over 20 songs, the result of sometimes very bad edits and song crunching.  Not this one; this one has the full radio versions of the songs.

This album features the Pretenders, Cheap Trick, the Ramones, Joe Jackson, Blondie, Nick Lowe, the Knack and many more.  Here's the commercial:




Unfortunately, this cassette no longer works.  Thank God for Ebay.  A couple of years ago, I was able to purchase a nice copy on vinyl.  And that Rock 80 album is the featured selection on this month's edition of Adventures in Vinyl.  We will play the album in its entirety.  Plus, music and movie trivia from 1980 as well.

Adventures in Vinyl is the only radio show dedicated to the lost art of the K-Tel record compilation.  It can be heard on the Vinyl Voyage radio channel Saturdays at 11 am (CT) and Sundays at 4 pm (CT).  So join us for this nostalgic rip back to 1980.   Remember, if you can't hear it at those times, no worries:  just let us know when you would like to hear it and we'll play it for you at that time.  How's that for a personal playlist?

Get ready for K-Tel's "Pure Rock"

You have voted and it's official:  K-Tel's Pure Rock is next on this month's Adventures in Vinyl.

Pure Rock was released with little fanfare in 1981.  This is an interesting album and very different from K-Tel's earlier compilations.  Unlike other K-Tel albums, there are no tv or radio commercials associated with this record.  One of the hallmarks of K-Tel in the 70s was was their ubiquitous presence on tv.  In addition, the album is not overly edited.  There are only 14 songs on the album as opposed to the usual 20 or so on most K-Tel albums in the 1970s.  This was a change that K-Tel began implementing in the 1980s--less songs, but higher quality.

And finally, this album has very little to do with 1981.  The more popular K-Tel albums capitalized on hit songs ("20 Original Hits! 20 Original songs!") and contained songs from the year in which the album was released.  On Pure Rock, only one song dates from 1981---Pat Benatar, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot."  That song reached to #46 on the Billboard Year End Hot 100. 

Other than that, most of the other songs span the previous decade.  The oldest song is "Long Train Runnin'" by the Doobie Brothers, released in 1973.  That song made it to #41 on the year end chart for that year. Then there's Boston.  Styx.  Foghat. ZZTop.  Eddie Money.  Journey.  The Steve Miller Band...and many, many more.

So join us for Adventures in Vinyl in the month of February for Pure Rock.  Adventures in Vinyl, the only radio show dedicated to the lost art of the K-Tel record compilation, can be heard at the following times:

Saturday, 11 am (Central)  
Sunday, 4 pm (Central)
Tuesday, 1 pm (Central)
Wednesday, 2 am (Central)
Thursday, 10 am (Central)

What K-Tel Album Should be Featured in February?

I am at a loss:  with so many K-Tel albums to choose for February's edition of Adventures in Vinyl, I am not sure what to pick.

Therefore, I am leaving it up to you.  Vote below for the K-Tel album you would like to hear on February's edition of Adventures in Vinyl. (vote below)

Super Bad (1973): Isaac Hayes, Joe Tex, Millie Jackson, Staple Singers, James Brown
Hit Machine (1976):  KC & the Sunshine Band, Frankie Valli, Elton John, Kiss, War, Rick Springfield
Hot Lights & City Nights (1979): Jacksons, Village People, Sister Sledge, Blondie, Instant Funk
Pure Rock (1981): ZZ Top, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, Heart, Eddie Money, Styx, Foghat

Online Surveys & Market Research

Rock 80: K-Tel's Best Album, this month on Adventures in Vinyl

Prior to 1980, my musical tastes generally sucked.  Oh, I listened to the standard hits on the radio, but had no coherent musical wants or likes---outside, that is, of what was always played in my house:  John Denver, Neil Diamond, Olivia Newton-John and Barry Manilow.  Yes, I admit it, I could sing along to several Manilow tunes.  Remember, I didn't have any older brothers or sisters to show me the way (Think: Almost Famous). But then, in 1980, everything changed.  I discovered good music.

And I can thank K-Tel for that.

For Christmas in 1980, I received a cassette from my parents.  It was K-Tel's Rock 80.  And this album introduced me for the first time to what would become some of my favorite bands:  Cheap Trick, the Ramones, the Pretenders.  I started listening more to rock radio.  I would sit sometimes for hours, waiting patiently for a single song to add to my collection of mix tapes. 

This is a classic K-Tel album.  It only had fourteen songs, unlike the other K-Tel albums in my collection.  Most of the K-Tel albums had over 20 songs, the result of sometimes very bad edits and song crunching.  Not this one; this one has the full radio versions of the songs.

This album features the Pretenders, Cheap Trick, the Ramones, Joe Jackson, Blondie, Nick Lowe, the Knack and many more.  Here's the commercial:




Unfortunately, this cassette no longer works.  Thank God for Ebay.  A couple of years ago, I was able to purchase a nice copy on vinyl.  And that Rock 80 album is the featured selection on this month's edition of Adventures in Vinyl.  We will play the album in its entirety.  Plus, music and movie trivia from 1980 as well.

Adventures in Vinyl is the only radio show dedicated to the lost art of the K-Tel record compilation.  It can be heard on the Vinyl Voyage radio channel Saturdays at 11 am (CT) and Sundays at 4 pm (CT).  So join us for this nostalgic rip back to 1980.   Remember, if you can't hear it at those times, no worries:  just let us know when you would like to hear it and we'll play it for you at that time.  How's that for a personal playlist?

Livin' the Dream: Vinyl Voyage goes Live!

Today, the Vinyl Voyage went live for a period of time, playing tracks from 1979-1982.  Those were the years of junior high for me.  Probably the worst years of my life; who ever liked junior high, anyway?  Even so, this period of time provided the foundation to my musical tastes and as my allowance increased, so did my record-buying.

For about an hour and a half today, I spun tracks from that period of time in my life.  Currently, many of these songs can now be heard on the Vinyl Voyage:

Cars---Gary Numan
Loverboy---Turn Me Loose
Billy Squier---My Kinda Lover
Stevie Nicks---Edge of Seventeen
Rush---Limelight
Journey---Escape
Pat Benatar---Fire and Ice
Quarterflash---Harden My Heart
Shooting Star---Flesh and Blood
Styx---Babe
Pete Townshend---Let My Love Open the Door
John Cougar---Ain't Even Done With the Night
John Lennon---Watching the Wheels
Pretenders---Brass in Pocket
Sniff 'n' the Tears---Driver's Seat
Journey---Still They Ride

I had a little help at the controls from my two boys, Brennan and Quinn, who were home from school today for President's Day.

Many of these tracks are streaming now on the Vinyl Voyage on a regular basis.  Check us out.  We now have over 9 hours of music and are constantly adding more.  Click here to listen.  We have music going 24/7.

And, as usual, all of it on vinyl.