Tag Archives: Soundtracks

Doing More than Scratching Planet Wax in this Review

22 Oct
Book Cover

Available to purchase on Amazon USA

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Music editors Aaron Lupton and Jeff Szpirglas are back with Planet Wax, and they are blasting off again with a nostalgic look at more iconic movie scores from the past. This time, they are looking at the many soundtrack albums which defined last century’s best genre films, and there’s some obscure titles which I wasn’t aware of.

The focus on sci-fi and fantasy defines this release. Like this team’s prior work, Blood on Black Wax: Horror Soundtracks on Vinyl, and there’s no need to reprint entries. Overlap is inevitable, and it’s tough to find something new to say about specific albums. Phantom of the Paradise and Rocky Horror are analyzed to death, and I’m okay with them not being included here. They are considered more “horror” than “sci-fi” even though some people will argue over which genres the Picture Show fits under.

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Blood on Black Wax: Horror Soundtracks, (& Musicals) An Interview Redux

16 Apr

By Ed Sum and Ira Hunter

Release Date: May 13, 2019
Available for pre-order on Amazon

Blood on Black Wax: Horror Soundtracks on Vinyl is a wonderful book which looks back at nearly all the music from the greatest horror cinema classics. No, we are not talking about a rerelease of all these tunes, but instead, we will get an opening of a time capsule which looks at the unique history and artwork of these works. This hardbound, full-colour, 240-page book ​spotlights the intricate (and often rare) artwork on the LP sleeves, as well as album reviews, release details, and wild backstories.

Jeff Szpirglas reviews albums and old movies for Rue Morgue Magazine, and his bibliography does not end there. He’s written many books for young readers and is a second-grade full-time teacher. This vocation puts him in an interesting position should he decide to demonstrate his love for horror to impressionable minds. Aaron Lupton is the music editor for the said magazine and is a passionate and nerdy collector of horror soundtrack LPs. He also is the co-host of From My Parents Basement podcast with Eric Gaudet and Gary Pullin.

In what prompted the decision to create this book was when Szpirglas approached Aaron about putting together a special edition digest issue of the magazine focusing specifically on horror soundtracks. At the time, Rue Morgue had been releasing special editions on subjects ranging from horror collectables to Canadian horror, and he felt that a soundtrack book was a no-brainer. In his own words, So much of what makes these films effective often comes from sound and music working in conjunction with the images and the rhythms of editing.

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