Where Was the Photo for Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits Taken?

We’ve handled a ton of copies of Simon & Garfunkel’s hits album over the years, but just lately we’ve started to obsess over the little golden knob that Paul Simon is holding on the front cover photo, so suggestively placed at groin level. What is it??? Is it some sort of Masonic or Rosicrucian symbol? Is it the compass from the dashboard of a Rolls Royce? Is it a trophy for selling a million copies of Bridge Over Troubled Water? Is it a solid gold pitch-pipe? Is it Art Garfunkel's immortal soul? Who knows????!!!! Fortunately, there are wise and industrious people in the world who do know, and furthermore, in an amazing feat of detective work, have tracked down the actual locations where the original New York City photos were taken for the front and back covers. Whew! What a relief! It’s a fence finial! 

(credit Bob Egan of popspotsnyc)

NEW ARRIVALS: LET THE HOLIDAY VINYL PARTY BEGIN!

We have tons of new and used records in the shop this week, with an ever-expanding selection of Christmas vinyl! Let's party!

XMAS RECORDS:

Air Supply, The Christmas Album 1
Alvin and the Chipmunks, Christmas with the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Twelve Days of Christmas
Bing Crosby, Family Christmas Favorites 
Bing Crosby, Merry Christmas 
Boney M, Christmas Album 
Burl Ives, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer OST 
California Raisins, Christmas with 
Dolly Parton / Kenny Rogers, Once Upon a Christmas 
Elvis Presley, Blue Christmas 
Jann Arden, A Jann Arden Christmas (red vinyl)
John Denver, Rocky Mountain Christmas 
John Denver / Muppets, A Christmas Together
Kenny Rogers, Christmas in America
Minipops, Minipops Christmas 
New Kids on the Block, Merry Merry Christmas 
Various, A Very Special Christmas (80s) 
Various, Christmas Favourites 
Various, Raggedy Ann & Andy Christmas Party 
Various, Sesame Street: Merry Christmas 
Wayne Newton, Songs for a Merry Christmas 

NEW ARRIVALS:

Accept, Balls to the Wall (84 CAN) 
AC/DC, Back in Black
Aerosmith, Get Your wings
Alice Cooper, Billion Dollar Babies 
Allman Brothers, At Fillmore East 
Animal Collective, Centipede HZ 
Beach Boys, High Water 
Beatles, 20 Greatest Hits 
Beatles, Abbey Road (2006 US) 
Beatles, Hey Jude (Beatles Again) 
Beatles, Let It Be 
Billy Joel, Innocent Man 
Bird City, Winnowing 
Blue Rodeo, Outskirts 
Bob Seger, Against the Wind 
Bob Seger, Live Bullet
Bob Seger, Night Moves
Boney M, Nightflight to Venus 
Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet 
Bruce Springsteen, Born in the USA 
Bruce Springsteen, Live 1975-85 Box 
Bruce Springsteen, Tunnel of Love 
Bryan Adams, Cuts Like a Knife 
Cars, s/t 
Cat Stevens, Greatest Hits
Cat Stevens, Tea for the Tillerman 
Cheap Trick, Dream Police 
Chvrches, The Bones of What You Believe 
Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bayou Country 
Creedence Clearwater Revival, Chronicle 
Crosby Stills Nash and Young, 4 Way Street 
David Bowie, Space Oddity (gold and black vinyl) 
David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust (180g) 
David Wilcox, My Eyes Keep Me in Trouble
Deep Purple, The Book of Taliesyn 
Dio, The Last in Line (84 CAN) 
Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms 
Dire Straits, s/t (78 CAN)
Doors, Absolutely Live (70 CAN) 
Duran Duran, Rio 
Eagles, Greatest Hits II 
Earth Wind and Fire, Best of
Emmylou Harris, Elite Hotel 
Emmylou Harris, Roses in the Snow 
Eurythmics, Sweet Dreams
Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (clear vinyl)
Genesis, Invisible Touch 
Genesis, Live
Genesis, Wind and Wuthering 
Heart, Bebe le Strange
Heart, Magazine
Huey Lewis, Fore
Imagine Dragons, Night Visions 
INXS, Kick
Iron Butterfly, Ball 
Jefferson Airplane, Surrealistic Pillow (69 CAN) 
Jethro Tull, M.U. The Best of
Jim Croce, Time in a Bottle: Greatest Love Songs
Jimi Hendrix, Axis Bold As Love (180G)
Jimi Hendrix, Smash Hits 
JJ Doom, Key to the Kuffs 
John Mayall, Moving On (72 CAN)
John Mayall, The Turning Point 
Led Zeppelin, IV (70s CAN) 
Lizzo, Cuz I Love You 
Loverboy, Get Lucky 
Lumineers, III (silver vinyl) 
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gold and Platinum 
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Street Survivors (77 CAN re)
Madonna, Like a Virgin 
Madonna, True Blue 
Mainline, Canada Our Home and Native Land 
Max Webster, Universal Juveniles 
Meat Loaf, Bat Out of Hell 
Men at Work, Business as Usual
Men Without Hats, ...In the 21st Century 
Michael Jackson, Off the Wall 
Monkees, The Best of 
National, Boxer (yellow vinyl) 
Operation Ivy, Energy 
Oscar Peterson, Night Train 
Patsy Cline, Always 
Phil Collins, Hello I Must Be Going 
Pink Floyd, A Collection of Great Dance Songs 
Pink Floyd, The Wall
Pogues, The Best of (Fairytale of NY)
Police, Ghost in the Machine 
Public Enemy, It Takes a Nation of Millions (hologram cover)
Queen, News of the World
Queen, The Game (80 CAN) 
Quiet Riot, Condition Critical
Quiet Riot, Metal Health
REM, Green (88 CAN) 
Rolling Stones, Some Girls 
Rush, 2112 
Rush, A Farewell to Kings (77 CAN) 
Rush, Moving Pictures 
Santana / Devadip, Oneness: Silver Dreams-Golden Reality
Steve Miller, Greatest Hits 
Steve Winwood, Back in the High Life 
Sting, The Dream of the Blue Turtles 
Stompin Tom, And the Hockey Song 
Strawbs, From the Witchwood 
Styx, Kilroy Was Here 
Talking Heads, Little Creatures 
Tangerine Dream, Phaedra 
The Illusion, s/t 
Tom Cochrane, and Red Rider 
Traveling Wilburys, Volume One (88 CAN) 
Twisted Sister, Stay Hungry
Various, Rocky Horror Picture Show OST
Whitesnake, s/T
Whitney Houston, Whitney 
Who, Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy 
Yes, Close to the Edge 
Yes, Fragile
Yukihiro Takahashi, Neuromantic 
ZZ Top, Afterburner 
ZZ Top, Eliminator 

Now in stock: Tales of a Guelphite

Now in stock: Tales of a Guelphite! Check out issue #1 of this new Guelph-centric zine series. This issue covers the history of comic book culture in Guelph, including a celebration of the last 20 years of The Dragon comics shop and an article about the secret history of Guelph's forgotten comic book company of the Grunge-era 1990s, Tragedy Strikes Press. Check out the awesome cover by Emmy-winning cartoonist Jay Stephens, who got his start publishing his punk comic book SIN here back in the day.

The cover is a great homage to a bygone era and the old Apollo 11 Restaurant (now Brothers Brewing). Limited copies available at Royal Cat Records.

New! Baby Labour cassette and book!

Full Legal Stop

by Baby Labour

Are they punk? Are they jazz? Who cares! Baby Labour have given birth to a new collection of tracks, now available at Royal Cat Records in cassette or book form. The book comes with a download of the album or you can buy the tape and book together for a special price.

"Guelph noise rock’s cutest trio, Dan Loughrin, Jake Cadieux and Troy LaFontaine race through beats and chords with the frantic paranoia of speed metal musicians, punctuated by brief, breezy pauses of chilled out riffs." 

take a listen:

NOW IN STOCK CUPCAKE DUCTAPE "GET OVER IT" EP

New at Royal Cat Records in Guelph:

Cupcake Ductape
"Get Over It" EP
limited edition cassette

We are super-excited to have copies for sale of this debut EP from the coolest new punk rockers on the scene! Cupcake Ductape make short, sweet, and mean music and they don't care if you like it or not! The band is comprised of Steph Yates (Esther Grey) and Alanna Gurr (Alanna Gurr and the Greatest State) and they are the queens of "sparkle punk."

Check them out on bandcamp or watch this video:

New Releases: Monster by Familiar Fiends

We just got a bunch of these direct from the band!

Monster by Familiar Fiends is 8 tracks of trashy garage sludge served up in a pretty pink package! The horror-themed goings-on kick off with the rockin' "Sound the Alarm" --and don't let up for another blistering half hour!

Recorded in a basement in Brantford, Ontario, we've got this on artisinal cassette produced by Guelph's Little Room Labs and also on ancient cd technology, if that's your bag.

Take a listen on bandcamp, then drop in to Royal Cat Records to get your hardcopy before seeing the band live at Kazoo! Fest this week, with a new locally-augmented line-up!

Now Available: The Tortoise and My Hair

Out Now:

A.B.Original Aspirations

by The Tortoise and My Hair

Royal Cat Review: "Lo-fi rules! A.B.Original aspirations is ten songs of sadness, nonsense, heartbreak, and ironic despair, delivered with a guitar, 3 chords, and a hoarse mumble. Highly recommended!"

10-track album

listen for free or download a copy for cheap

we have a few limited edition CASSETTE copies 

available at Royal Cat Records!

The Tortoise and My Hair (aka Humphrey Bubbles) is a songwriter-sculptor-thing from Canada (by way of Argentina), now based in Guelph.

Start Something 7" Now in Stock

Hey, we've got copies of the debut 7" from local punksters Start Something. The Hard Times slab was put out by Mammoth Cave Records and features front and back sleeve art by the great Marc Bell!

Start Something is made up of three lifelong friends (Ryan Master, Todd Dunster and Mike Deane) who have been playing in bands together, off and on, for nearly two decades. Growing up together in the country and then moving elsewhere, this Guelph-based trio reconnected at the beginning of 2013 with the goal of making music that would be as simple and fun as playing in a high school punk band. Inspired by the aggression, intensity and melody of classics like Husker Du and Mission of Burma, and contemporaries like Royal Headache, Start Something are making no-nonsense pop post punk, stripping out anything superfluous and focusing on jamming econo. Though the melodies and structures can recall lighter fare, the lyrical focus is serious: investigating problems and issues that inspire and disgust you, and trying to personally figure out how life changes and what, if anything, it means.

Video Break: Empire Strikes Back by The Furys

The Furys - Empire Strikes Back (Tyson's SPACE FUNK mix) from Little Room Labs on Vimeo.

Local tuffniks The Furys with video by Tyson/Little Room Labs.

The Beatles Yellow Submarine Pop Vinyl Figures in Guelph

New in shop: a selection of collectible Pop Vinyl figurines and bobbing heads, including this set of Yellow Submarine Beatles figures featuring John, Paul, George, Ringo and a Blue Meanie!