The Vinyl Exam launched on july 07, 2014. It is a weekly podcast about the vinyl record, hosted by Keith Foster and Columbo Ahmed. 

The show features interviews with record collectors, album reviews, found sound, DJ mixes, and much more. 

www.thevinylexam.com

*Episode 3 is available via iTunes or Mixcloud:
http://www.mixcloud.com/TheVinylExam/03-betos-talk-radio-bumper-music-all-vinyl-mix/

Season 01

Teaser for Episode 05, to be uploaded on 7/28/14

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Episode 05 Teaser - The Old Man

This is The Vinyl Exam! The weekly music podcast about the vinyl record.

Your hosts Keith Foster and Columbo Ahmed will take you through a tour of the not-so-dead vinyl record. Keith will cover all things LP while Columbo takes charge of the 45. We are going to talk to record collectors, aficionados, addicts, old heads, and young bucks. In the podcast, we'll also have exclusive mixes, found sound, album reviews, and short-form radio stories. It's gonna be a trip! 

The LP, short for "Long Play Record", is your tried and tested vinyl format for music. With it, you get a warm sound that you simply can't find elsewhere. In our podcast, Keith will dig deep into the minds of those who collect these records to find out what drives them.   
What the hell is a 45? Columbo collects these little guys (they have a 7inch diameter compared to the 12inch LP) because, above all else, he loves individual songs. Singles. One hit wonders. And he's not alone. There's a lot of people out there who exclusively collect 45s and you will hear about every single one of them in our podcast. 

Our plan is to release something new every Monday. Make sure you subscribe on iTunes. To help us grow the show, make sure to give us a rating or review! And find us on twitter and facebook - we would love to hear what you have to say.

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00: The Vinyl Exam (Launch Episode)

Roby is an artist and record collector, both 45s and LPs. Sama met him through Dick Vivian, owner of Rooky Ricardo's, in San Francisco. By coincidence, Roby lived across the street from Sama in the Lower Haight. And like Sama, Roby is really into soul 45s but, at the same time, he isn't someone you can pigeonhole. His taste in music is eclectic, as is his art. He was an obvious first choice for The Vinyl Exam, 45 Edition. 

Check out his fantastic art collection at his website: www.robyrobyroby.com

TVE: Episode 01 - http://www.thevinylexam.com/season-one/episode-01/

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01: Beto Wants Bangers

To jump off the LP portion of the Vinyl Exam, Keith talked with Junior, the head of Recordbreakin Music. The topics ranged from World Cup to TED talks to (of course) Junior’s favorite digging city.  Junior couldn’t choose one album to talk about so we talked about two – albeit two with a commonality - production by the Mizell Brothers.  

Listen to the audio to hear Junior’s thoughts on all the above things plus some conversation on Junior’s label (which, full disclosure, Keith's band 'Big Pimp Jones' has released some music on). 

TVE: Episode 02 - http://www.thevinylexam.com/season-one/episode-02/

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02: Junior talks World Cup and the Mizell Brothers

Here’s another short-form radio story, produced by Sama (Columbo Ahmed).

DJ Slopoke takes a trip to New Orleans and meets legendary soul singer Eddie Bo at the Check Your Bucket Cafe.

Slopoke can be found DJing at his weekly event “Beer with Soul”, in San Francisco, every Wednesday night at Churchkey.

TVE: Episode 05 - http://www.thevinylexam.com/#/episode-05/

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05: Check Your Bucket

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From 2008-2013 Keith did a podcast called 'Soul Traveling' where he went to record stores all over the US and then played music he bought in those record stores. Soul Traveling is done, but Keith will still revisit Soul Traveling with a story from time to time.

Today's story involves the original 'record digging' trip Keith went on in 2008 that sparked the idea for the Soul Traveling podcast, and his quest for the Clock Shop in North Carolina.

TVE: Episode 06 - http://www.thevinylexam.com/#/episode-06/

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06: The Clock Shop

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On Episode 04, Kyle Yount (of Kaijucast, a podcast dedicated to giant monsters) joins us to discuss how he got into heavy metal, an upcoming Godzilla exhibit in Tokyo and a classic thrash record that means a lot to him.

Links mentioned in the episode:

Kyle's podcast: 
http://kaijucast.com/

Here's the link for Kyle's Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/287365203/hail-to-the-king-60-years-of-destruction-documenta/

And here are the links to Part 1 and Part 2 of the 'tour of Kaijucast headquarters' Keith went on last year.  A different kind of ill vinyl!

Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2OFkLKWajk&list=UUg0DTURkiGf1sC7F30XmKaw

Part 2: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkMkn73RCpM

TVE: Episode 04 - http://www.thevinylexam.com/#/episode-04/

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04: Crash Course in Kaijucast

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Here’s an all-45 mix from DJ Slopoke. We featured Slopoke in a short-form radio story in Episode 05. He threw down this quick mix right after our 2-hour interview with him. The man is tireless!

And for all you aficionados, pay attention to the last two tracks. It might sound like the same record but it’s not! Any guesses as to what it is?  

---
TVE: Episode 07 - http://www.thevinylexam.com/#/episode-07/

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https://soundcloud.com/slopoke-rawdriguez

Subscribe to The Vinyl Exam on iTunes to download this mix: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-vinyl-exam/id896494575?mt=2

07: DJ Slopoke presents Record Highs (45 mix)

DJ Forty Fivan (San Francisco) talks about his favorite 45. 

https://soundcloud.com/fortyfivan

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More info here:
www.thevinylexam.com/blog/45friday-01

DJ Forty Fivan - Purple Snow: Down by the River

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On Episode 08, Matt Nelkin of Liquid Beat Radio and Liquid Beat Records hangs out with us to talk about growing up with hip-hop in the Pacific Northwest and record label's releases, which leads into a discussion of a hip-hop classic.

---
TVE: Episode 08 - www.thevinylexam.com/#/episode-08/

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Check out Liquid Beat Records: https://soundcloud.com/liquidbeat

08: Liquid Beats with Matt Nelkin

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On Episode 10, Keith dives into his first vinyl examination - the Spider-man soundtrack... just make sure you know which Spider-man LP it is!

TVE: Episode 10 - http://www.thevinylexam.com/#/episode-10/

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10: Spider-Man - A Vinyl Examination

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On Episode 12, Keith sits down with the three members of Columbia Nights to talk music, the creative process and of course records and record diggin'.  We had such a good time talking (and the interview went on so long), it's broken into two parts!

TVE: Episode 12 - http://www.thevinylexam.com/#/episode-12/

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12: Columbia Nights - Part One

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DJ Forty Fivan reviews some of his favorite 45s. In the list:

1.     Orchestre Poly Rhythmo - Kourougninda Wende
2.    Marcio Lott - Tema de Baby
3.    Scorpio & His People - The Unforgiven
4.    Total Experience - Contradiction
5.    Donnell Brown - Too Late to Cry 
 
Also make sure to check out the 45Friday post we did with Forty Fivan on 'Purple Snow - Down by the River’.

link:
http://www.thevinylexam.com/blog/45friday-01

TVE: Episode 09 - http://www.thevinylexam.com/#/episode-09/

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09: The Forty Fivan Review


It’s Monday.. I know you expect a new episode, as you should, but today is Labor Day and we work too hard! We decided to push back Keith’s episode by a day. For now, take a listen to this short teaser. It’s a story from DJ Baron Van West about meeting Hall-of-Fame Motown producer, Lamont Dozier.  

Visit our site for photos and links:
www.TheVinylExam.com

The Real Lamont Dozier

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Skeme reviews 5 of his favorite soul and funk 45s and goes into what makes soul music so good. 

1. Deep Heat - Do It Again 
2. Brothers of Soul - Cant Get You Off Of My Mind 
3. El Rego Et Ses Commandos - Achuta
4. Sounds of Dawn - How Many Times
5. Disciples of Soul - Together

Make sure to check out Keith’s kickstarter for his giant-monster graphic novel, Kodoja.  

https://soundcloud.com/hotpeasandbutta

TVE: Episode 11 - http://www.thevinylexam.com/#/episode-11/

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links:
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https://twitter.com/hotpeasandbutta

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kodoja/kodoja-a-kaiju-graphic-novel-with-a-soundtrack

11: The Skeme Richards Review

2014 is a good year for Godzilla fans, especially Godzilla fans that collect vinyl! Godzilla soundtracks are hard to find but Death Waltz reissued the Godzilla 1954 Soundtrack (the first time ever on vinyl) with some excellent packaging so we took a listen.  

Alexandre Desplat's score to Godzilla 2014 also got the vinyl treatment, so we paired the soundtracks together for a double-feature of Giant Monster (musical) mayhem.

SUPPORT Keith's kickstarter for his Giant Monster Graphic Novel: kickstarter.com/projects/730021567/kodoja-a-kaiju-graphic-novel-with-a-soundtrack/

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Godzilla Vinyl

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Wasup Vinyl Examers, it’s Sama:

You know there are songs out there that move you no matter how many times you hear them. For me, these tend to be slow gospel or early 60’s love tunes. I don’t doubt you will be hearing many of them throughout the life of this podcast. One of those songs is “It Ain’t Right” by Chick Willis. I buy this 45 every time I hear it, almost forgetting that I have a copy at home. It’s one of the few songs I just sit there and listen to in full at the record store. It just sounds fantastic with headphones. It is so bluesy, deep, and heavy. It makes you want to shake your head in disappointment or anger, and sometimes it makes you want to cry. I hope you dig it.      

I’ll be giving away a copy of this Chick Willis 45. If you want it, just share this episode on twitter and tag @thevinylexam to win. The more times you share, the more likely your name will be picked. I’ll announce a winner in 2 weeks. And don’t forget to check out Keith’s Kickstarter for his graphic novel - Kodoja, the only giant monster comic with a funk soundtrack!

TVE: Episode 13 - http://www.thevinylexam.com/#/episode-13/

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13: It Ain't Right for a Black Man

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In July 2014, Keith went to San Diego for San Diego Comic Con and all the festivities that accompany it, but one event not tied to comic con that weekend was the San Diego Record Show.  Keith talks a litt about the record show and the weekend - and if you want way more detail on the 'Soul Traveling' aspect of that weekend there are four separate blog posts about San Diego that weekend on www.thevinylexam.com!

TVE: Episode 14 - http://www.thevinylexam.com/#/episode-14/

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14: The San Diego Record Show

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Sama meets up with DJ Baron Van West before his trip to Korea. In this episode, the Baron reviews 5 of his favorite 45s that he plans on taking with him to his new home in Seoul. 

1. Mary Wells - You Beat me to the Punch 
2. The Equals - After the Lights go Down 
3. Ray Barretto - El Bantu     
4. Gino Washington - Gino is a Coward
5. Bettye Swann - The Heartache is Gone 

Keep an ear out for more episodes featuring DJ Baron.

TVE: Episode 15 - http://www.thevinylexam.com/#/episode-15/

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15: The Baron Van West Review

Episode 16 is part two of Keith's discussion with the three members of Columbia Nights - we talk music, the creative process and of course records and record diggin'.  We had such a good time talking (and the interview went on so long), it's broken into two parts! Make sure to check out Part 1 (Episode 12) as well!

16: Columbia Nights - Part 2

The weekly podcast about vinyl records and the people who collect them. 

Hosted by Columbo "Sama" Ahmed and Keith Foster. Based out of Los Angeles and San Francisco. 

NOTE: Episodes containing DJ mixes are NOT uploaded to Soundcloud. Instead, check our website and our iTunes.

New episodes every Monday.