Comments on: Lock Grooves

By: Adam

Adam — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:10:32 +0000

Tim Drage pointed this record out to me. "TR-909 BASS DRUM" on Sez Tags Mania Records is a 12" with a single lockgroove of a 909 kick drum beat in 4/4.

By: Ray Brain

Ray Brain — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:21:27 +0000

another example of this is Carla Bley’s double album ‘chronotransduction’ which
has a short track by Viva Superstar : “O Say Can You Do”, which is beyond the
lockgroove of side two.

By: mikey k

mikey k — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:36:48 +0000

There’s a Mosquito 7″ (a band with Jad Fair, Steve Shelly [Sonic Youth] and Tim Folijan [sp?]) that I have that has a lock groove somewhere in the middle. It’s labeled on the front with a sticker that says “warning: pesty locked groove.” Also, in 2007 Lee Ranaldo released a second locked groove/etched record called “all the stars in the sky”.

By: Pinball King

Pinball King — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:57:34 +0000

The tinkling bells at the end of “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” by Rush has a locked groove.

By: Billy Nightingale

Billy Nightingale — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:45:25 +0000

If you have a first pressing of George Harison’s “Concert For Bangla Dash” – listen carefully after the song “Bangla Dash”. As the needle enters the spiral you hear a lock groove “hidden message” by George – recorded forward and backward on top of one another. Very strange and odd. Still can’t figure out what he’s saying.

My favorite is the original release of “We’re Only In It For The Money” by The Mothers Of Invention” (1967). At the end of the album we’re treated to a “backwards message” by Frank Zappa. When spun backwards the message is “Anyone who plays a record backwards is an asshole” – Zappa was great.

Love and Kisses,
Billy Pie Boy

By: pulsewidth

pulsewidth — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:46:27 +0000

On Brian Eno’s ‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), the track ‘The Great Pretender’ which ends side 1, has a lock groove that endlessly plays the electronic cricket sounds featured in that song.

By: Endwar

Endwar — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 19:25:33 +0000

I got a 1990s reissue of “Pagan Muzak” and had to drill a few off-center holes. There was a cassette version on the Extreme label — they played loops at different speeds for awhile. The other side had a Non concert recording on it. Boyd also has put out a few other lock groove records — the Knife Ladder 7″ that was reissued as half of the Non/Smegma 7″, and more recently as the B side to “Receive the Flame” 7″

Flin Flon’s first album (vinyl version), “A-OK”, had each track end with a silent locked groove — no repeating sound loop, but you had to pick up the needle to hear the next song.

Peter Gabriel’s second solo album, side 1, ends with a locked groove, though technically the groove is in the center, so i think the idea is the stylus will pick up before the sound ends; if the automatic pickup mechanism is disengaged then you get a locked groove effect.

SPK’s _Leichenschrei_ also ends with a locked groove.

Crawling with Tarts put out a single where one side had partial, c-shaped grooves.

By: carrybagman

carrybagman — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:09:22 +0000

Caroliner Rainbow Hernia Queen records almost always end in locked grooves, often accompanied by written directions for heightened effect while listening.

By: Grandpa Scorpion

Grandpa Scorpion — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:08:48 +0000

RRRecords also released a 3LP set called Ptomaine. It was brief pieces ending in locked grooves by German expermimental composer Asmus Tietchens.

By: andy

andy — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 03:30:37 +0000

canadian band godspeed you black emperor! did this on their first album ‘f#a#oo’ – side two ends in a locked groove of the song ‘string loop manufactured during downpour’.

allusions to an infinitely long tape loop in the sleeve notes suggest this was part of the doomy concept of the album.

By: Paulvark

Paulvark — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 01:52:26 +0000

Well, I’m the one that mastered the RRR-100 and RRR-500. The RRR-100 was done as a collaboration between Aardvark and RRR records. I cut the master at no charge because I wanted to see if it could be done, and RRR had the source material. In about 1996, Ingram Record Plating closed their doors, and the mother plates for the RRR-100 were sent to United, where they were scrapped with about 500 other sets of mothers. RRR needed a re-press. When I explained that the mothers were lost, we decided to go for 500 locks on a 12″. Again, you can’t pay me enough to do this, so it was done for the base price of mastering. It took two solid days of cutting, and I think I had a nervous breakdown, untreated of course. The cutting was completed June 15, 1998. Since it’s been almost 10 years, I’m planning to contact RRR about a 1000 locked groove record. I could use a long rest at the nut house….

By: Rizzia

Rizzia — Thu, 17 May 2007 03:59:45 +0000

I think also that Monty Python’s Matching Tie and Handkerchief LP, while not equipped with lock groove, has two grooves in side two that spiral in tandem. Depending on where you place the needle, you hear one of two different side twos.

By: Rizzia

Rizzia — Thu, 17 May 2007 03:55:17 +0000

Moody Blues LP On the Threshold of a Dream ends in a locked groove on side two only- thus making the running time “infinity”

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 15:49:54 +0000

Correction to the above! The quote should read “Put it back you cheeky bugger” and the voice is that of John Lennon.

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 01:05:42 +0000

I have an early mono pressing of Sgt Pepper’s with a lock groove at the end of side two. When played backwards you can hear a voice saying “Put it back you silly bugger” with “Ha Ha Hee Hee” laughter in the background.

By: DJMurph

DJMurph — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:29:27 +0000

Another famous one not mentioned here (I did check) was The Who Sell Out. At the end of side 2, the track now known as “Track Records” on the CD reissue ran off into the runoff groove. The lyrics were simply the title of the song, spoken in a sing-songy style, then fingersnaps. However, US Decca decided that it wouldn’t do for them to be advertising a UK record company in the run-off grooves of their albums, and found a way to distort the lyrics. The end result was a ghastly “hah ha-hah. Snap!” over and over. I discovered this when I was 8 years old, and (unfortunately) decided to take action. I scratched it out with a paperclip. D’OH! I’m glad that it was only a reissued copy on MCA, not an original.

By: Pete

Pete — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 03:09:28 +0000

Def Leppard “High n’ Dry” ends on a locked groove. The song “No No No” keeps yelling “NO! NO! NO! NO!”

By: chthonik

chthonik — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 19:06:16 +0000

I’ve read that early versions of Coil’s “How to Destroy Angels” came with several different B-sides depending on the pressing. One had a series of locked grooves, one had a spiral groove that immediately ran out, one had an uncut polished vinyl surface, and one had grooves that were too deep to be played.

By: PeteRFNY

PeteRFNY — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 20:52:21 +0000

On the Ringo Starr LP “Ringo the 4th (Atlantic)”, I don’t remember if it is side 1 or side 2, but one of them ends with the locked groove playing the sounds of a busy office (typewriters, phones ringing, converstations). The first time I ever played that I kept waiting for the thing to end and it never did!

By: lukatoyboy

lukatoyboy — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 05:42:37 +0000

there’s also http://www.staalplaat.org and their label with same name – they perform with trucks with needles (“vinyl killers) – they “travel” on the vinyls – most on the locked grooves. they have relesead 3 records only with locked grooves and digital silence – YOKOMONO