The Birth of Goth: Bauhaus and the Invention of a Genre
January 1979, one nine-and-a-half-minute take. How Bauhaus founded a genre — goth — almost by accident, and spent a career wary of the label.
In This Issue
Tina Brooks Quintets · Mosaic MR4-106
Mosaic MR4-106, hand-numbered copy 5589
My hand-numbered copy of the Mosaic Tina Brooks box: the four sessions, how it's made, the mastering, how it sounds, what it's worth.
Read the story- 01 Review U2 — Boy The Dublin debut: the Edge's guitar inventing a sound, adolescence turned into a record. Where U2 begin.
- 02 Vinyl Cities Dublin Dublin produced two of the most important moments in twentieth-century music and let both of their buildings disappear. What's left is the record.
- 03 Ranking The 10 most-wanted Blue Note originals The ten Blue Note originals with the most Discogs wants: how to identify the period pressing, what it costs today and which official reissue to buy.
- 04 On My Turntable October 2026 Five records on rotation every month.
The Grail Hunt
The books · Treasure records · Where to find them
Travel guides for people who love records
Every vinyl lover carries a short list of records they would cross a border for. These books go after them: the grails, the pressings that separate the real thing from the lookalikes, the small details you check with the sleeve in your hands. Written the way one vinyl lover talks to another before a trip, because a record you hunted down is never only a record. It is the whole search, and the story you tell afterwards.
The Grail Hunt:
UK & Ireland
Twenty cities, 200+ record shops, a hundred records.
Updates and correctionsThe Grail Hunt:
Japan
In preparation.
Reviews
This week
The Dublin debut: the Edge's guitar inventing a sound, adolescence turned into a record. Where U2 begin.
U2's debut: the Edge's guitar inventing a language, the drive and yearning of Dublin post-punk. Not their peak, but a fresh and already recognisable start. The Dublin grail is the Irish CBS 84658 pressing, with cover and vinyl both made in Ireland.
Glasgow's legendary debut: a student project pressed in a thousand copies that became one of indie-pop's most beloved grails.
The first record on 2 Tone, cut in Coventry on a demo budget: a double A-side that launched two bands and a label. And the hand-stamped white sleeve everyone now hunts.
The best-selling Italian album of its year and the summit of the Battisti–Mogol partnership: melodies the whole country sang, Italian pop at its auteur peak.
Vinyl Cities
Every real music city has its own vinyl geography. It doesn't show up on Google Maps. You find it by going.
Deep Cuts & Reportage
essays, portraits, listening, reportage
Dizzy Gillespie's Big 4
My numbered copy of Big 4 on Analogue Productions: what the sleeve says, the matrices, how it sounds, what it's worth.
Guides & Reference
finding your way in vinyl
The Complete Vinyl Collector's Guide
Everything serious vinyl collectors need: turntables, pressings, marketplaces, cleaning, storage. 14 sections, the definitive guide.
The 10 most-wanted Blue Note originals
The ten Blue Note originals with the most Discogs wants: how to identify the period pressing, what it costs today and which official reissue to buy.
The 9 Best Turntables under £500
The 9 best turntables under £500 in 2026 in three tiers: Rega Planar 1, Fluance RT85, Pro-Ject, Audio-Technica, Sony. Scores, table, which to choose.
Best Phono Preamps 2026 (UK)
The best phono preamps on Amazon UK for 2026: Rega, Fluance, Pro-Ject, Douk and Pyle compared by quality and value, with US picks and buying advice.
Fluance RT85 vs Pro-Ject Debut EVO 2: Which Should You Buy?
Fluance RT85 or Pro-Ject Debut EVO 2? Cartridge, platter, ecosystem, availability and value compared. Which step-up turntable to buy, and for whom.
Best Bookshelf Speakers for Entry-Level Amps
Four bookshelf speakers chosen for their return with an entry amp, not absolute quality: which to pick and for which system.
On My Turntable
Five records I keep playing this month. Some of them may earn a full review.
The Collector's Books
books for record lovers
Groovilla Books
Not books we recommend — books we write ourselves, on the records and the culture around them.
Browse the collection →
Field Guides
Short, practical guides for vinyl collectors. What you actually need to know, in your pocket.
Vinyl GlossaryThe Language of the Groove
Go to glossaryRun-out groove
Pressing
The smooth area between the end of the music and the label, where the groove loops back on itself. It hosts the matrix and pressing codes; on many editions it also carries hand-etched messages or engineers' signatures.
cf. Matrix (dead wax) · 180 gram · Dead wax
