Record shopping with Ladytron Issue #30

The British quartet gets Physical on their vinyl shopping spree

By Kelly Mellott
Published: December 1st, 2006 | 12:00am

By the time we met up with Daniel Hunt, Mira Aroyo, Reuben Wu, and Helen Marnie — the four cheery members of British electronic outfit Ladytron — they were showered, packed, and ready to go. The quartet was in Chicago in mid-October as part of a national tour with CSS. We climbed into a taxi in front of their hotel in Chicago’s Lincoln Park area and made our way to The Record Emporium. Though the Emporium’s Web site somewhat misguided us about the store’s inspiration for cult favorite

High Fidelity,

the group was enthusiastic about spending their

Venus Zine

–funded $50 on new vinyl. Everyone split up, sorting through the records and pulling out potential buys.

The first indication that Ladytron’s sense of humor was going to make this excursion hilarious started with a squeal from Marnie. I turned around to see Hunt grinning and holding up Sonny and Cher’s All I Ever Need is You between the two of them. “Look, it’s me and Helen!” the shaggy-haired, mustached guitarist proudly stated. It was true — the resemblance was uncanny. He put the record on top of the growing pile. Everyone sang along to Bowie’s Ashes to Ashes as they continued to peruse the Emporium’s collection. Marnie pulled out Olivia Newton-John’s Physical, and a huge grin stretched across her face as she displayed the inside art for everyone. “Is she swimming with a dolphin?” exclaimed Wu. “That’s amazing!” Marnie nodded her head as she added her find to the chosen group. After adding up the current total, Hunt returned to the search, selecting Memory Serves from Material. “Oh that’s one!” agreed Aroyo, adding Todd Rundgren’s Faithful as well. Everyone roared with laughter when Hunt discovered Mick Jagger’s She’s the Boss with album art depicting the infamous Stone in a leotard and sweatband getup, posed in a compromising position. “Oh, that’s horrible!” Aroyo said, smiling and covering her eyes.

The stack of records was now exactly $50 and the group decided to cover the expense of tax themselves instead of having to pick one of their chosen albums to put back. As the store clerk totaled Ladytron’s purchases, Hunt laughed again at his new favorite, the Romantics’ self-titled debut. He turned to Aroyo with a giggle and asked, “Which one’s your favorite?” She pondered thoughtfully for a moment and replied with certainty and a smile, “I quite like the blonde one!”

VINYL ADDICTS:
LADYTRON’S SHOPPING LIST

· Bavarian Yodeling Songs and Polkas
· Carly Simon, Coming Around Again
· The Romantics, self-titled
· Kim Carnes, Mistaken Identity
· Grace Jones, Slave to the Rhythm
· Olivia Newton-John, Physical
· Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Pictures at an Exhibition
· Material, Memory Serves
· Todd Rundgren, Faithful
· Linda Ronstadt, Mad Love
· Mick Jagger, She’s the Boss
· Joan Jett, I Love Rock and Roll
· Sonny and Cher, All I Ever Need is You
· Walter Murphy, Rhapsody in Blue
· Kate Bush, The Dreaming
· Brewer and Shipley, Shake Off the Demon