Listening Booth Vol. 72

Today, for listening booth, we check in with Josh Harkavy of Red Onion Records & Books to ask him what album he’s been digging recently.

After much consideration, Harkavy picks:

The Sounds of the Tornadoes by the Tornadoes.

It, of course, includes the song “Telstar.”

“It’s kind of a classic early ’60s song,” Harkavy explains. “I guess when the Telstar Satelite was launched, Joe Meek, the British producer, was inspired to write this song. ….It’s a cool mix of early ’60s and what was to come. I’ve just been digging it. And some TV show called Mad Men used it in a pretty pivotal scene. It kind of has that sound that’s pretty fresh today. Joe Meek was pretty crazy. He used electronics early on in the game. It has these weird sound effects, phasing and overdubbing. It has that trippy sound he was pretty famous for.”

Here’s a weird homemade clip of “Telstar”: