Feb 14th Newsletter

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Torn Light Records
1855 N Milwaukee
Chicago, IL 60647
312.955.0614
Open Everyday
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  • Swans ‎– The Glowing Man
    Swans ‎– The Glowing Man
    $18.00 | , , Add to cart

    “In 2009 when I made the decision to restart my musical group, Swans, I had no idea where it would lead. I knew that if I took the road of […]

    GENRE: Indie / Alternative
  • Mortiis ‎– Keiser Av En Dimensjon Ukjent
    Mortiis ‎– Keiser Av En Dimensjon Ukjent
    $12.00 | , , Add to cart

    Third Mortiis album. Recorded in 1995. Label: Funeral Industries – FI 121 Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, A5 Digipak Country: Germany Released: 2022 VG+/VG+

    GENRE: Experimental / Noise, Metal
  • Mortiis ‎– The Song Of A Long Forgotten Ghost
    Mortiis ‎– The Song Of A Long Forgotten Ghost
    $10.00 | , , Add to cart

    Delve into dreams of ghosts and Transilvanian castles. Label: Funeral Industries – FI116 Format: CD, Reissue, Remastered, A5 Digipak Country: Germany Released: 2022 VG+/VG+

    GENRE: Experimental / Noise, Metal
  • Manly Wade Wellman – After Dark
    Manly Wade Wellman – After Dark
    $14.00 | , , Add to cart

    Many eons ago a humanoid race with supernatural powers roamed the North American continent. But when vast hordes of Indians migrated across the Bering Strait land bridge, the Shonokins soon […]

    GENRE: Fiction/Poetry/Essays/Criticism/Transgressive
  • David Gilden ‎– Texas Pillbox 18 CD Boxset
    David Gilden ‎– Texas Pillbox 18 CD Boxset
    $140.00 | , Add to cart

    All the Gilden you could ever want. 6/1/1973 – 4/6/2008 18 CDs housed in six six-panel 3CD A5 Digipaks, housed in a slipcase with fold-out insert. 300 copies were produced. […]

    GENRE: Experimental / Noise
  • Bohumil Hrabal – Too Loud A Solitude
    Bohumil Hrabal – Too Loud A Solitude
    $8.00 | , , Add to cart

    Too Loud a Solitude is a tender and funny story of Hanta––a man who has lived in a Czech police state––for 35 years, working as compactor of wastepaper and books. […]

    GENRE: Fiction/Poetry/Essays/Criticism/Transgressive
  • Art In Chicago: A History From The Fire To Now
    Art In Chicago: A History From The Fire To Now
    $25.00 | , , Add to cart

    For decades now, the story of art in America has been dominated by New York. It gets the majority of attention, the stories of its schools and movements and masterpieces […]

    GENRE: Art/Photography
  • Jan Tichy: Chicago Projections
    Jan Tichy: Chicago Projections
    $8.00 | , , Add to cart

    Catalog of Jan Tichy’s architectural projects and sculptural work. MOCP Publishers, 2014 Hardcover Edition. Light general wear.

    GENRE: Art/Photography
  • Duras: A Biography
    Duras: A Biography
    $8.00 | , , Add to cart

    This is the first full-length biography of one of the best-known and most influential French writers of our time, as celebrated for her films (Hiroshima Mon Amour) as for her […]

    GENRE: Non-Fiction
  • Fanny Chiarello – Basta Now: Women, Trans & Non-Binary In Experimental Music
    Fanny Chiarello – Basta Now: Women, Trans & Non-Binary In E…
    $25.00 | , , Add to cart

    Basta Now. Women, Trans & Non-binary in Experimental Music is a non-academic essay by French poet, novelist and music enthusiast Fanny Chiarello. It’s also the first book to be published […]

    GENRE: Experimental / Noise
  • Lady Murasaki – The Tale Of Genji
    Lady Murasaki – The Tale Of Genji
    $20.00 | , , Add to cart

    Written in the eleventh century, this exquisite portrait of courtly life in medieval Japan is widely celebrated as the world’s first novel. Genji, the Shining Prince, is the son of […]

    GENRE: Fiction/Poetry/Essays/Criticism/Transgressive
  • The Power Broker: Robert Moses And The Fall Of New York
    The Power Broker: Robert Moses And The Fall Of New York
    $12.00 | , , Add to cart

    One of the Modern Library’s hundred greatest books of the twentieth century, Robert Caro’s monumental book makes public what few outsiders knew: that Robert Moses was the single most [...]

    GENRE: Non-Fiction
  • Meet Me In The Bathroom: Rebirth And Rock And Roll In NYC 2001-2011
    Meet Me In The Bathroom: Rebirth And Rock And Roll In NYC 2001-2011
    $12.00 | , , Add to cart

    Joining the ranks of the classics Please Kill Me, Our Band Could Be Your Life, and Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, an intriguing oral history of the post-9/11 decline of the […]

    GENRE: Non-Fiction
  • Max Planck – Scientific Autobiography And Other Papers
    Max Planck – Scientific Autobiography And Other Papers
    $12.00 | , , Add to cart

    In this fascinating autobiography from the foremost genius of twentieth-century physics, Max Planck tells the story of his life, his aims, and his thinking. Published posthumously, the papers in [...]

    GENRE: Non-Fiction
  • Leroi Jones – Blues People (as-is)
    Leroi Jones – Blues People (as-is)
    $7.00 | , , Add to cart

    “The path the slave took to ‘citizenship’ is what I want to look at. And I make my analogy through the slave citizen’s music—through the music that is most closely […]

    GENRE: Blues, Non-Fiction
  • Live Wires: A History of Electronic Music
    Live Wires: A History of Electronic Music
    $8.00 | , , Add to cart

    We live in an electronic world, saturated with electronic sounds. Yet, electronic sounds aren’t a new phenomenon; they have long permeated our sonic landscape. What began as the otherworldly [...]

    GENRE: Modern Composition / Musique Concrete / Electronic, Non-Fiction
  • Extremely Loud: Sound As A Weapon
    Extremely Loud: Sound As A Weapon
    $6.00 | , , Add to cart

    In this troubling and wide-ranging account, acclaimed journalist Juliette Volcler looks at the long history of efforts by military and police forces to deploy sound against enemies, criminals, [...]

    GENRE: Non-Fiction
  • Thomas Edward Shaw – Black Monk Time
    Thomas Edward Shaw – Black Monk Time
    $30.00 | , , Add to cart

    A thorough and compelling memoir by The Monks’ bass player, Eddie Shaw. Sick document of the Beat scene in Hamburg and the crucial proto-punk band. Caron Street Publishing, 1994 Softcover [...]

    GENRE: Garage / Proto Punk, Memoir
  • Telling Stories: Photographs Of The Fall
    Telling Stories: Photographs Of The Fall
    $18.00 | , , Add to cart

    From chaotic early gigs to their final years, NME photographer Kevin Cummins provides a definitive, unique perspective on cult favorites The Fall. In this stunning visual history spanning four [...]

    GENRE: Art/Photography, Post-Punk / Goth / Darkwave / Minimal Synth / Neofolk
  • William Gibson – Neuromancer (scarce Easton Press edition)
    William Gibson – Neuromancer (scarce Easton Press edition)
    $50.00 | , , Add to cart

    Case was the sharpest data-thief in the matrix—until he crossed the wrong people and they crippled his nervous system, banishing him from cyberspace. Now a mysterious new employer has recruited [...]

    GENRE: Fiction/Poetry/Essays/Criticism/Transgressive
  • S Alfonso Williams – The Interlocutor
    S Alfonso Williams – The Interlocutor
    $15.00 | , , Add to cart

    In The Interlocutor, S. Alfonso Williams takes the reader on an immersive journey through his unique blend of psychoanalysis, philosophy, and politics. His poetic style has a rhythm that breathes [...]

    GENRE: Non-Fiction
  • Chester Himes – Cotton Comes To Harlem
    Chester Himes – Cotton Comes To Harlem
    $6.00 | , , Add to cart

    Flim-flam man Deke O’Hara is no sooner out of Atlanta’s state penitentiary than he’s back on the streets working a big scam. As sponsor of the Back-to-Africa movement, he’s counting […]

    GENRE: Fiction/Poetry/Essays/Criticism/Transgressive
  • Do Not Sell At Any Price
    Do Not Sell At Any Price
    $10.00 | , , Add to cart

    Before MP3s, CDs, and cassette tapes, even before LPs or 45s, the world listened to music on fragile, 10-inch shellac discs that spun at 78 revolutions per minute. While vinyl […]

    GENRE: Non-Fiction
  • Earle Brown – Selected Works 1952 – 1965
    Earle Brown – Selected Works 1952 – 1965
    $10.00 | , , Add to cart

    This long-awaited reissue of the CRI recording of Earle Brown’s (1926–2002) music is the best overview of his seminal early works. “It is obviously a great pleasure for me that […]

    GENRE: Modern Composition / Musique Concrete / Electronic
  • V/A – Authentic Goods Boxset
    V/A – Authentic Goods Boxset
    $72.00 | , Add to cart

    “Set housed in a manila rigid board box embossed with the Qingdao Market logo. All tapes include new LED printing on shell. Each tape is based on: 1. Macintosh Plus […]

    GENRE: Synthwave / Electronic
  • John Coltrane ‎– Standard Coltrane
    John Coltrane ‎– Standard Coltrane
    $17.00 | , , Add to cart

    “John Coltrane had yet to move into his modal post-bop phase in 1958 when he recorded a session for Prestige Records on July 11 with trumpeter/flügelhornist Wilbur Harden, pianist Red […]

    GENRE: Jazz / Fusion / Free Jazz
  • Jandek – Blue Corpse
    Jandek – Blue Corpse
    $10.00 | , , Add to cart

    “Here it is: the way in. Blue Corpse is the most accessible Jandek record, the “easiest” to absorb, the most conventional, the most “melodic” and [...]

    GENRE: Experimental / Noise
  • V/A – Eccentric Soul: Twinight’s Lunar Rotation
    V/A – Eccentric Soul: Twinight’s Lunar Rotation
    $15.00 | , , Add to cart

    “Operated by a pair of cutthroat radio promotion men, Chicago’s Twinight label made its strides via “friendola”—the trading of favors, not dollars, for local radio airplay. Much of the [...]

    GENRE: Soul / Funk / Disco
  • The Lovelites – The Lovelite Years
    The Lovelites – The Lovelite Years
    $40.00 | , , Add to cart

    “It’s a crying shame that the Lovelites, one of the best female groups of the ’60s and ’70s, never cracked the Top 40. Led by Patti Hamilton’s crystal-clear leads, [...]

    GENRE: Soul / Funk / Disco
  • Joe McPhee / Paal Nilssen-Love – Song For The Big Chief
    Joe McPhee / Paal Nilssen-Love – Song For The Big Chief
    $10.00 | , , Add to cart

    “The duo of Paal Nilssen-Love and Joe McPhee has been an on-going adventure in sound for the last 15 years. The two started playing together when McPhee joined The Thing […]

    GENRE: Jazz / Fusion / Free Jazz
  • Pulsinger / Fennesz – In Four Parts (Tribute To John Cage)
    Pulsinger / Fennesz – In Four Parts (Tribute To John Cage)
    $12.00 | , , Add to cart

    “Equipped with a modular synthesizer, guitar, and electronics, Patrick Pulsinger and Christian Fennesz present an homage to the master of all things silent: John Cage. The pieces on this [...]

    GENRE: Experimental / Noise
  • Goddaughter ‎– Goddaughter
    Goddaughter ‎– Goddaughter
    $12.00 | , , Add to cart

    Edition of 50. Label: Blue Can Crossing – BCC02 Format: Lathe Cut, 7″, Limited Edition, Clear Vinyl Country: US Released: 2021 VG+/VG+

    GENRE: Experimental / Noise
  • William Parker – The Music Of William Parker: Migration Of Silence Into And Out Of The Tone World (Volumes 1–10)
    William Parker – The Music Of William Parker: Migration Of Silence Int…
    $50.00 | , Add to cart

    “That William Parker is a bassist, composer and bandleader of extraordinary spirit and imaginative drive is common knowledge among any with an interest in the progressive jazz scene of the [...]

    GENRE: Jazz / Fusion / Free Jazz
  • Feedback: The Video Data Bank Catalog Of Video Art And Artist Interviews
    Feedback: The Video Data Bank Catalog Of Video Art And Artist Intervie…
    $18.00 | , , Add to cart

    ‘Feedback’ features the complete catalog of the holdings of the Video Data Bank archive, one of the largest collections of experimental video and documentary films. Temple University [...]

    GENRE: Art/Photography
  • Black Fire! New Spirits: Images Of A Revolution
    Black Fire! New Spirits: Images Of A Revolution
    $30.00 | , , Add to cart

    At the start of the 1960s, jazz entered a unique period of revolution as African-American musicians redefined the art form in the context of the Civil Rights Movement, Afro-centric rhythm […]

    GENRE: Art/Photography, Jazz / Fusion / Free Jazz
  • Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective
    Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective
    $45.00 | , , Add to cart

    A full overview of Roy Lechtenstein’s career, featuring large scale, full-color illustrations. Beautiful book. Art Institute Of Chicago, 2012 Hardcover Edition. Light general wear

    GENRE: Art/Photography
  • Devo ‎– The Ultra Devo-lux Ltd. Edition
    Devo ‎– The Ultra Devo-lux Ltd. Edition
    $70.00 | , , , , Add to cart

    “The Ultra Devo-lux Ltd. Edition includes: +”Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!” and “Freedom of Choice” both re-mastered from the original analog recording tapes [...]

    GENRE: Rock / Pop
  • Geoff Dyer – The Ongoing Moment
    Geoff Dyer – The Ongoing Moment
    $10.00 | , , Add to cart

    Great photographs change the way we see the world; The Ongoing Moment changes the way we look at both. Focusing on the ways in which canonical figures like Alfred Stieglitz, […]

    GENRE: Non-Fiction
  • Joe Colley, Mike Shiflet – Intentional Accidents For Microphone / 4 A.M. With Chris And Dan
    Joe Colley, Mike Shiflet – Intentional Accidents For Microphone / 4 A.…
    $6.00 | , , Add to cart

    Side A: Composed August 2004 at HOLE and Desperation Mobile from minidisc archive materials. Side B: Excerpt from a radio performance on WFMU, Jersey City, NJ. Recorded on September 19, […]

    GENRE: Experimental / Noise
  • The Terrorists* ‎– Justice / Riis Park
    The Terrorists* ‎– Justice / Riis Park
    $9.00 | , , Add to cart

    Ska-punk, in the vein of Specials, Clash, etc. Label: Max’s Kansas City Records – MKC-1002 Format: Vinyl, 7″ Country: US Released: 1980 VG+/VG. Sleeve has some creasing and small tear

    GENRE: Indie / Alternative
  • Blue Orchids ‎– Work
    Blue Orchids ‎– Work
    $8.00 | , , Add to cart

    Fun little 7″ from former Nico backing band/The Fall members. Label: Rough Trade – RT 067 Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single Country: UK Released: 1981 VG+/VG+

    GENRE: Post-Punk / Goth / Darkwave / Minimal Synth / Neofolk
  • Robert Wyatt / Peter Blackman – Stalin Wasn’t Stalling / Stalingrad
    Robert Wyatt / Peter Blackman – Stalin Wasn’t Stalling / Staling…
    $8.00 | , , Add to cart

    Robert Wyatt’s cover of The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet’s track in praise of Stalin’s ability to repel Hitler. Label: Rough Trade – RT 046 Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, [...]

    GENRE: Art Rock / Krautrock / Prog / Psych
  • Banned in DC: Photos and Anecdotes from the DC Punk Underground (79-85) (scarce!)
    Banned in DC: Photos and Anecdotes from the DC Punk Underground (79-85…
    $65.00 | , , Add to cart

    Sometimes being a Washington DC insider means access to political movers and shakers–sometimes, as in the case of photographer Cynthia Connolly, it means access to a great collection of [...]

    GENRE: Art/Photography, Punk / Hardcore
  • C/A/N/A/D/A: Delineating Nation State Captialism
    C/A/N/A/D/A: Delineating Nation State Captialism
    $16.00 | , , Add to cart

    A multi-faceted study/art project exploring architecture’s impact on capitalism & colonialism, using Toronto as an example. Scapegoat, 2020 Softcover Edition. Some bowing/warping to [...]

    GENRE: Art/Photography, Non-Fiction
  • Robert Irwin: All The Rules Will Change
    Robert Irwin: All The Rules Will Change
    $50.00 | , , Add to cart

    Robert Irwin, one of the most influential postwar American artists and a pioneering figure of California Light and Space Art, is the subject of this book that traces his development […]

    GENRE: Art/Photography
  • Values Of Design
    Values Of Design
    $25.00 | , , Add to cart

    Dual-language (Chinese/English) investigation into the design of every-day objects. Lavishly illustrated. Design Society/Victoria & Albert, 2017 Softcover Edition. Dent to upper left corner [...]

    GENRE: Art/Photography
  • Theaster Gates: How to Build a House Museum (scarce)
    Theaster Gates: How to Build a House Museum (scarce)
    $75.00 | , , Add to cart

    Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates, whose projects range from small-scale sculptures to ambitious urban interventions, investigates the transformative powers of art in this provocative book. As [...]

    GENRE: Art/Photography
  • Light Years: Conceptual Art and the Photograph, 1964-1977 (scarce)
    Light Years: Conceptual Art and the Photograph, 1964-1977 (scarce)
    $80.00 | , , Add to cart

    Photography played a critical role in conceptual art of the 1960s and 1970s, as artists turned to photography as both medium and subject matter. Light Years offers the first major […]

    GENRE: Art/Photography
  • Roni Horn: Going North Boxset (scarce)
    Roni Horn: Going North Boxset (scarce)
    $100.00 | , , Add to cart

    Developed in collaboration with the artist, this two-volume monograph is a comprehensive survey of Roni Horn’s art. A leading figure in contemporary art, Roni Horn addresses wide ranging issues [...]

    GENRE: Art/Photography
  • Blood On The Saddle ‎– Blood On The Saddle
    Blood On The Saddle ‎– Blood On The Saddle
    $17.00 | , , Add to cart

    Country influenced punk, in the same zone as Country Teasers & X. Label: New Alliance Records – NAR-015 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Black Sleeve Country: US Released: 1984 VG+/VG. Sleeve […]

    GENRE: Punk / Hardcore