5 December 2011
The Vinyl Frontier
In our current fast-paced, technological world of online this and digital that, vinyl records stand for something slower and in a lot of ways richer. They harp back to a bygone era when music was cherished and life was less complex. Back in the golden days of vinyl, buying an LP was an event, something you saved up for and subsequently played to death while staring at the album art work and reading the liner notes. The actual experience of acquiring music and listening to it was more special in the good old days than it is in our current era, where there is an over abundance of platforms for musical consumption. If you were feeling particularly fancy you could download a hundred albums in a day, leaving it impossible to truly get to know any of them. Vinyl makes us slow down, stop rushing, stop everything and just listen.
The compact disc’s of the 80′s were the first harbinger for the decline of vinyl records, then came the digital music of the 90′s and 00′s. At this time vinyl appeared to have lost its magic, left to gather cobwebs and dust in the attics of its owners. But things seem to be taking a turn for the better. Although still a niche market, sales of vinyl LPs are at their highest for more than half a decade, with the total number of vinyl albums sold in 2011 exceeding last year’s total. Vinyl records add another dimension to listening to music, creating a tactile, visceral connection between the music and its owner, which in turn enhances the whole experience. Welcome back, we say. Here are some of world’s best record shops to have a rummage around.
BLEECKER BOB’S GOLDEN OLDIES, NEW YORK
One of the oldest independent record stores in New York, this West Village record shop is a veritable silo of bygone music. The space is dominated by swaths of used vinyl, while the creaky floorboards and scarred wooden album racks lend a farmhouse feel. This winsomely messy store sells punk, jazz, metal, and reggae, plus good old rock and roll.
KOPS RECORDS, TORONTO
A true treasure trove. Canada’s largest source of 45 rpm records, this store has been in business for more than 20 years. Its storefront is located in the heart of downtown Toronto, just west of University Avenue on Queen Street. This music store is great for both collectors and DJs, with lots of soul, pop, funk, hip hop, reggae, techno, house, rock, jazz, latin, brazilian and afro on both vinyl and cd.
LUCKY RECORDS, REYKJAVIK
After running his own vinyl booth at the Kolaportið flea market, Ingvar Geirsson decided to open up his own vinyl store in Hverfisgata, Reykjavík. The shop houses an impressive collection of 20,000 used LPs and 8,000 twelve-inch records and is open from 11am to 9pm, meaning you can literally get lost in vinyl wonderland for an entire day.
ROUGH TRADE EAST, LONDON
In its 35th year, Rough Trade is an indelible temple to indie music. The 5,000sq ft loft-style East London store is a record lover’s paradise of both the old and the new. The little stage at the back of the store has been a stepping-stone on the way to musical greatness for many of the contemporary artists who have graced it.
JAZZ RECORD MART, CHICAGO
If you’re looking for blues records, the Jazz Record Mart is the place to start. Going strong for 40years, the mart is a throwback to a bygone era, the store has a creaky aura and a ragged glory about it that ensnares the casual music lover. The man behind the Jazz Record Mart’s weathered eclecticism is owner Bob Koester-colorful Wichita, Kansas-born jazz and blues enthusiast, seat-of-the-pants record retailer, producer and walking compendium of record industry history.
By Lilee Cathcart
