Wish we had record stores like these....

[kartick]

Found a very interesting short film about a record store in New York. This place is practically an institution... I wish we had places like these in India..

Anyways guys, take a look at the video from this link :

'For the Records': Capital presents a documentary about the final days of Bleecker Bob's | Capital New York


Cheers
Kartick

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Sadly, this is about the final days.

It brings back London memories for me. I used to buy LPs from a basement record shop in London's Chapel Market --- but then, local record shops were not so rare then, and I don't think the giant stores (HMV, Virgin...) had even come into existence.

For searching for older stuff, there was Steve's Sounds in Soho. The guy always said no, when asked if he had something specific, but if you searched, chances are you'd find it. Later there was Reckless Records in Islington: a big collection of second-hand vinyl. It's gone from Islington, but I'm happy to see that it seems to be surviving in a corner of Soho: Reckless Records. I don't even know if this is the same company --- but anyway, it is something for London-bound HFVers to put on their must-visit list! They have an Amazon presence. Phew, expensive! One of my best trophies from their old shop is a copy of Steven Stills Manasas, that looks to be in dreadful condition, and was priced accordingly, but actually plays moderately well!

 

[kartick]

Well as much as it is true that it becomes practically impossible for people running record stores coz there are only a handful of people who venture out into the vinyl world, yet it is my heartfelt desire that we could have not just local record stores but also stores which are run by people who are passionate about vinyl and are bloody educated about music. It shouldnt be just about making money.It is the enitre vinyl buying experience that counts for me. Vinyls speak stories that are attached to them. Many of us buy from online shops like Flipkart in India but it still feels mechanical coz it's a business for them and many a times have i spoken to their customer care representatives and hardly any of them know what a vinyl is. I wish to go to the US soon to go hunt for vinyls from stores like these.

To the spirit of discovering gems..... cheers !!
Kartick

 

[musicbee]

Brings back childhood memories... growing up in Bangalore (Malleswaram) there were a couple of libraries my parents would frequent... one was a book library and another was a vinyl library. We would bring in LPs and play them on an Ahuja system (IIRC)... that's what started me on my lifelong hobbies of music and reading.

Today, when I visit Bangalore all of that's changed. Too bad the world and especially the music world has changed so much.

 

[The Wall]

Very nice video, sign of the times .............. thanks for the sharing it ....

 

[gangof4]

Although, not as many as during the glory days, NYC still has many great record stores. And they are doing pretty well too. In fact all major cities in US and Europe still have some successful record stores still functioning. Amoeba Records in Berkeley, San Fran and LA is a phenomenon. Vienna has at least 12 fully functional records stores with vinyl as their main seller. So has Berlin, Madrid, Paris, Budapest and Barcelona to name a few place of which I have first hand experience.

So, there are still many independent record stores all across Europe and US. Yes, the number has declined. But the 'record store' is still thriving.

 

[tek]

I've been to Bleecker Bobs.. cool store! It's definitely historical.. famed rock critic Lester Bangs used to shop for records there.

It's been my dream to find a small space in Mumbai somewhere and open up a little record store. Used/new records, along with cool memorabilia stuff.

For what it's worth, we have Rhythm House, which is a godsend. If you really dig, you can find some gems. Also the fact they stock records now is a huge plus.

 

[soulforged]

Although, not as many as during the glory days, NYC still has many great record stores. And they are doing pretty well too. In fact all major cities in US and Europe still have some successful record stores still functioning. Amoeba Records in Berkeley, San Fran and LA is a phenomenon. Vienna has at least 12 fully functional records stores with vinyl as their main seller. So has Berlin, Madrid, Paris, Budapest and Barcelona to name a few place of which I have first hand experience.

So, there are still many independent record stores all across Europe and US. Yes, the number has declined. But the 'record store' is still thriving.

Oh yeah! I keep looking in dark alleys for these stores whenever I'm in US. My favourite is Ameoba in SFO aptly located in Haight-Ashbury. DC also has some of these really old record shops with some amazing collection. Unfortunately, when I was there, I was not much into vinyl.

 

[tek]

Oh yeah! I keep looking in dark alleys for these stores whenever I'm in US. My favourite is Ameoba in SFO aptly located in Haight-Ashbury. DC also has some of these really old record shops with some amazing collection. Unfortunately, when I was there, I was not much into vinyl.

Amoeba SF is amazing. I visit SF for work once a year and make a point to go to Amoeba. One of the most memorable experiences of my life was when I got to meet Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) at Amoeba SF. Got to shake his hand, get his autograph and a picture! I was thrilled since Nirvana has been my favourite band since I was 12

There is also a cool store on Haight called Recycled Records which you should check out next time you're in the area.

 

[musicbee]

Interesting statistics...

 

[kartick]

I've been to Bleecker Bobs.. cool store! It's definitely historical.. famed rock critic Lester Bangs used to shop for records there.

It's been my dream to find a small space in Mumbai somewhere and open up a little record store. Used/new records, along with cool memorabilia stuff.

For what it's worth, we have Rhythm House, which is a godsend. If you really dig, you can find some gems. Also the fact they stock records now is a huge plus.

Absolutely, that's what we have to keep doing here, keep looking. Finding gems is all about that. I remember, a few days back when I was going through piles of dust clad records in someone's warehouse, the moment i saw one of The Moody Blues LP (To our children's children), I bloody wanted to scream and jump with joy. Flipkart and Rhythm House are definitely godsend for us but I still crave for the whole looking for vinyl experience.

It's one of my dreams to open a cafe where I can play my records...that would be life then !! Music from the Vinyls + Piping Hot cup of cappuccino :licklips:

 

[tek]

There's no feeling like digging through a bunch of dusty records in someones garage or cupboard and finding some hidden treasures. I remember one time my raddiwala called coz he had some records, and trust me, it was VERY difficult to contain my excitement when I saw some of the records he had.. first UK pressings of Led Zep, Beatles, etc.

Although, these days it seems the used market supply has been depleted, I always hold on to hope that i'll stumble across another treasure!

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Smell is one of the most emotive senses. Bookshops, record shops, both have distinctive aromas. Coming to this thread I can almost smell it

 

[kartick]

Vinylccuino !!

Perfectly in-sync with these emotions is this deleted scene from one of my favorite movies - High Fidelity. I just watched it a couple of times to figure out the audio gear John Cusack had. I still want to own a Sansui Integrated (preferably AU-919) and a Marantz receiver.
For those of you who haven't yet watched this masterpiece, please do. Also yeah the soundtrack is just brilliant. (High Fidelity (2000) - IMDb)

Anyways the deleted scene can be checked out here : High Fidelity - Deleted Scene: Records for Sale - YouTube

 

[kartick]

There's no feeling like digging through a bunch of dusty records in someones garage or cupboard and finding some hidden treasures. I remember one time my raddiwala called coz he had some records, and trust me, it was VERY difficult to contain my excitement when I saw some of the records he had.. first UK pressings of Led Zep, Beatles, etc.

Although, these days it seems the used market supply has been depleted, I always hold on to hope that i'll stumble across another treasure!

Just a couple of weeks ago, I landed at a guy's place to check out some English records. He told me he had only a few (maybe 50 or so) but once I know someone has records, I have to have to check them out. When I went there, I was just astounded to see that that guy had all foreign pressings and they were all new. Never played ever but yet coz of their age, they had some dirt on them. Perfectly acceptable. That is where I found a triple LP set of The Last Waltz by The Band. It is one of my most favorite sets and it had a booklet as well. I was so bloody ecstatic but yet I managed to keep a poker face, played it cool, payed the most modest amount of money and got the hell out of there. Thats what I call a SCORE !! :yahoo:

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Thats what I call a SCORE !!

Me too! All I originally had of that was a VCR recording from a TV broadcast! Then a colleague gave me commercial VCR when he got a DVD. Now I have it digital, but I would like to have had the LP. I have The Band and Stage Fright.

 

[G401fan]

I saw the movie when it came out in Bombay in the early 80s. Then managed to get a VCR copy made at Pyramid in Palika Bazaar. Much later, found the 2CD set, and finally the prized 3-LP with booklet. Now I have the DVD too. Never tire of that movie, one of the all-time great rock concerts ever filmed.

 

[G401fan]

it was VERY difficult to contain my excitement when I saw some of the records he had.. first UK pressings of Led Zep, Beatles, etc.

Although, these days it seems the used market supply has been depleted, I always hold on to hope that i'll stumble across another treasure!

In 1988, Tull released a 5-LP box set called '20 years of JT' with largely unreleased recordings, which, as a Tull nut, I was desperate to get. Tried three times through friends overseas, and each time they came back with the single-CD condensed set. Finally, about 10 years ago, I found a pile of great rock records in Chor Bazaar, which had this complete box set, but also every single Tull album from This was to Crest of a Knave, and all in Mint condition. It was really tough to keep a poker face when negotiating the price (extremely reasonable) with the seller.

 

[soulforged]

In 1988, Tull released a 5-LP box set called '20 years of JT' with largely unreleased recordings, which, as a Tull nut, I was desperate to get. Tried three times through friends overseas, and each time they came back with the single-CD condensed set. Finally, about 10 years ago, I found a pile of great rock records in Chor Bazaar, which had this complete box set, but also every single Tull album from This was to Crest of a Knave, and all in Mint condition. It was really tough to keep a poker face when negotiating the price (extremely reasonable) with the seller.

wow! If I hit a motherlode like that one...i'd turn carwheels and end up selling my kidney to pay for it...wish Blr had a chor bazaar like that...i mostly see chors in the bazaars here...

once went to a 'old records' shop in Avenue Road...they guy was very self assured and stated that he'd sell only a minimum set of 10...the records were kept in a most deplorable state...all covered with dust and infested with bugs...and the titles were phenomenally obscure...and the guy was like, i don't have time for you to browze through every record...go for the lot and sort it at home...i just dropped the whole idea and went looking for a hand sanitizer...

 

[tek]

haha yeah soulforged, i've definitely met a few sellers like that, especially these days with vinyl hype at a high point. Some guy tried to charge me 2k for a torn and beat up Indian pressing of a Beatles album. I just laughed and went on my merry way!

Either way, vinyl hunting in India is never boring!