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Posted in music on November 29, 2011

Parasol shutting down Mail Order & Record Store, but keeping the label alive

by Bill Pearis

Parasol logo

After 20-plus years of pulling, packing & shipping orders all over the world, and serving Champaign-Urbana area music fanatics' needs locally, we're sad to announce we're pressing pause on Parasol Mail Order and our record store.

PMO's last day of regular operation will be Saturday, December 17th. Between now and then we will be putting our existing mailorder/store stock on sale, so if ever there was a time to buy music for the holidays, this is it!

It goes without saying (but we'll say it anyway) that we owe all of you a huge THANK YOU for your support over the years. It's meant a lot, and will continue to as we re-boot the franchise.

Super sad news. In the pre-internet days, for those who didn't live in a major urban area, Parasol's catalog was a treasure-trove of enticing new releases from around the world. They also introduced America to a lot of Swedish bands, like Peter Bjorn and John to Jose Gonzalez -- both of whom saw their records first released on Parasol's Hidden Agenda label.

In happier news, Hidden Agenda and Parasol's other in-house labels -- home to The 1900s, Elsinore, New Ruins and many more -- will continue to operate.

Tags: Parasol, RIP
posted at 6:45 PM on November 29, 2011 in music | Comments (11)

Comments (11)

shame, but just picked up some records for cheap.

Posted by Anonymous | November 29, 2011 7:29 PM

Man, I got a ton of good pop records from Parasol (and Mousetrap) back in the day!

Posted by Anonymous | November 29, 2011 7:43 PM

never heard of em. WHO CARES?!

Posted by Anonymous | November 29, 2011 8:07 PM

Never heard of them, but I just picked up a few things.

Posted by Anonymous | November 30, 2011 1:11 AM

Tragic. My first record I bought from them was Cornershop's "Brimful of Asha." Another major loss for indie music.

Posted by Crosseyed Sniper | November 30, 2011 7:23 AM

I used to get a lot of awesome Swedish music from them in college. They always stocked Scandinavian indie rock quite happily (and thoroughly).

Posted by Anonymous | November 30, 2011 10:03 AM

no wonder they are going out of business. worst mail order website ever! too difficult to navigate. good riddance.

Posted by Anonymous | November 30, 2011 10:14 AM

They used to run the store out of the basement of a house on a quiet street in Champaign-Urbana. It was simply the best record store that ever existed.

Posted by Anonymous | November 30, 2011 10:20 AM

10:20 is correct. I went to U of I and Parasol was the bulwark, the foundation, of much of the local music scene. I wish them luck in reorganizing and in their future endeavors.

Posted by Brian | November 30, 2011 10:37 AM

RIP

Posted by Anonymous | November 30, 2011 11:47 AM

Their site blew, which couldn't have helped, but I spent many an hour in the warehouse at Parasol's many locations over the years and they will be missed. As for the who-cares folks: Parasol served as a distributor for many indie labels foreign and domestic, bringing music to people who otherwise wouldn't have been able to get it. Their label group also helped break several acts that are still going strong: Jose Gonzalez, Soundtrack of Our Lives, etc.

Posted by Anonymous | November 30, 2011 4:25 PM

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