It's been over a year since we reported that West Village record store Bleecker Bob's was closing, but they're still open. That will change soon though, or so they say. As NYU Local points out, the store posted this on Facebook:

STORE UPDATE:: 3/6/13

looks like the new tenant has signed the lease. we've heard they want to be open by June 1. it will take probably around 2 months to get work permits for the massive remodeling job they'll need to do so we're figuring we should be open until May 2013!!
---get ready for another chain of self serve yogurt/coffee/hot chocolate cafes NYC!!

Welcome to the first in a series of holiday gift guides here on BrooklynVegan. For this one we've partnered with American Express as part of their Points For Presents program. That means I'll run through a whole bunch of my own gift ideas, like I would normally, but then I'll show how you can pay with Membership Rewards points which you might be earning if you happen to have an eligible American Express card. Let's get right into it...

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1) Hurricane Sandy Relief

Don't forget about those affected by Hurricane Sandy this holiday season. There are lots of avenues to help. I told my parents not to buy me any clothes this year, but that if they insist on shopping, to buy stuff for hurricane victims instead.

Another way to donate is with Membership Rewards points.

Gift Guide continued below....

Continue reading "2012 Holiday Gift Ideas"

Lots of room in the ARC

Since 1985, not-for-profit organization The ARChive of Contemporary Music has been collecting, preserving and providing info on "the popular music of all cultures and races throughout the world from 1950 to the present." In a world that is hurdling towards the cloud, the ARC remains obsessively devoted to physical formats and counts David Bowie, Jerry Leiber, Youssou N'Dour, Lou Reed, Keith Richards, Martin Scorsese and Paul Simon among its board of advisors.

For those of us who have too many CDs and records and are looking to clear out some personal space, the ARC is a great place to donate. As loads of people -- and record companies do just that (BrooklynVegan included) -- the ARC has duplicates and surplus, and for one week every year during the holiday season it becomes the biggest record store in NYC. This year the ARC Holiday Record & CD sale happens Dec 8 - Sunday, Dec 16 from 11 AM - 6 PM at ARC HQ (54 White Street, NY, NY) and will feature over 20,000 items, including:

Good vinyl in good condition at great prices. Remember we clean out everything after each sale, so it may seem familiar, but it's fresh, CDs are NEW donations from record companies, NOT used, returns or defects! Mostly pop and rock recordings. Collectible LPs are priced below book value. Hundreds of CDs are priced at $1 to $5 each. Cassettes + Classical LPs - 2 for $1.00 Just released NEW & HOT CDs are $5 - $10.

PLUS - 7" singles. Old + new music books, books of all kinds actually - African, Reggae & world-music releases - videos.

As recently mentioned, Black Friday is also now Record Store Day so music nerds can have fun on the busiest shopping day of the year too. One place you might go, if you're in NYC, is Other Music who write:

For those of you who are spending your holiday in New York City, Other Music will be participating in Record Store Day's second annual Black to Black Friday (Friday, November 23), and this year there will be an even bigger variety of limited RSD-only pressings plus some great advance releases exclusive to independent shops. You can browse a list of all these special titles here on the RSD website, or download a PDF wish list here, and while we can't guarantee that every one of these releases will be available at Other Music, we do have a great assortment of RSD merchandise -- keep in mind, quantities are limited, first come first served, and one per customer, in-store purchases only. We will be closed for Thanksgiving but we'll be back open Friday, regular business hours 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and we hope to see you!

Some of the RSD exclusives you'll find in record stores on Black Friday are reissues of three different White Stripes singles. One of the record stores guaranteed to be carrying those is Third Man Records in Nashville where they'll also be debuting an expansion...

Third Man Records is inviting you, your family (yes, even those creepy cousins from the kids table) and loved ones to join us the day following Thanksgiving, also known as BLACK FRIDAY, for the Grand Opening of The Third Man Records Novelty Lounge. We've expanded our record shop space and it's now equipped with a dazzling array of coin operated contraptions and attractions guaranteed to pop your peepers and flip your wig. Dig?

Continue reading "It's Black Friday aka Record Store Day; Free shipping at Other Music; Third Man Records opening Novelty Lounge "

Twenty-two pounds. Six Inches. $449 retail. The Beatles are releasing their fourteen original studio albums plus rarities into a single massive sixteen LP box set containing a 252 page booklet. Each album will also be sold individually as well. The release(s) have been newly remastered and are available now ("now $349"), for all of you who don't have copies of the records, possibly purchased from your local used record store.

Rumor has it that this massive sixteen LP and reported 50,000 copy box set has had another, unseen price though too... a delay in the pressing in many other records. Due to the limited and shrinking number of vinyl pressing plants in the US, many other labels have had delayed returns on their own pressings. It's too early to tell if this will have a serious negative impact on some companies (and record collectors), though the renewed interest in Beatles vinyl could also be good for the already-growing vinyl business as a whole.

Let us know if you've had an order delayed "due to Beatles".

We knew that the WFMU Record Fair was cancelled, but now comes word that he Hurricane did some damage to the radio station as well:

The aftermath of Frankenstorm (actually Frankenstorm was the name of the doctor, it really should be called Frankenstorm's Monster) left WFMU with no electricity in our Jersey City studios, and at BOTH of our FM transmitters (91.1 FM and 90.1 FM). We tried rubbing many balloons on our heads and holding it near the equipment, but no dice. For two days, we streamed WFMU in Exile from various DJs' homes, or the shanties and mini-vans that they call their 'homes'. Despite that shanty crack in the previous sentence, our DJ's are just the best and we perpetually salute their dedication. On Thursday morning, we resumed (semi-)normal programming after electricity was restored to our studios. And then reality started settling in, as we discovered tons of critical equipment that was fried by the electrical chaos that Sandy hurled our way. And both of our FM transmitters are still down.

Fortunately, everybody from the WFMU staff is safe, and miraculously WFMU's basement did not flood, despite the Hudson River coming within 50 feet of our front door... The environment around Hudson County, Staten Island, Rockaway, lower Manhattan and Brooklyn is akin to the film The Road. Or The Walking Dead. No, it's Road Warrior.. Wait, it's actually a bit more like The Road... But with your help, we will make it feel like Herbie Goes Bananas real soon. Please help!

Assuming this isn't a joke, this copy of Title Fight's Floral Green currently has bids of $50k with less than 12 hours to go. The record was one of a run of 150 (#45 to be exact) and dropped less than two weeks ago at the band's record release party on 10/19 in Warrior Run. PA. If that sounds like a lot, please keep in mind there's free shipping on this item.

The band is currently on tour with Pianos Become the Teeth and Single Mothers, and have a clear tour pressing of the Secret Society 7" available at the merch table. 400 copies made, so pick one up and maybe you can get that Porsche you always wanted. NYCers can get their copy at Bowery Ballroom on November 29 (tickets).

Howard Scott (R) with the great Aaron Copland

Howard H. Scott, known by some as the godfather of the LP, and others as a classical composer and producer, passed away last month in Reading, PA at the age of 92 after a fight with cancer.

In 1946, Mr. Scott was 26 and just discharged from the Army when he got a job at Columbia Masterworks, the label's classical division. He was soon assigned to Columbia's top-secret project: developing a long-playing record to replace the 78 r.p.m. disc, which could hold only about four minutes of music on each brittle shellac side.

The project had begun in 1940 and was nearing completion. But its engineers needed someone with musical training -- particularly the ability to read orchestral scores -- to help transfer recordings from 78s to the new discs, which played at 3 31/3 r.p.m., could hold about 22 minutes a side and were made of more durable vinyl.

Howard Hillison Scott fit the bill. -[NY Times]

R.I.P. Mr Scott, your lasting contributions to both music and technology will be felt for generations to come.

On October 6, The Brooklyn Flea's Smorgasburg in Williamsburg will move aside the uinoa falafels, huaraches, lobster rolls, and doughnuts to make room for vinyl... it's another edition of the Brooklyn Flea Record Fair. The fall incarnation will play host to 32 vendors including labels like 4AD, Captured Tracks, DFA, Merge, Mexican Summer, XL, Warp, True Panther, and many many more.

In addition, look for private collectors to be on hand to peddle their new and used wares, as well as traditional record stores like Coop 87, Other Music, Halcyon, and Mondo Kim's to set up satellite stores for the day. It all goes down from 11AM to 6PM at 27 North 6th St. (Kent Ave and East River).

More details, including a list of participating labels, are below.

Continue reading "Brooklyn Flea Record Fair returns for fall edition"

by BBG

At first, they were just crates full of records, numbering in the thousands. But after digging through their contents, Jeff Bubeck learned he'd stumbled upon something special: what he says is the personal record collection of late Detroit hip-hop producer J Dilla.

Bubeck, one of the owners of Royal Oak record store UHF, is selling the records in his store. They come with yellow tags that identify them as part of Dilla's personal stash.

"Is it even possible?" That was Bubeck's first reaction when he learned the 7,000-8,000 records he acquired from an abandoned storage unit in Clinton Township last month may have belonged to Dilla, the celebrated producer and founding member of Slum Village who died in 2006 at age 32 due to complications from lupus.

When first digging through the crates, amid the mountains of 94-cent Earth, Wind & Fire LPs, Bubeck noticed a box of cassette tapes, labeled in black marker as "Jaydee Beats." There were also lyric booklets, along with magazines and pieces of junk mail addressed to James Yancey, as well as to his parents, Beverly and Maureen Yancey. -[Detroit News]

P.S. before any more of those records are sold, someone get in there and document that collection, maybe for an online museum? (Questlove are you reading this?)

by Andrew Marinaccio

This Saturday (4/21) marks the 5th annual Record Store Day, and with it comes another chance to procure your favorite band's most exclusive (or oddest) musical releases yet. There will also once again be lots of in-shop events.

No matter where you are located (in the U.S., UK, Germany or Belgium) (like Chicago maybe?), you should be able to find a still-open record store near you that will be selling the good schwag and possibly throwing a party too. As we've been, we'll continue to highlight some of the NYC stores, along with what you might find in them.

Aside from selling fresh rarities, NYC's Other Music is celebrating with a live lineup of DJs featuring Four Tet, Black Dice, The Men (who appear on a Sacred Bones RSD comp), Ex Cops, and Wild Nothing. Other Music will exclusively sell Ex Cops's debut 7", "I Am the Lion, You Are the Lamb," which is relasing on their Other music label. Other Music is set to open to the public at 11 a.m. Saturday morning (which gives you time to hit other record stores who open even earlier, first).

Kim's Video & Music looks to attract the early birds with an 8 a.m.opening and live and/or DJ sets by MUSH1, X-ray Eyeballs, Prince Rama, and more. In addition to the gig there will be discount offers, "over 150" record store day exclusives, pizza and beer. Maybe you'll find a copy of the, a day late for 4/20, Lee "Scratch" Perry Blackboard Jungle Dub Limited Edition Box...

The West Village's Generation Records has a show of their own planned, with The Paul Collins Beat, Supertouch, Night Birds, and Joyce Manor performing, as well as DJ sets by Tom Scharpling, Three Chord Monte, Zachary Lipez, and Mikey Post. They will also be selling a variant of Supertouch's Lost My Way EP, which will feature shop-exclusive cover art. Generation Records is pegged on opening at 10 a.m. this Saturday.

Williamsburg shop Sound Fix will host Mates of State for a gig and meet-and-greet on Saturday night. The band's 2009 covers album, Crushes, will be released for the first time on vinyl as a Record Store Day exclusive. Sound Fix opens at 10:30 a.m.

Amid touring, Portugal. The Man, who have a RSD 7" of their own, are playing an in-store set this Saturday at Fords, New Jersey's Vintage Vinyl. The shop's also opening early at 8 a.m., and their stock's boasting reiusses of Graceland and Raw Power, as well as Iggy and the Stooges' LP picture disc of their ATP 2010 performance of the seminal album.

Long Island's Looney Tunes Records is featuring a trio of free acts by Grace Read, The Lumineers, and JuiceheaD and Osaka Popstar, who are bringing their collaborative 7" "Waiting Room" exclusively to the shop. The show will start at 1 that afternoon, but shoppers can begin at 9 a.m. if they're "VIP Members" (to inquire what that means, check here). Doors will open to the general public at 10 a.m.

Local giant J&R Music World will house acts starting at noon, including Everest, Yann Tiersen, Mike Doughty, and guitarist Doyle Dykes. The insitution will also demonstrate some tech to attendees, showcasing the features of the new audio software suite Roland R-MIX. Miles Davis' (who has a special Record Store Day compilation, "Forever Miles," planned for release) nephew, Vince Wilburn, Jr., will also be making an appearance.

Permanent Records in Brooklyn will host in-stores by Memoryhouse and Mattison.

Cake Shop says "the CAPESHOK RECORD MART back for one day only!" and are hosting a performance by the Hairs at 3pm.

Check Record Store Day's site or call your local record store to find more happenings.

Of course, there will be precious records found at a variety of independent shops across the country, including the more exotic collaborations that have been hyped as blog post oddities. Fiest and Mastodon's (or 'Fiestodon') will be releasing their split 7" featuring both acts covering songs from each other's 2011 studio releases, Metals and The Hunter, respectively. Listeners can look forward to hearing Feist's rendition of "Black Tongue" and Mastodon's turn on "A Commotion".

Mastodon also-- perhaps inevitably-- succumbed to the bidding of current off-kilter audio project warlocks The Flaming Lips for another split 7", where they'll cover the Lip's "A Spoonful Weighs A Ton." While the Lip's contribution to the baby pink record is their original track recording, fear not, for the band has a more outlandish and sprawling album ready for the big day. The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, the mistifying mega-collaboration they've been working on with Bon Iver, Prefuse 73, Yoko Ono, Chris Martin, Nick Cave, Ke$ha, and more, features new tracks with the aforementioned guests including their previous work with Neon Indian and Lightning Bolt. And, as if the music wasn't enough, Wayne Coyne has been amassing the blood of his fellow collaborators to somehow infuse into the record. At the very least, Alan Palomo, Justin Vernon, The Flaming Lips, and Kesha's blood could be in your copy.

St. Vincent plans on releasing a red 7" sided with two new tracks, "KROKODIL" and "GROT." Reportedly more guitar-driven and aggressive departures from her previous material, her debut of "KROKODIL" at Coachella attests to that, possesing a relentless savagery often only hinted at in her nervous yet controlled guitarwork. It also attempts to channel whatever demons she found covering Big Black for 'Our Band Can be Your Life.' You can download her Coachella performance of "KROKODIL" here.

Speaking of bands playing Coachella, Refused are putting out 1998's The Shape of Punk to Come as a limited edition colored LP on Record Store Day. Pair it with a yellow vinyl Snapcase 12".

Speaking of things to come, Record Store Day is also used to tease what's on the way. Garbage (who are paying a special Record Store Day visit to Austin) are releasing their first new physical single in almost ten years with "Blood For Poppies" in anticipation of their reunion album this spring. Public Image Ltd. came out of the woodwork to present an EP featuring their latest release of new material in 20 years, including single "One Drop." And Faith No More frontman Mike Patton is reissuing his side-project Tomahawk's entire studio output in a boxset designed with space for the band's upcoming summer LP.

Other RSD 2012 releases previously mentioned on BV include Nick Waterhouse/Allah-Lahs, Mark Sultan, Pussy Galore, JEFF the Brotherhood, Sigur Ros, Xiu Xiu/Dirty Beaches, Nobunny and Variety Lights. Others we haven't mentioned yet include the White Stripes, the Black Keys, Regina Spektor, Tortoise, The Hives, Wilco, Animal Collective, Beach House, Bonnie Prince Billy, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Captain Beefheart, Destroyer, Jimmy Fallon, Laura Marling, Leonard Cohen, Luna, M Ward, M83, Mclusky, Minus the Bear, Misfits (red, blue and clear vinyl), Ozzy, Phish, Ryan Adams, T. Rex, Tegan & Sara, The Clash, and many more. For a full list of RSD 2012 releases, with more info on each, check HERE.

For our Chicago readers, you can check out what your local record shops are up to this Saturday, including a BV Chicago-presented event at Saki, here.

Which releases are you most excited for this Record Store Day? Check out what NPR decided to highlight, like the previously mentioned Shabazz Palaces release, HERE. Watch Cris Brown give his annual Record Store Day show and tell, and other videos below...

Continue reading "your guide to Record Store Day 2012"

The band issued this statement:

Formed in 1985 by Jon Spencer and Julie Cafritz in Washington DC, Pussy Galore drew upon the bloated hardcore scene, totally rejecting the same while embracing 60's garage punk and R'n'B, industrial noise acts like Einsturzende Neubauten, and plenty of bad vibes and badder attitude. After a relocation to New York City in '86, the band quickly rose to prominence and infamy. Sold-out concerts and record releases were celebrated and debated in the pages of the Village Voice, Vanity Fair, and Art Forum. Pussy Galore toured across North America and throughout Europe, even making it to Japan before the band finally imploded.

Now this seminal and influential punk band's catalog is back in print, many of it available as digital download for the first time ever. Each release has been remastered under the supervision of Jon Spencer himself, vinyl masters are cut directly from the original tapes, all-analog. The classic 1987 album, 'Right Now', is available now on vinyl through Shove. This, along with 1988's 'SugarShit Sharp' EP and 1989's 'Dial M For Motherfucker' LP are available for download. Vinyl of SSS and Dial M will follow shortly and, as a special added bonus, a limited edition vinyl re-press of the original Pussy Galore debut 7" record, the' Feel Good About Your Body' EP, will be available for Record Store Day, also through Shove. America, get ready to feel good again!

On December 23rd of last year, Pussy Galore played an unannounced 15 song, 30 minute set at Maxwell's to a packed house, as part of Yo La Tengo's annual Hanukkah festival benefit. This one off 'secret' show would serve notice that one of New York City's great bands still has meaning for today. There are no further shows planned at this time.

this image will soon only exist in pictures (and Seinfeld)...

The NY Times reports:

Bleecker Bob's will close its store at 118 West Third Street at the end of April, according to a manager, Chris Wiedener.

"It's kind of disappointing," said Giancarlo Caccamo, 19, a customer at Bleecker Bob's on Thursday evening, upon learning the news. The vinyl records that pack the wooden bins and milk crates in the cluttered, narrow space are an increasingly endangered species, said Mr. Caccamo, who was in search of a record by Mott the Hoople.

The store's closing seemed to sound a death knell for vinyl itself. "I just love the warm fuzz that you get," he said. "There's nothing like that sound."

Javier Medina, 43, who began shopping at Bleecker Bob's in the 1970s and has worked there as a salesman for the last decade, was more concerned about the loss of a piece of history. "This place should be a landmark," he said while chatting with Gary Rookard, 53, who sells glass pipes on a table outside. "Everybody in the world knows it."

Watch the Beastie Boys video "Open Letter to NY" (Bob's shoutout included), below...

Continue reading "Bleecker Bob's closing (but not becoming a Starbucks)"

As far as vinyl records go, there are some that are ten a penny and others that are a little rarer, but a Sex Pistols recording of "God Save The Queen" has been named by Record Collection as the most valuable vinyl in the world. And it is up for sale now.

The 1977 single, which was recorded before the Pistols were dropped by their record label and most copies of it were destroyed, making the number of copies actually released limited. -[Music Rooms]

If you buy now, you can probably still get it in time for Christmas,

by BBG

After 16 years, Fat Beats has announced the closing of the legendary label's two remaining retail locations in New York and Los Angeles. Fat Beats will celebrate the legacies of the stores, which are scheduled to close in early September (New York: September 4th, Los Angeles: September 18th) by throwing a series of blow-out sales and tribute parties open to the public during their last weeks. Fans can check www.FatBeats.com for updates.

Fat Beats' longest running and most famed location is at 406 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan. Since the 1994 opening of Fat Beats' flagship retail location, hip-hop fans have traveled far and wide to visit the iconic store. With locations soon following in Los Angeles (7600 Melrose Ave.), Atlanta, Amsterdam, and Tokyo, the record stores were a place to experience hip-hop culture and its legacy, which became a global phenomenon. "The closing of Fat Beats is just like one of my friends passing away. They promoted vinyl at its highest degree for the culture of good music and that makes it more difficult to say goodbye," says DJ Premier.

Continue reading "Fat Beats closing NYC & LA stores"

Live bands included. More details below...

Continue reading "2009 WFMU Record Fair this weekend (w/ live bands)"

by Andrew Frisicano

NY EYE & EAR FEST II - JULY 9 - 12, 2009!
4 DAYS - 3 VENUES - 2 BOROUGHS
Knitting Factory & 92Y Tribeca in Manhattan & Death By Audio in Brooklyn
Pendu presents: NY Eye & Ear Fest II ... a massive 4-day New Music and Arts Fete showcasing some of the most exciting bands, artists, and filmmakers currently living and working here in NYC. In addition, NYE&E assembles a Record Fair featuring NYC-based Record Labels and Vendors selling LPs, CDs, 7''s, cassettes, lathes, comics, zines, stickers, and art prints.

The Fest then switches to the 92YTribeca on Saturday for a concert and a free record fair. Also at 92Y will be a program called "Women of NYCinema," with films and music from Sarah Lipstate (aka Noveller), Liz Wendelbo, Rachel Blackwell and Dirty Churches. The vendors range from big names like Matador Records to the recently featured Journal of Popular Noise to notable jazz label ESP-Disk.

The fest's final, fourth day moves to Brooklyn for a closing party at Death by Audio. That lineup includes Murdertronics, Team Robespierre, Talibam!, Total Abuse and Drunkdriver.

Tickets for Thursday, Friday, and a variety of Saturday packages are available.

Separate from the festival, on Thursday, July 9th the 92YTribeca will screen filmmaker Brendan Toller's I Need That Record, a documentary about the problems facing record stores around the country. It will be the NYC premiere of the movie that was getting some attention already all the back on Record Store Day 2008. The movie includes interviews with Thurston Moore, Ian Mackaye, Mike Watt, Chris Frantz and more. Toller will be on hand for the showing. Tickets are on sale.

More details on the film (with video trailer) and the Ear and Eye Festival, below...

Continue reading "NY Ear & Eye Fest II - shows & record fair this weekend @ KF, DBA & 92Y Tribeca (also screening 'I Need That Record')"

Record & Tape Center (Tishon)

It's nearly the day the music died in Park Slope.

The Record and Tape Center, a dusty, cramped record store that has occupied the same spot on Fifth Avenue, near Ninth Street, for the past 38 years, will be shuttered by May 31, the result of an eviction notice that store owner Tony Mignone said came out of the blue.

"The letter just arrived at the beginning of the month," said Mignone, who opened his store on Fifth Avenue and Sixth Street in 1965, and moved to his present location in 1971. "I've never even been late on my rent!"

According to the letter, the landlords, a family that owns several grocery stores in the neighborhood, including the Deli and Smoke Shop next door, do not want to renew the lease and will take Mignone to court if he does not clear out.
Brooklyn Bridge Realty

"If he's still there [on May 31], we'll go to court," said John Wilson, the family's lawyer. [The Brooklyn Paper] (via)

I would have probably last stopped in if I had made it to the Park Slope 5th Avenue Street Fair (and Southpaw record fair) that happened on Sunday (but I didn't).

The Virgin Megastore in Union Square will basically be closing the same day.

WNYC's Siddhartha Mitter went NYC record shopping on the recently-passed Record Store Day. Video below...

Continue reading "Park Slope's Record & Tape Center evicted, closing!"

by Andrew Frisicano

Record Store Day - a nationwide event created to support independently owned record stores - will take place on Saturday, April 18, 2009. A list of participating NYC stores is available online at the Record Store Day venue list.

On RSD, Generation Records (210 Thompson Street, NY, NY) will host an acoustic in-store by punk band The Bouncing Souls, free for customers who pick up a copy of the band's 20th Anniversary Volume 1 7-inch the day of the show.

Other events, such as in-stores at Williamsburg's Sound Fix, which announced its intent to celebrate the event with live music despite ending shows after losing its liquor license in February, are still being announced.

Many record labels are supporting the event with limited-edition records. Matador, for example, will be pressing 2500 copies each of Jay Reatard/Sonic Youth and Sonic Youth/Beck split 7-inches, plus a Pavement Live In Germany LP. Thrill Jockey is sending out 900 copies of Records Toreism, an LP that includes tracks from Mountains, Tortoise, White Hills, Trans Am featuring Tim Soete, and Baltimore's Double Dagger (who cover "Stagger Lee") and will be packaged with two zines (feat contributions from Ian MacKaye and more).

Record Store Day, which coincides with the 2009 Coachella Festival, will also be running a record shop at the fest. The press release, copied below, notes that the Coachella on-site store, "previously operated by Virgin, is noted for its high profile foot traffic and good vibe." Both events come in the same month that the Times Square Virgin Megastore will close - the NYC shop is notable for having the nation's highest sales volume. Its sister location in Union Square will be gone soon after.

Full list of Record Store Day exclusives, in the form of a press release, below...

Continue reading "Record Store Day 2009: lots of bands releasing exclusive vinyl, a Bouncing Souls in-store & more..."

"The movie has obligatory interviews with Thurston Moore (keeping his promise to be in every documentary ever), Mike Watt, Brian Poole (giving Athens bootleg lords a shout out!) and a coterie of other luminaries including....Noam Chomsky (!?!?!)." [Chunklet]

Continue reading "I Need That Record: The Death (or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store -documentary (videos)"

FNAC's ad agency borrows shamelessly from Sleeveface.
Flickr pool here.

BAREFOOT BAY -- Paul Cole was in one of the most famous photographs of the 20th century, and yet he wasn't famous.

Cole, a longtime Barefoot Bay resident, died Wednesday in Pensacola at age 96. He is clearly seen in the famous shot of the Beatles walking across London's Abbey Road, used as the front cover of the group's classic 1969 album, "Abbey Road." Over the years, the picture has been reproduced in books, on posters, coffee mugs, T-shirts and hundreds of other places.

The retired salesman is standing on the sidewalk, just behind the Beatles. Gawking at them. [TCPalm]