Seattle, WA | Queen Anne Gets a New Record Shop: For a decade, the little strip of 10th Ave between Pike and Pine in Capitol Hill was a prime spot to pick up books, records, and DVDs—the type of media you put on a shelf. In 2010, the Elliott Bay Book Company and Everyday Music moved onto that block, choosing the risky path of selling physical media (books at Elliott Bay; records and DVDs at Everyday) while digital media was taking over the world. A decade and a pandemic later, Elliott Bay is still there (and seems to be doing well), but Everyday kicked the bucket. …Saturday’s opening is something to celebrate, not because of kitschy or sentimental feelings, but because physical media and physical retail spaces still have a purpose. Just look at Glossier, the “digitally native” beauty brand that has opened up what they call an “offline experience” (AKA a store) next door to Everyday Music’s grave on 10th. Even digital giants can’t resist getting physical.
IN | The Sound Of Magic: For The Love Of Long Playing Records: Not only do they have indubitably unique sound, old vinyl records effortlessly summon up the past in a whirl of tactility and art. …Much like Darjeeling tea, the sound of vinyl—a warm, crackling wave that envelops you in light warmth—is a matter of acquired taste. In depth and timbre, it outperforms the digital accuracy—a cold, metallic gleam skimming the surface of sounds—of CDs. Records have an in-built intimacy to them; it’s like listening to live music. Vinyl production in India stopped in the early 1990s; imports stopped soon after. But the sellers on Lenin Sarani and Free School Street kept the supply chain alive by sourcing used records, and keeping them clean and scratch-free. Of course, vinyl has immense staying power too—encased in its cover, covered by the clingy, thin plastic, it shrugs off the decades. Every one of them that I own were made before my birth. It fell victim to our headlong rush to embrace new technology, before it reclaimed us again with its aural—and aesthetic—superiority.
COMMENTARY: The world is suffering from a shortage of vinyl records and massive price shocks: A couple of weeks back, someone sent me a picture of a Tragically Hip album on display in a record store. It appeared to be a standard vinyl issue of the band’s 2006 album, Music @ Work, priced at $71.99. It wasn’t a typo. To put that into perspective, a copy of the deluxe 2-CD edition of the band’s Fully Completely can be had for $13.99. And that’s more than 10 times the cost of a digital copy available on iTunes. I soon started to get emails and texts from other shoppers outraged that prices for regular vinyl albums had broken the $50 mark. What’s going on? Several things, as it turns out. First, the public’s demand for vinyl records keeps growing. In Canada, sales of new vinyl are up 44 per cent from this time last year. Revenue from vinyl in the U.S. has nearly doubled from 2020. Things are also crazy in the U.K. as customers clamour for old-timey records.
Belfast, IE | Tony O’Shaughnessy, unwitting cover star of Dexys Midnight Runners’ debut album dies aged 63: A Belfast man who unwittingly appeared on the cover of Dexys Midnight Runners’ iconic debut album has died at the age of 63. Tony O’Shaughnessy was only 13 years old when a photograph of him fleeing his home in Ardoyne during civil unrest was featured in the Evening Standard newspaper. The picture, showing O’Shaughnessy gripping a bag in his left hand while holding a suitcase under his right arm, was taken in Cranbrook Gardens in 1971 as Catholics began leaving their homes following the introduction of internment. Nine years later the image appeared on the cover of Dexys Midnight Runners’ classic debut Searching for the Young Soul Rebels. The album, which spawned the singles Gino, Dance Stance and There, There, My Dear regularly features in lists of top albums of all time.
Rare Bob Marley record sells for £1350 – is it sitting in your vinyl collection? Specialist Jeff Anderson is in Wyre this October to value your vintage records – and your collection could be worth a fortune. If you’ve got boxes filled with old vinyl records stashed away in your attic collecting dust and no idea if they’re even worth anything – then now is your chance to find out. Auctioneers and valuers Adam Partridge in Catterall have invited record specialist Jeff Anderson to their local office on Tuesday, October 19 to offer free valuations of your vintage vinyl. And for those keen to sell their records following the valuation, Adam Partridge will invite them to a live online rock and pop auction in December, which will take place in Liverpool. In a previous records sale, a signed 12” vinyl record Babylon by Bus by Bob Marley sold £1350, while John Taylor’s Pause and Think Again on Turtle went for £420 as Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon LP sold under the hammer for £140.
Greenock, UK | Record fair in Greenock hits right note: Record lovers got into a spin at a fabulous music fair in Greenock. Allander Record Fairs were in the Oak Mall recently with a massive selection of wares including vinyl records, CDs and DVDs. Those who stopped by between Friday and Sunday could choose form a wide range of genres such as 70s, jazz, pop and punk. There was the opportunity to also sell and exchange records at the free event which ran from 10am to 4pm each day. For information about upcoming events, visit the Oak Mall Facebook page.
Joy Division announce 40th anniversary vinyl edition of ‘Still.’ The special edition vinyl is coming next year: Joy Division‘s ‘Still’ is getting a 40th anniversary reissue. The compilation record will be re-released on February 11, 2022 and follows on from previous anniversary releases for the band’s ‘Unknown Pleasures’ and ‘Closer.’ ‘Still’ will be a limited edition reissue with a ruby red sleeve and pressed on crystal clear vinyl. It will only be available to buy via New Order’s official store here. ‘Still’ is a compilation album that was first released in 1981 after the death of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis. The record featured previously unreleased studio material, two non-album tracks (‘Dead Souls’ and ‘Glass’) and a live recording of Joy Division’s last-ever concert at Birmingham University. The show featured the band’s only live performance of ‘Ceremony’. The track was later released by New Order as their debut single in 1981.
