Long Beach, CA | There’s ‘Vinyl Gold’ On Retro Row: Gary Farley is a man that has a desire to keep vinyl and physical music alive. Farley founded and owns one out of a handful of record stores in Long Beach, California. Farley founded Third Eye Records in 2002 with the intent to “open people’s minds” as their slogan says. Farley started his vinyl journey at a young age as a collector. “I’ve always kind of liked history, where things come from, and the tacked-down nature of books and records has always been a huge part of my life and I get a lot of enjoyment from them,” he says. His idea to open a record came from the epiphany that there are other people like him that have “a collector’s mindset that understands and connect through this form of music.” For Farley, he wants people to be able to come into his store and have that connection that stays with them for years. For some, it may not last that long or not connect at all, but he believes just having the ability to explore the experience is important.
Norwich, UK | ‘Rare albums are at the highest price ever’ – CD revival hits Norwich: First it was vinyl but now a CD revival is alive and kicking in Norwich’s record stores. But forget getting big bucks for Britney Spears – only rare and alternative albums in vogue. It comes after online music marketplace, Discogs, reported a 37pc rise in CD sales during 2020, with the NME confirming earlier this week that the revival was on. But many of Norwich’s record retailers say the revival has been going on for some time perhaps even as long as vinyl. John Naylor of Beatniks in Magdalen Street said the store had seen a steady stream of CD sales since music lovers made the move back to the physical format in the early 2010s. He said: “When downloads and streaming became popular sales for CDs dropped right down.
Winnipeg, CA | A new generation has come to call: When Ray Giguere opened Argy’s Records and Entertainment Shop in 1982, he never expected to see a resurgence in interest for vinyl albums. The vinyl record resurgence has been a boon for Argy’s Records and Entertainment shop at 1604 St. Mary’s Rd. The vinyl record resurgence has been a boon for Argy’s Records and Entertainment shop at 1604 St. Mary’s Rd. However, in 2021, a pandemic year, Giguere had a record year for sales, largely due to the support of the music community. “COVID gave us a reason to slowdown and entertain ourselves with music and TV,” he said. “Why the switch to a new generation?” I asked. “Despite cell phones (and streaming), music lovers’ first choice is vinyl. It’s tangible. You own it. You feel it, from taking the record wrap off the jacket to putting the needle down,” Ray explained. I recall that feeling. There was something grand about the new smell of opening a new LP, sort of like a new car, then hearing the first crackle as the needle carefully landed on the record. It had a sound that that was crisp, clear and flawless.
Wheeling, WV | Molly: Co-Owner, Nail City Records: Molly is a force, we’ll just say that first; she came to the US from Tunisia, speaks three languages, has an IT background, plus co-owns and manages Nail City Record in Wheeling, WV. Nail City is a record store with new and used vinyl, turntables, CD’s, cassettes, vinyl care, and music memorabilia. It’s a place where people of all ages can go to discover music from across every genre, decade, and media style. When Molly isn’t at work, she’s, doing “more work, lol!“. She is also a part time manager at another small business in town, a wine & import shop with a French bakery. She is passionate about wines, enjoys tastings, and is a foodie who loves to cook. “…I just knew how to build and run a business and I followed my passion.”
UK | Gang Of Youths Announces “Record Store Tour” To Promote Angel In Realtime, Indie Record Stores: Gang of Youths has added three new UK gigs as part of what the band is calling a “Record Store Tour.” The three gigs are as follows: February 25: full band gig at The Fighting Cocks, London, February 28: unplugged, acoustic gig at Crash Records, Leeds, March 1: acoustic gig at Rough Trade East, London. The shows are obviously designed to promote Angel In Realtime, but are also a goodwill measure that also promotes indie record stores. The Fighting Cocks gig is at a small music hall just down the road from Banquet Records, and the other two stripped-down performances will take place at the stores themselves. Earlier in the day on Feb. 28, the band will be doing a signing (but not performing) at HMV in Manchester. They’ll also be signing copies of the new album at Crash Records and Rough Trade East.
Budapest, HU | Crate digging at Kalóz Records in the Palace Quarter: On a classic bitterly cold but bright and sunny Budapest morning, I was strolling down Bródy Sándor utca in the Palace Quarter when I discovered Kalóz Records. I’m a reasonably obsessive crate-digger (a record collector), and as it was so cold, I went inside and got talking with owner Kristóf Kürti. I’ve been getting more and more interested in Hungarian popular music. I can’t understand the words, and the music can be poorly recorded, but the quality of the musicianship and the inventiveness of the musicians often shine through. It seems I’m not the only non-Hungarian music obsessive trying to get to grips with performers like the great Sarolta Zalatnay, Omega and Illés. Ace Records, a U.K. label specializing in reissues and compilations, has released two excellent “She Came From Hungary” collections.
The vinyl comeback: How 12on12 are bridging the gap between music and art: …12on12 is an exclusive high-end vinyl brand, which stands for 12 tracks on a 12” vinyl. The firm invites musicians like RUN DMC and Travis Scott to choose 12 tracks that they feel soundtrack their lives and provide the canvas of vinyl to put together a unique package of music alongside a piece of commissioned artwork. Speaking to 12on12 founder Claudia Moross, she told City A.M.: “I was inspired to start 12on12 in 2015 when I began to notice the huge resurgence in vinyl as collectibles. What the medium of vinyl provides that CD, cassette or digital can’t, is not only a higher quality sound but a much larger space for self-expression in the artwork and packaging.” Another key feature of vinyl is that, unlike a digital playlist, it is not easy to skip songs.
I’m onboard with the CD revival – it might become punkest music format out there: Are the allegedly indestructible discs really due a comeback back to rival that of vinyl? Our columnist hopes so – for his own sake. When the coroners come to collect my body, with ghoulish press photographers trailing behind to document the horror and depravity, local press will no doubt dub me The Disc Man. Entering my office space will feel like unearthing Spotify’s underground database – thousands upon thousands of CDs, stacked high to the ceiling and piled in mounds across doorways. They’ll liken me to the terminal hoarders from all those Channel 5 documentaries, but rather than slithering over stacks of old Razzles to get to my toilet, I’m scaling mountains of Muse promos. Chances are, as so many exhausted removal men have warned me as they’ve filled up the additional bedrooms I’ve had to rent just to house my collection, it’ll be the CDs themselves that do me in in the end. I’ll expire in a sudden Britpop landslip, my skull caved in by a deluxe three-disc maxi-single of Blur’s ‘Charmless Man.’
