Stoke Newington, UK | Thurston Moore Opens Pop-Up Record Shop: Ecstatic Peace Library will open for six weeks in Stoke Newington starting this week. Thurston Moore is teaming up with two friends to launch a new pop-up record shop in North London. Ecstatic Peace Library is the brainchild of Moore, underground comic artist Edwin Pouncey (AKA Savage Pencil) and record store and label owner Pete Flanagan of Soho Music and Zippo Records. It will function as a record store, bookshop, art gallery and underground newspaper outpost, stocking vinyl, posters, art, vintage t-shirts and music memorabilia. The shop will be based at 96 Church Street in Stoke Newington and will open every day from 11am – 6pm, starting tomorrow (February 4) and ending on March 14. Tomorrow’s grand opening will see the shop open until 9pm. In September of last year, Moore collaborated with East London record shop World Of Echo to sell more than 300 records from his private collection.
Scarborough, UK | Meet Paul Toole owner of Record Revivals – Scarborough’s longest-established record shop: His Scarborough shop may be called Record Revivals, but when chatting to Paul Toole it quickly becomes apparent that vinyl records have never really been away. There’s no doubt about it – record sales are on the up. Last year, around 4.5 million chart-eligible LPs were sold in the UK – a huge jump from 3.2 million in 2016. And it’s not just nostalgia for the glossy black disc which is driving sales – a YouGov survey showed that one in four 18 to 24-year- olds bought a vinyl record in the last month. Paul believes there are various factors that drive the love of vinyl. “In recent years a strange thing has happened. Young people who have grown up with downloads and streaming – not even CDs – have really embraced vinyl. They understand it’s something you have to look after,” he says. He also thinks that people love the fact that a record is a tangible object, adding: “There’s something about the imperfection in the sound that people really relate to on an emotional level.”
Vinyl Editions Of Spice Girls’ ‘Spiceworld’ & ‘The Greatest Hits’ Set For Release: …It’s been 23 years since Spiceworld has been available on vinyl. Now, finally re-issued on 180g black vinyl, Spiceworld retains all original artwork from 1997. It contains the No.1 smash hits ‘Spice Up Your Life’, ‘Viva Forever’ and ‘Too Much’ – their second Christmas chart topper. Spiceworld amassed more than 13 million sales worldwide cementing the Spice Girls as a cultural phenomenon. And if one wasn’t enough … released earlier this year as a picture disc to commemorate their unforgettable sold-out UK tour last summer, Spice Girls – Greatest Hits is back again! This time on 180g black vinyl with no less than nine No. 1 smash hit singles, including ‘Wannabe’, ‘2 Become 1’,‘Spice Up Your Life’, ‘Viva Forever’, ‘Goodbye’ and many more. It also includes the original artwork, this time as a single sleeve LP, with a printed inner sleeve to house the record. Both reissues come complete with digital download code.
Embrace to reissue early albums on vinyl for the first time: Indie heroes Embrace have announced their first three albums will be reissued on vinyl for the first time since their original release. The titles—The Good Will Out, Drawn From Memory and If You’ve Never Been—are available through UMC on March 6th for the UK, with the latter two being released through Craft Recordings on March 20th for North America. The vinyl format of these have been long out-of-print since their original release, making them in-demand for collectors and fans alike. This reissue also marks the first-ever digital release of Drawn From Memory and If You’ve Never Been in North America; beginning today (January 30) both titles are available to stream or download in the U.S., Canada and Mexico
TV Review: High Fidelity: …Like the original, this Hi-Fi focuses on the owner of a record store called Rob (short for Robin), played by Zoe Kravitz. The series begins with a breakup and Rob reflects on his Top 5 Hearbreaks, setting the tone for the series to do exactly what the movie and the original novel did. Using frequent breaks on the fourth wall, Rob uses music as a coping strategy while trying to determine what happens with it, which constantly leads to romantic failure and depressive consequences. Where John Cusack’s Rob had a Top 5 populated by girls of his life, Rob de Kravitz has a list that includes both sexes, as well as his most recent boyfriend, Mac (Kingsley Ben-Adir). The scenario is also changed from Chicago to New York and the entire series feels transported to 2020 despite the fact that the soundtrack still covers the entire range, from the old days to contemporary bands.
