AU | Australia has it’s own vinyl marketplace filled with electronic goodness: Nothing better than scrolling through Discogs checking out your fave platters within financial reach (and those that aren’t) before dropping them into your basket and dreaming of giving them their debut spin in your room… before you’re rudely shocked when you check those often eye-watering shipping costs. Well, the good news is Australia now has it’s own vinyl marketplace via a Sydney-startup and their Sound Shelter platform that boasts over 100,000+ listed bits of vinyl goodness and has already knocked over a couple wins in the form of chart collaborations with Levon Vincent, Insolate, Patrice Scott, Kai Alce, Norm Talley and more! The catalog of wares is constantly growing as it’s inbuilt AI tracks stock from a number of independent record stores locally and around the world meaning you’re often getting first dibs and at reasonable costs without the exxy mark ups – pretty much a computer doing the crate digging for ya. [Pass. —Ed.]
Stockton, CA | It’s ‘The End’ for Rasputin Music & Movies in Stockton: With very short notice, Rasputin Music & Movies closed its Stockton store at 6211 Pacific Ave. for the final time Sunday, much to the dismay of its loyal fans. It is believed by many to be the last retail store in Stockton selling vinyl records as well as used CDs and DVDs. “I’ve been coming here for years to get my movies. It’s very disappointing. Now I’m told they are moving all the way to Modesto,” said Cristina Cruz, 50, upset that a store she visits about every other week no longer will be in town. “This is the best place for movies — three for $10. You just can’t get that anywhere else — not on Netflix. Online, it’s $16 on up to purchase a single movie,” said the film collector with an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 titles in her library…“I just don’t know why so many businesses are leaving Stockton,” Cruz said. The staff at Rasputin couldn’t shed any light on the move, either.
Greenville, NC | Record show helps music fanatics discover unique finds: An Eastern North Carolina business brought together music fanatics this weekend hoping to help them uncover some unique finds. Boulevard Records hosted a Vinyl Record Show that included records of all genres. The owner of the store said the show is a great way to get rid of old merchandise and help people discover records they might not find anywhere else. Vendors from across the East attended the show to sell vinyl records, CDs and collectibles. “Some of these people actually have stores but some of these is just somebody cleaning out a collection like hey my aunt passed away recently so this is extra stuff from her collection. In situations like that you never know what you’re going to find,” Boulevard Records Owner David Brown said.
Charlottesville, VA | Spinning records: 82 DJs celebrate new WTJU studio: Matt Villiott has held a lot of roles at the radio station WTJU during his four years as a student at the University of Virginia: sound engineer, sound technician and late-night DJ. On Saturday, however, he and 81 other audiophiles added new titles to their radio resumes: Guinness World Record challengers. To celebrate the station’s move to a new, spacious studio at 2244 Ivy Road, general manager Nathan Moore gathered dozens of current and former volunteers and staffers to break the record for the highest number of DJs simultaneously presenting a radio show…At noon Saturday, dozens of people filled the first floor of the studio and began the broadcast, each person briefly introducing and then playing an excerpt from a wide variety of songs. Moore said he was worried the songs wouldn’t jive together — but then decided an eclectic range would be fitting representation of the station and its staff, which can be “a fraternity of misfits.”
Happy 70th birthday to the 7-inch vinyl: For the first 50 years of the recorded music industry, everyone had to make do with scratchy, fragile 78 RPM records. These 10-inch discs dated from the late 1800s and generally worked fine. It wasn’t until 1948, when Columbia Records came along with its long-playing albums pressed on a new plastic called polyvinyl chloride, that things began to change. Vinyl was much tougher than the shellac-based material used to make 78s, meaning they didn’t wear out after about 100 plays. More importantly, though, vinyl allowed grooves to be cut closer together (about .003 inches), greatly increasing the capacity of a side of a record. Instead of topping out at around four minutes, as was the case with the 78, an LP could store more than 20 minutes of music before anyone had to flip it over.
MN | Timberwolves giving away exclusive Prince vinyl at Heat game: Happening April 5, it’s the last in a series of Prince-themed Wolves games. Prince may have eschewed corporate tie-ins and merchandising during his lifetime, but as a huge basketball fan, we’re guessing he would have given this one his blessing. On Friday, April 5, when the Timberwolves host the Miami Heat at Target Center, the team will be giving attendees an exclusive 7″ Prince vinyl, “which is only available at this game.” According to a Wednesday announcement, the record will be a “rare” release of Rock and Roll is Alive! (and it lives in Minneapolis), a Prince song that’s never been digitally available before…The giveaway is a collaboration between the Timberwolves and the Prince estate. As the Rolling Stone points out, it’ll mark the end of “a run of eight games honoring the late musician,” which most notably included the wearing of purple, Prince-themed jerseys.
