New York, NY | Rough Trade NYC: We’re back! Although our NYC store doors have to remain closed for now, Rough Trade is re-open 24/7 online in the US for all of your LPs, CDs, 7”, tape & music book needs. We can’t thank you enough for your kindness and patience during our period of online operational downtime. With more time spent at home than ever before, we know it is crucial to be able to have, to hold and to spin the music that you love. Every dollar you spend with us is a dollar that supports our store, our staff, the labels and artists that have all been heavily affected by this new climate. A couple of points worth noting: firstly, as with any mail delivery service right now, delivery times are severely affected by the conditions, so patience is undoubtedly a virtue when it comes to waiting for your delivery to arrive. Secondly, release dates for physical releases are also prone to alteration more than normal in these current conditions, so be sure to keep an eye on our website for the latest information. OK, time to get browsing once again!
Nashville, TN | Fixing It In Post: Doyle Davis On How Grimey’s Is Surviving With Online Sales: Grimey’s New & Preloved Music, now in its third location in 21 years of business, has come to symbolize what’s best about modern Music City. It’s a trend-setter, a hang-out and a venue where bands from in and out of town introduce new music to the world. So anything that threatens the record store’s well-being is taken gravely seriously by the music community, and the coronavirus shut-down is such a threat. The store laid off its staff in March in order to qualify them for unemployment benefits and with hopes to hire them back, which may now be sooner than later, thanks to a surge in online sales and prospects for re-opening becoming clearer. Last week, five weeks into Nashville’s local Shelter-At-Home order, WMOT spoke with Grimey’s co-owner Doyle Davis about the status of the store and its staff. The following conversation has been edited for space and clarity. “…The mail order business from our website and our Discogs.com store have been honestly enormous. It’s gratifying and a little bit terrifying looking at the (fulfillment and shipping) workload. It puts me in a quandary. Should I bring back staff now?”
Washington, DC | City Lights: Rent Other Music from Local Venues or Obsess Over D.C. Money Diaries: The 2019 documentary about the beloved New York City record store is available from AFI Silver, Songbyrd, and the Miracle Theatre. The 2019 documentary Other Music, directed by Puloma Basu and Rob Hatch-Miller, is more than just a historical film about the legendary New York City record store that was open from 1995 to 2016. As Other Music co-owner Josh Madell says in a touching scene shot two days before the store’s final closing, it’s about the “magic of human interaction” and whether that can exist in a world of pricey rents and digital-only culture—and that phrase takes on an even more affecting meaning in these days of coronavirus. The Other Music shop started long before online streaming became the primary way that most people interact with music. Owners Madell, Chris Vanderloo, and Jeff Gibson met as employees of Kim’s Underground, a New York store that rented and sold arthouse and underground movie videos and later music.
Los Angeles, CA | Amoeba Music’s Sunset Boulevard location will not reopen due to coronavirus; new location set to open in the fall: With nearly 20 years of memories that were to be celebrated over the summer months, the independent record store won’t be able to give its original location a proper send-off. Back in February, Amoeba Music officially announced that it would be moving to a new location, just blocks away from its original home at 6400 Sunset Blvd., in Los Angeles, next to the ArcLight multiplex Theater. It was supposed to be a seamless transition, with the former location remaining open until the new spot, located at the El Centro Complex at 6200 Hollywood Blvd. on the corner of Argyle Ave., opened sometime in the fall. However, once the global coronavirus health crisis hit Southern California, Amoeba was forced to close its doors on March 18 amid the spread of COVID-19 and rely strictly on online orders. On April 21, the self-proclaimed “world’s largest independent record store” launched a GoFundMe campaign, hoping to raise $400,000 to stay afloat and pay its staff of 400 at its Los Angeles, Berkeley and San Francisco locations. So far, the GoFundMe effort has raised over $215,000 and has more than 5,000 donors.
Mondo to release Infinity Saga vinyl collection for ‘Avengers: Endgame’ anniversary: To celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s conclusion of the Infinity Saga, Mondo is releasing a vinyl collection for “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.” The collection features six vinyl records covering the entirety of composer Alan Silvestri’s scores to the two blockbuster Marvel films, housed in individual slipcases with artwork by Matt Taylor and a web-exclusive case for both sets. This box set is pressed on 6x 180 gram “Infinity Stone” vinyl and is priced at $90. The collection is expected to ship in June 2020. Both individual films’ soundtracks are also available as 3x LP sets. If you’re not interested in the Infinity Stone-colored versions, you can also pick this collection up on 3x 180 Gram Black Vinyl for $45. In addition to this vinyl release, Mondo will also offer a brand-new Avengers slipmat for record players, featuring Captain America’s shield on one side and Thanos on the other for $12.
