Tokyo, JP | Tokyo Record Shop Offers Precious J-pop Memories of Bygone Era; No Age Restrictions When It Comes to Being: Showa-era idols, American cars and other striking images catch the eye at Diskunion Shinjuku Showa Kayou Store in Tokyo. The record shop carries tens of thousands of vinyl records from the 1970s and 1980s, and store manager Kenji Shinoki, 48, allowed me to listen to Showa idol Akina Nakamori’s 1983 album “Fantasy.” He placed the LP on a record player, and as I listened to her record through earphones, I realized that she sounded a bit clearer than when I listen to songs on my phone. “Songs made back then were meant to be played on vinyl, so you can hear them at their best,” Shinoki said. Showa Kayou Store opened in Shinjuku in 2013, when the popularity of Showa-era (1926-1989) J-pop was growing. The shop moved to its current location last year. I was expecting the store to be filled with middle-aged men and older customers buying records they could not afford when they were younger. But to my surprise, I saw quite a few foreigners and young people in the shop, too.
Athens, GA | Sense of Place: Wuxtry Records is the heart of Athens’ musical legacy: If you were to plan a musical pilgrimage to Athens, Ga. — one of the birthplaces of alternative rock and home to bands like R.E.M., Pylon, Drive-By Truckers and The B-52s — you would be smart to schedule in a whole day to visit Wuxtry Records. It’s the kind of record shop you could spend forever in. As part of our Sense of Place: Athens series, World Cafe stopped by the independent record store to find out why it’s such an important part of the Athens music scene and its music history. In this session, we’ll meet the folks who run Wuxtry, like owner Dan Wall and longtime manager Nathaniel Mitchell. Wall talks about some of Wuxtry’s former employees who went on to become famous, and about how this record store has survived thanks to their dedication to vinyl.
AU | Vinyl revival: What went wrong for music megastores like Sanity and Brashs. Major music chains like Brashs, HMV and Sanity have largely disappeared from the retail landscape, yet small independent record stores are still going strong. How did we get here? During the 1990s – the last truly lucrative decade for physical music sales – brick and mortar record stores were found on every high street and in every shopping mall across Australia. In Sydney alone, more than 50 record stores existed within an eight-block radius of the city’s CBD – not including the 20-plus specialist stores in neighbouring Darlinghurst and Surry Hills. Today, within those same eight blocks, only three stores remain – Birdland, Red Eye Records and Utopia Records. All of them are independent.
Portland, ME | Maine’s vintage record sellers thrive on the chase of finding vinyl treasures: There is nothing like walking into a record store and seeing the shelves and rows of different vinyls just waiting to be gone through. The excitement peaks when one store may have the Def Leppard “Pyromania” vinyl you’re after, and the other has the Fleetwood Mac “Rumours” album that you’ve searched high and low for. As soon as you step foot into Electric Buddhas, you are immersed into another world of everything retro. You are greeted by the owner, Mike Breton, who is cashing out customers at his tiki-inspired cash register stand surrounded by a wide variety of things — everything from a “Godzilla” poster to albums to old video game systems, cassettes and VHS tapes. There are rows and rows of different albums to file through, ranging from Frank Sinatra to Elvis to Duran Duran. There’s a range of rock and roll, country, R&B, jazz, classical, hip-hop and everything in between.
South Bend, IN | Music lovers flock to South Bend Record Show: Billed as the “largest, one-day sale of music,” the South Bend Record Show made its way back to Michiana on Sunday for the third time in 2023. Vendors from multiple midwestern states filled 85 tables with thousands of vinyl records, CDs, memorabilia, and more at the Gillespie Conference Center. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., hundreds of people came to talk about music, add to their collection, or find a music lover’s perfect holiday gift. “I just hope people can continue to enjoy the medium that they can come out here, swap stories with our vendors who are all really knowledgeable,” said Jeremy Bonfiglio, owner of South Bend Record Show. “Whether you’ve been doing it for 50 years or five minutes, you’re brand new to vinyl, it’s a great experience to come out.” The next record show takes place on Aug. 6.
Red Bank, NJ | Red Bank: Vinyl fans bask on Mechanic Street: Bright sunshine, perfect spring temps and the prospect of scoring a classic by Menudo or Zamfir the Romanian pan flute legend brought hundreds to the street where music legend William “Count” Basie grew up for the first annual Record Riot. The outdoor record fair sponsored by Jack’s Music Shoppe brought two dozen dealers to the street and the people watching proved as good as the crate digging. Scroll down for fun photos and more sunshine than a Katrina and the Waves song.
Hillsborough, NJ | The Hillsborough Record Riot! Over 10,000 vinyl records in ONE ROOM! CDs too. Music community! The Hillsborough Record RIot RETURNS! It’s a WONDERFUL winter vinyl record POP-UP sale! Over 40 dealer tables in one room! Great music and family fun. LPs, CDs and 45s. Door prizes too! Don’t miss it! A giant record store lands in Somerset County! Dealers from far and wide converge for a giant music sale! LPs and 45s and CDs too. All types of music from punk to funk to country to classic rock, hip hop, soul/jazz and more. Dust off that turntable and come on down. DOOR PRIZES TOO! Regular admission starts at 10 AM ($5) with early admission at 9 AM ($15). Don’t miss the BIG VINYL DIG!
Salt Lake City, UT | Grab your Walkman, the Salt Lake City cassette revolution is here (again): The buzz of speakers. The click of the eject button. The hiss of a tape. These sounds might have faded into obscurity, but cassettes are seeing an unlikely resurgence. “The big thing that kicked it off for me was back in 2015,” said Salt Lake City tape collector and owner of tape label Salt Vault Records Joe Maloy. “I bought a Jeep from my uncle. The CD player didn’t work, but it had a tape deck and I was like, OK, well, I guess I got to start buying tapes.” After buying a couple of tapes and connecting with the community online, Maloy was fully down the rabbit hole and hasn’t looked back since. While it’s become more common to own a record player and vinyl collections, tapes might just be the next big thing to come back around again in physical media. Physical music releases have seen a historic rise in popularity in recent years. According to entertainment data insight company Luminate, cassette buyers spend around 227% more on music than the average listener, showing a dedication to the format.
Edinburgh, UK | Lenny’s lovely record collection to be sold: Lenny Love adored music and following his death in February, the collection of vinyl which he gathered during his lifetime will be sold. At an event organised by his friends The Lenny Love Vinyl Archive will be offered for sale at the Voodoo Rooms on Sunday 19 May from 2 to 5pm. All monies raised will be used to pay for the Lenny Love After Party which will also be held at Voodoo Rooms. Tim Maguire is a long time friend who also introduced Lenny to becoming a celebrant. Tim said: “And It’s Goodbye to Love will be Lenny’s way of buying everyone a drink on his birthday. The idea is that people get together have a drink and talk about somebody they knew and loved. We will play music but it will be at a level so that people can talk over it. It could get exciting later if some dancers turn up. Lenny used to DJ for the Edinburgh Swing Society so there may be dancing, although it is not formally that.”
