Lazy Sundays in one of Amsterdam’s great record shops: On Sundays I try to go to Concerto, a record shop that opened long before I was born. It’s become a ritual for me after the busy week of DJ’ing and travelling all over the world, a way of grounding me back into my Amsterdam life. All my non-techno and non-digital purchases of the past 10 years have come from here. I have seen it change, from being a bit lost in the download music revolution to being revitalised. One part of the shop (it is actually many shops cobbled together through little openings and different levels) has become a cosy area with delightfully ramshackle seats to see live groups or enjoy a coffee with delicious homemade cake, or pick up a book from a shelf and peruse.
Popular Perthshire record shop prepares to close after 31 years in business: The Music Box, which has been part of Blairgowrie since the late 1980s, is preparing to shut for good after struggling through increasingly tough trading times. The Allan Street store is one of only a handful in the country to specialise in traditional Scottish, Irish and Country music. Owner Tommy Newcomen said a downturn in visitors to the town and increasing competition from online services had forced his hand. “The last three years have been a real struggle, to be honest,” he said. “It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I don’t think I was left with much choice.”
Music fans are being charged hundreds for iconic box sets: Beyonce, The Beatles and Radiohead are charging fans hundreds for rare reissues. The Beatles’ iconic Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band turns 50 next month and will be released in a ‘Super Deluxe Edition’ retailing for around $260. That gets you four CDs, a DVD as well as a 144 page hardback book including handwritten lyrics, unseen photographs and merchandise including replicas of the original 1967 release. Also celebrating a milestone birthday, Radiohead’s 1997 classic OK Computer will be reissued on June 23. Retitled OKNOTOK, cashed-up fans can buy $170 limited edition boxset from the band’s website.
What We’re Missing in the Analog vs. Digital Debate: The words “digital” and “analog” are used so often, we’ve stopped asking what they mean. From the shift to streaming media to the retro resurgence of the vinyl LP, “digital” typically stands in for “the future” while “analog” is seen as a relic of the past. But perhaps there is more to these concepts than our snap judgements. And maybe, if we think about these things deeply enough, we can imagine a future that leverages technological advances for more human-centered aims. This is the premise of Damon Krukowski’s wonderful new book The New Analog, which uses the history of sound to explore the more personal side of our current technological rupture.
