Wakefield, UK | ‘Music mecca’ for vinyl collectors relocates in Wakefield city centre: Wakefield’s record shop has moved into its new premises this week, with hopes the place will become a music mecca for vinyl hunters across the country. Wah Wah Records has spent more than eight years on Brook Street, but owner Alan Nutton has built up such a following, he has now moved the shop to larger premises on Cross Square. Having opened on Tuesday, he took to Facebook and said: “It’s been an epic few days getting the megastore ready. I’m happy to say we got it done! “It’s full, yet spacious and is the right mix. “We’ve kept the distinctive two segments, the new and the used, separate and the shop just has a lovely vibe/feel to it.” Formerly occupied by Wool N Stuff, the premises has double the space of his former shop, all of which is filled solely with vinyl records – a rarity these days after most music chain shops ventured into DVDs, video games and even phones to attract a wider audience.
Fort Myers, FL | Vinyl gets even cooler for Record Store Day in Fort Myers: Forget Black Friday. Record Store Day is where the real money’s at for some Southwest Florida stores. The annual event is the biggest, busiest day of the year for many independent U.S. record stores and vinyl lovers. And that’s true for the three Southwest Florida stores taking part in Record Store Day this Saturday. This will be J.W. Honeycutt’s third Record Store Day at his downtown Fort Myers shop, Joe’s Record Exchange. And this time, he’s learned his lesson. “Those first two times, I was somewhat tentative,” Honeycutt says. “I really didn’t know what to expect. But those were the two best, busiest days ever in the history of the store. “So I ordered a ton of stuff this time. I tried to get a little bit of everything.” Ralph Tarantino of Record Trader 1 expects a long line of people waiting at his front door when he opens three hours early at about 8 a.m. Saturday. Last year, he says, there were about 40-50 people waiting to get their hands on rare and collectible vinyl records.
Frederick, MD | A savior of abandoned American music contemplates his collection: …In the book of Bussard, the spirit and soul and depth of American music can only be heard on the oldest 78s. Modern music, he’ll tell you often, is ‘awwful, just awwful.” And by modern, he means anything since Elvis Presley and the Beatles and “all that crap” destroyed music altogether. For Bussard, real jazz ended in 1933. And the last good country song was Jimmy Murphy’s “I’m Looking for a Mustard Patch” in 1955. Before being overwhelmed by vinyl records in the 1950s, 78s were the way most people listened to recorded music in their homes other than on the radio. Typically 10 inches in diameter, three and a half minutes a side and made of shellac, the records are called 78s because of the number of revolutions per minute the disc makes. In his basement redoubt, Bussard walks over to his wall of records to make another selection. The albums are all in identical faded green sleeves with no marking to differentiate them. They are not ordered alphabetically or by year or by label. Only he knows the system.
High River, AB | 17-year-old Okotokian making dreams come true by selling vinyl: What did you want to do when you were 17? It’s not a stretch to think most teenagers don’t have an idea where and what they want to do with the rest of their adult lives. A 17-year-old Okotokian is finding success selling something most people thought was on its way out; vinyl records. In a world of instantaneous entertainment, the permanency of physical media has started rising again, and Okotoks now has its very own record shop. Jaica Tipper started collecting records when she was 10 years old, a hobby she picked up from her father. “My dad would go around all these garage sales, we’ve always been a bit of pickers, and he would take these record collections and just buy them right off the bat and you bring him home. I’ve never really had a huge love for the super old ones that he would bring home. But some, I’d be like, okay, yeah I can get into this.”
New Leonard Cohen compilation released in time for première of documentary: Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah and Songs From His Albums is being billed as the first career-spanning collection of the legendary Montreal-born singer-songwriter’s work. There’s a new Leonard Cohen compilation on the market. Sony Music Entertainment has put together what it says is the first career-spanning collection of the late, legendary Montreal-born singer-songwriter’s work. Called Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah and Songs From His Albums, the anthology features 17 tracks, including a previously unreleased live version of Hallelujah recorded at the 2008 Glastonbury Festival. The album is available digitally as of Friday, and will be released on CD and as a limited-edition double LP — on translucent blue vinyl, no less — this fall. The compilation is designed to complement the new feature-length documentary Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song, which premières at this month’s Tribeca Festival. The film is billed as a definitive exploration of Cohen’s work as seen through the prism of Hallelujah, arguably his best-known song.
Glens Falls, NY | Robert Plant browses records in Glens Falls prior to SPAC show: Ed Martuscello noticed a few people who were a part of the Robert Plant and Alison Krauss tour crew browsing the selection at his record store Sweet Side Records in Glens Falls on Thursday. The owner spoke with the crew members as they purchased their records. After they left, Martuscello said to Pat Daley, his co-worker, “imagine if Robert Plant came in here, I’d freak out.” The next day before his show at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Plant walked through his doors. “He just came in and browsed the records. Nobody bothered him,” Martuscello said. Plant, the English singer-songwriter formerly of Led Zeppelin fame, stopped in Glens Falls during his tour with American bluegrass-country singer and musician Krauss. Plant purchased a Jimmy Witherspoon record, a Junior Parker record, and a few other blues records. Martuscello thanked him for coming into his record store. Plant replied with a nod and a wink, according to Martuscello.
