Columbus, OH | Beloved Columbus record shop opening at new Downtown location this week: For more than ten years, Spoonful Records has occupied the storefront at 183 E. Rich St. And now, the popular Columbus record shop is nearly ready to open its new home. The record store plans to relocate to 144 E. State St., which is also downtown, on July 15. In order to move, Spoonful has been closed since July 4. The store’s new address was formerly home to Angela Meleca Gallery. “The gorgeous space boasts high ceilings, wood floors and good vibes. A small, adjacent pop-up space could have a variety of uses,” a statement posted to the record store’s Facebook account reads. “The location is only three blocks from our current spot, with ample parking down 4th Street. It is 2 blocks from the Ohio Theatre and 4 blocks from the Columbus Athenaeum. We think you’re going to love it! We do!” Spoonful Records, which is owned by Brett Ruland and Amy Kesting, first opened in 2010.
Lewes, DE | The Nifty Pickle opens in Peddlers Village: Off Route 24 is a vintage vinyl and antiques store with a most unusual name. The Nifty Pickle opened next to J.D. Shuckers in Peddlers Village in June and is the brainchild of Shawn Bard. Bard has run consignment shops up and down the state, with a store in Greenwood called Treasure Trove and a previous shop in Millsboro, but he outgrew them. “I’ve been collecting for years,” Bard said. “I needed more space.” Bard said the building was appealing to him because it used to be a thrift store and is near his home in Lewes. While the store has lots of antique items for sale, as well as paintings and jewelry, the centerpiece of the Nifty Pickle is the vintage vinyl record collection. Taking up its own entire room, the vinyl selection has preowned albums of all stripes, with rock, R&B and much more. As for that name, Bard said, “My mother always talked about going to the Thrifty Nickel style stores when she was a kid, so I spun the name into Nifty Pickle.”
Stroud, UK | Sound Records moves to George Street, Stroud: A popular shop in Stroud town centre has moved to a groovy new location. Earlier this month staff at Sound Records said goodbye to their shop at the top of the High Street, a location it had been in since 2019. The popular record shop – which had also previously been located in Gloucester Street – has now moved to George Street and opened today, Wednesday. Owner and vinyl lover Tom Berry decided to make this move as he wanted his shop to be in a more comfortable premises. He and his team have managed to transform what used to be M W Morgan House Clearance at 23 George Street in a matter of weeks. “We wanted a premises with more space so that people could visit our shop and be more comfortable,” he said. “We have also expanded our book and CD range plus we have a listening station so that customers can come in listen to our vinyl.”
London, UK | London has a new hi-fi bar, Jumbi: “Celebrating the sounds and flavours of the African-Caribbean diaspora.” A new hi-fi bar, called Jumbi, is opening in London’s Peckham neighbourhood this July. Launched by Bradley Zero and Nathanael Williams, the bar features Zero’s entire vinyl collection, which guests are invited to play records from. The bar also features only one turntable, described as an “attempt to encourage deep listening and prioritise selection above mixing.” With both an inside and outside space and bar, Jumbi’s drinks menu will be focused on rum cocktails.
London, UK | First ever bioplastic vinyl release for Independent Label Market, 16th July, Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross, London: Music Declares Emergency and Evolution Music partner with Secretly Group and Ninja Tune for 12” release featuring tracks from Bicep, Angel Olsen, Black Country, New Road and Porridge Radio. Music Declares Emergency has announced that it will be hosting a prize draw for a unique and extremely limited release at London’s Independent Label Market at Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross, on Saturday July 16th. The release will be the first publicly available example of a new, bioplastic vinyl alternative developed by Evolution Music as part of their mission to decarbonise the production of physical product in the music business. Partners and long term MDE supporters Ninja Tune and Secretly Group have donated two tracks respectively for the release to create this unique piece of music history.
Oasis announces 25th anniversary vinyl & cassette reissue of Be Here Now. Oasis‘ 1997 album Be Here Now is being reissued in celebration of its upcoming 25th anniversary. The set will be available with remastered audio on vinyl and cassette on August 19, two days before the album’s original release date. Coming off the star-making success of 1995’s (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, Be Here Now was among the most anticipated new albums of the ’90s. In Oasis’ native U.K., it holds the record for the most copies sold in the first seven days of any album’s release. Despite its initial success, Be Here Now is a polarizing record among fans and critics and is now often seen as the end marker of the phenomenon that Oasis and Britpop had become in the ’90s. It also marked the final Oasis album to include founding members Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs and Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer announce remastered vinyl singles box set: Emerson, Lake & Palmer will release Singles, a deluxe colour vinyl box set in August. Emerson, Lake and Palmer have announced that they will release a new deluxe coloured vinyl box set collecting all the band’s singles releases. Singles will feature remastered Emerson, Lake & Palmer single releases from between 1971 and 1992, and will be released through BMG Records on August 26. “This box set of singles is very important to the development of ELP,” says surviving member, drummer Carl Palmer. “The music that you will hear opened the door to radio around the world, and then the musical concept of ELP was born.” Although known as an albums band, Emerson, Lake & Palmer released a reasonable number of seven inches during their career. Notably, Lucky Man, from their 1970 debut, helped establish the band with US radio (even if it didn’t chart in the UK), while the band’s adaptation of Copland’s Fanfare For The Common Man famously reached No.2 in the UK singles charts in 1977, while punk rock raged all around! And the band even made a rare Top of The Pops appearance for All I Want Is You!
Dirty Dancing soundtrack coming to vinyl to mark 35th anniversary: The soundtrack to ‘Dirty Dancing’ is being released on vinyl to mark the 35th anniversary of the iconic rom-com. The 1987 classic starred the late Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey as lovers Johnny Castle and Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman. Jimmy Ienner’s soundtrack includes two multi-platinum albums and multiple singles. ‘(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life’, performed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. To mark the milestone, a special collectible watermelon colour vinyl edition of ‘Dirty Dancing (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)’ will arrive on October 14. The full Side A/Side B playing order of the original soundtrack album, boasting the twelve tracks as they were intended to be heard. As a personal touch, the vinyl comes with a scented watermelon sticker.
