Willamette, OR | How the Record Shop Musique Plastique Is Leading Lloyd Center’s Renaissance. “This is not the kind of mall record shop that would have been around in the ’80s or ’90s.” While Musique Plastique, the local record shop specializing in post-punk, electronic, and world music that has been in operation since 2015, was forced to close in the midst of the pandemic, owner Tony Remple survived the hit better than most by pivoting immediately to online sales. But even though he held on to a dedicated customer base through sites like Discogs, he was itching to get back into a physical location. “I did see other record shops announcing, ‘This isn’t what I signed up for. I’m sorry, but we’ll see you later,’ and moved on,” Remple says. “I had a hard time doing that, but I needed to be in a physical space. I needed that for my own motivation and engagement.”
Guelph, ON | New owner finds her groove at Royal Cat Records: ‘This is a dream come true,’ says new owner of Royal Cat Records. Royal Cat Records has a new owner who has been in the music industry for over 15 years. New owner Sarah VandenBoom previously worked at HMV for 11 years and Sunrise Records at Stone Road Mall for five years. “My mother came from the previous HMV company, called Mister Sound, right out of high school. She was the assistant manager of HMV when it first opened in ‘86, it was the year I was born. So I was raised in a music background,” said VandenBoom. Her aunt was also an assistant manager at HMV for 26 years. Sadly, VandenBoom’s mother passed away in 2006. “This has kind of been a legacy that I’ve wanted to continue for our family and the love of music that we have,” said VandenBoom. …Owning a record shop has been part of her life plan. After HMV went bankrupt she wanted to connect back with the music community.
Atlanta, GA | ‘The Record Store Is Shaking’: La La Anthony’s Themed Photo Shoot Derails After Fans Get Lost In Her Beauty. La La Anthony recently took to Instagram to inform her followers about her eventful weekend. The 40-year-old revealed that one of the activities included a Beyoncé-themed party. The event was in celebration of the singer’s release of her seventh studio album, “Renaissance.” In the post shared on Aug. 7, Anthony gave fans a view of the outfit she wore for the festivities while posing in Village Revival Records in New York City. …As fans viewed the post, many were mesmerized by Anthony’s radiating beauty. “The record store is shaking.”
Medina, OH | Blackbird Records and Operation Fandom to opens Medina location: A record store is returning to Medina’s local shopping offerings this weekend, when Blackbird Records opens its third location in Northeast Ohio on Friday, Aug. 5. The shop will be paired with its sister business Operation Fandom, focused on vintage toys and collectibles. It’s a similar layout to the business’ two other locations in Mansfield and Wooster, said owner Josh Lehman. “Our mission’s always been to bring all the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s retro, and keep that going, whether it be toys or music,” Lehman said. “When people come in they enjoy the toys, the records, everything that’s in the room.” Lehman first opened Operation Fandom in downtown Wooster in 2018, then took over its neighboring storefront in 2020 to open Blackbird Records. Later in 2020, he opened another location, combining Operation Fandom and Blackbird Records into Mansfield storefront.
Manchester, UK | They built this city on rock’n’roll: architecture on album sleeves – in pictures: The latest exhibition at the Modernist gallery in Manchester started with a dad joke. Designer and producer Andy Votel was DJing when someone requested some house music, to which he retorted: “We’ve got some records with houses on the front.” The Modernist’s Eddy Rhead asked him to curate a selection of album sleeves featuring architecture from his extensive vinyl collection. “I get as much from a record sleeve as I do from the music,” says Votel. “I didn’t do this exhibition to showcase very rare records with inappropriate price tags – this can exist in any of our collections.”
The Record Fair at Rivermead on Friday.
The most expensive albums ever made: Some rock stars know nothing of the word “budget.” Here are the tales of some albums that cost way, way more than they needed to. Happy Mondays – Yes Please! (1992) The album that sunk a legendary label, the follow-up to the successful Pills ‘N’ Thrills And Bellyaches saw Factory boss Tony Wilson send the Salford lads off to Barbados to record with Talking Heads duo Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. Bad move: recovering heroin addict Shaun Ryder smashed his bottle of methadone before they’d even left the airport and their destination was the world’s No 1 centre for crack. The recording dragged on and on as members of the band started selling studio equipment to buy more drugs. When Wilson finally got hold of the tapes, there were no vocals – which meant yet more sessions.
