Seattle, WA | Sub Pop retail store opens in South Lake Union: The Seattle record label celebrates its 33rd anniversary in 2021. You can now shop Seattle’s most famous record label in South Lake Union. A new Sub Pop retail store opened across from the Amazon Spheres, and sells everything from vinyl to branded coffee. This second retail space is big news for fans who like to shop in-person but didn’t have travel plans. The first store is located inside Sea-Tac Airport near the C Gates, through the security check points. “This year it’ll be 33 years, so we’re an iconic brand,” said Rachel Rhymes, Director of Sub Pop Retail. “When people think about Sup Pop they usually associate it with the ’90’s grunge sound, but it’s really expanded genre-wise.” The store carries every Sub Pop LP record that’s in print, from classic Nirvana to contemporary artists like Daveed Diggs’ band Clipping. Shelves are also stocked with branded hats, beanies, socks, keychains, and other sundries. “We’ve got some of our custom apparel that we’ve been working on,” Rhymes said. “We sell t-shirts, we sell hoodies, we’ve made a couple of jackets this year, and some flannels.”
Seattle, WA | Everyday Music on Capitol Hill to close in June: Beloved record store Everyday Music announced in an Instagram post Sunday that its Capitol Hill location will be closing permanently in June due to “ongoing pandemic struggles and no rent relief.” Owner Scott Kuzma said in an interview that closing the store wasn’t an easy decision, but business has not been as lucrative as it used to be and they can no longer keep up with Seattle rent. “[We were] hoping to hold on a little longer, but it’s time,” he said. The Seattle location has been in four different spots around Capitol Hill for 18 years. Everyday Music also has a shop in Bellingham and two in Oregon; Kuzma said those locations will remain open for as long as they can. He said he appreciates the customers who have shown the store love over the years and hopes they understand the decision. “It’s sad and I feel for them,” Kuzma said.
Watch: Reggae’s Glory Days Are Revisited In Must-See Documentary: Here’s one more reason to love Black History Month: It coincides with Reggae Month, a global celebration of the music and culture deemed an “an intangible cultural heritage” by UNESCO. In 2008, Jamaica declared February as a monthlong recognition of the genre its country created and cultivated; as well as acknowledge the birthdays of two of their legends: Dennis Brown, who’s known as the “Crown Prince of Reggae,” on February 1, and Bob Marley, the “King of Reggae,” on February 6. The golden age of Jamaican music gets explored in the documentary, Studio 17: The Lost Reggae Tapes. The film, which premiered on BBC last year and is now available on Qwest TV and Tidal, retraces reggae’s humble beginnings as local riddims beloved by its youth to becoming a globally recognized musical juggernaut.
Atlanta, GA | Groove On: Intown record shops weather the pandemic as vinyl popularity flourishes: The dark-haired young lady knew exactly what she wanted. “What do you have by Minnie Riperton?” she asked Mark Methe, co-owner of Decatur’s Wuxtry Records. “Come with me and I’ll show you,” said the genial, somewhat garrulous senior, leading his prospective customer through a small store that’s a riot of organized clutter, a process that rinses-and-repeats regularly. You could say that Methe, pushing 70, has grown old in the service of vinyl, with his store having opened in 1978. Wuxtry is one of a half-dozen or so Intown independent spots specializing in vinyl, most of which have been around since the heyday of arena rock and disco. The mainly modest enterprises have been subject to two centers of gravity pulling them in different directions. One is the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to multi-month closures (except for online and curbside service in some cases) last spring. The other is increasing interest in vinyl, with healthy pressings of new product as well as re-issues from the days when CDs ruled the musical roost and pressings were an afterthought.
The Roots reissuing Do You Want More?!!!??! in 4xLP expanded edition: Featuring unreleased tracks, remixes, alternate takes, archival photos, and more. The Roots are reissuing their 1995 album Do You Want More?!!!??! in a new expanded edition, via Island Records this March. The Roots was formed by rapper Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson in the late ’80s. Mixing hip-hop with jazz influences, Do You Want More?!!!??! marked The Roots’ second studio album, originally released in 1995 on DGC Records. The 4xLP edition includes the remastered album, plus previously unreleased tracks, mixes, alternate versions, archival photos, and essays penned by Questlove and Black Thought.
