“It’s remarkable how the music that resonates with you through the years depends at least as much on who you were when you first heard it as it does on some”objective” criteria of its quality.”
“The first record I ever owned was Barry Manilow’s Greatest Hits which I got when I was 10 in 1978. His big hit at the time was “Ready to Take a Chance Again,” which was used to great effect in the Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase thriller Foul Play (which I also loved, by the way). So everything from “Daybreak” to “Can’t Smile Without You” to his “rocking” numbers like “Copacabana”—I loved all of it. I loved the singing. I loved the instrumentation. I loved the over-the-top sentimentality.
All of those qualities found themselves into my own work. Not that I would ever put myself in the same category either talent-wise or obviously success-wise as Barry Manilow. But man I loved that record and I wore it out, and I remember even being assigned to be the lead male dancer at my camp and the tune was the theme to American Bandstand that our choreographer had chosen and discovering that song also had been written by Barry Manilow just felt quite perfect to me.
Predictably, as I got to high school and wanted to seem cooler and probably also not get pummeled, I wasn’t as willing to publicly acknowledge how much I loved that particular genre of sappy love ballads. But secretly I still did. And then something funny happened as I entered the punk and indie-rock phases of my musical career.
London, GB | East London Is Transforming Itself Into A New Vinyl Mile: London’s Vinyl Mile is the stuff of legend. Berwick Street in Soho has long been the city’s main hub for music fans, boasting a huge number of record shops. The downturn in vinyl sales around the Millennium sadly trimmed this number, but some key outlets – Sister Ray, Sounds Of The Universe, Phonica – are still going strong across the Soho area. Over in East London, though, a new generation of retailers are fast transforming the area into a new vinyl mile. From Vinyl Pimp in Hackney Wick through to Love Vinyl on the cusp of Haggerston, Hackney can boast some of the finest vinyl outlets in the city. Thankfully, the team at Vinyl Pimp have crafted a handy map, a kind of ‘vinyl walk’ for those who want to spend a solid afternoon digging through those crates. It’s 
10 Most Expensive Vinyl Records Ever Sold: The music industry might rely on streaming apps to sell, but until some decades ago, vinyl record sales were essential to defining the success of a single or a musician. Not quite obsolete, many people are still passionate about vinyl records, leading to some seriously expensive records. It is hard to believe, but some records are more expensive than a house. But what makes a vinyl copy expensive? It is not only about the quality of the music, but how rare it is. Usually, records that have a limited number can be worth some thousands and the value can increase depending on how unique it is. Details like a rare cover, a handwritten note, or even a serial number, have a strong influence on the final price. Here is a list of the most 
Cardiff, GB | The Trip – Cardiff’s Best Record Shops: D’Vinyl Records. This is one of those shops that I wish I hadn’t come to first on my visit. I could spend a day here, especially as I have turned up during one of the veteran store’s regular sale periods, with everything half-price. This is certainly the Cardiff venue with the widest range of 7″ singles, and there are plenty of collectables up on the walls that catch my eye, including the five-disc 7″ picturedisc set of Spandau Ballet’s I’ll Fly For You. It’s interesting that their big rivals Duran Duran were employing the same chart-friendly tactic at the same time with a multi-member set for The Wild Boys, which I have already picked up over the years. This set had passed me by. There are also some really nice early Cliff Richard EPs in pristine sleeves that are a real bargain, and I spend some time wading through the crates of singles, picking up 
Kutztown, PA | With Bring Your Own Bag campaign, Kutztown record shop helps teen athletes Niki Nolte and Anthony Myers battle cancer: Like a lot of retailers, Young Ones Record Store in Kutztown encourages customers to reuse bags or go without as a way to reduce their carbon footprints. But the record store, which set up in the borough 29 years ago, took the effort one step further recently by starting the BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) for Charity campaign. By declining a plastic bag, a customer can choose to donate the 6-cent cost to one of two selected charities. Porter Holt, son of owner Chris Holt and the store’s assistant manager, said many customers dig into their own pockets, giving $1, $10, even $20 to the causes. “Our customers are really good with 
NEW RELEASE PICKS: loscil, Equivalents (Kranky) For his latest, Canadian composer Scott Morgan takes inspiration from a series of photographs by Alfred Stieglitz. The objects in the photos were clouds, but the subject of the series was abstraction, or better said a freeing of the photographed from direct interpretation. Morgan borrows the title of Stieglitz’s series for his 12th LP and its eight tracks, though they are sequenced out of order. If you’re new to the work of loscil, don’t get stuck in the clouds and draw a connection between ambient music and drifting, vaporous insubstantiality, as what Morgan has achieved here is often quite intense and in fact eschews expectations (clichés and stereotypes) over what ambient music sounds like. One could simply call it experimentation, abstract yet focused. Do it. A
Oh Sees, Face Stabber (Castle Face) When I first glimpsed the cover of these San Franciscans’ umpteenth full-length (this one a double), I immediately thought of Frank Frazetta. And it’s indeed credited as being a ’70s van airbrush of Frazetta’s “Swamp Demon.” Recognizing the artist was no great accomplishment on my part; I don’t know Frazetta’s work well, but it is highly distinctive, as anyone who’s seen it is likely to concur. I’m considerably more familiar with the Oh Sees’ steadily growing body of work. Their blend of heavy psych, Krautrock, experimental punk, and in a recent twist, organ-driven prog, is nearly as recognizable as ol’ Frank. And the mention of prog might seem to fit with the cover artist, but it’s never a hackneyed trip. Things even get a little funky. How am I feeling? Pretty fucking fine, my friend. A
Blanck Mass, Animated Violence Mild (Sacred Bones) When an artist I primarily know through another outfit or endeavor has a “solo electronic project,” I can get a little fidgety, mainly because the results can sometimes be, to put it charitably, less than stellar. My knowledge of Benjamin John Power comes via Fuck Buttons, though I’ve known of the existence of Blanck Mass for a while now and have indeed heard them/ him while watching Ben Wheatley’s drug film freakout A Field in England. That didn’t really prepare me for these large-scaled and highly danceable electronic tracks which often stretch out into cinematic territory, and more appropriately hit the emo-rush/ high-five-isms suitable as a soundtrack for live sports/ group catharsis. Well, except for the post-industrial aggro. Which is plentiful. A-
Prana Crafter / Tarotplane, Symbiose (Beyond Beyond is Beyond) As this label is hitting an impressive qualitative stride, here’s a very cool split album with one long track per side featuring two one-man acts. Prana Crafter is William Sol from the woodlands of Washington State and Tarotplane is PJ Dorsey from Baltimore. The stated objective was to platter up some complementary kosmische, and they’ve achieved this goal rather nicely through appreciable levels of edge, intensity, and of course drift and glide. And there is distinctiveness, with Prana Crafter’s “Jagged Mountain Melts at Dawn” sliding in all sorts of directions; a little San Fran, a smidge of Can, some Eastern burn, while Tarotplane’s “We Move Slowly Through the Past” connects in a big long stretch like Popul Vuh crossed with Pompeii-era Floyd. A-
St. Louis, MO | New Punk-Focused Record Shop, Wax Rats, Opens on Cherokee Street: Standing out on a wall behind the counter of Cherokee Street’s newest record shop is a particularly eye-catching album. Its cover art features an anthropomorphic beast with the head of a cat and the body of a man, wearing a belt but no pants, and carrying a knife. The band’s name is spelled out in near bubble-letter font across the top: Pantera. “Oh yeah, that’s Metal Magic,” remarks the store’s owner, Gus Theodorow. “That’s before Phil Anselmo. We can listen to it if you want. It kinda sucks.” Theodorow tosses the slab of wax onto a record player. And it’s true: Pantera’s debut studio album does indeed kind of suck. Released in 1983, the record sees the band still in its hair-metal days, back when drummer Vinnie Paul and guitarist Dimebag Darrell were in their teens and plainly obsessed with the music of bands like Kiss and Ratt. Aside from its ridiculous cover art, Metal Magic is 
Dundee, UK | PICTURES: Hundreds attend final farewell to Groucho’s owner Alastair ‘Breeks’ Brodie: Hundreds of mourners gathered for the funeral of an iconic Dundee record store owner on Tuesday. Alastair “Breeks” Brodie, the owner of Groucho’s on the Nethergate, passed away in late July surrounded by his friends and family. The 65-year-old sold vinyl records in the city for 43 years. Mr Brodie had been suffering from various health issues for some time but took a turn for the worse in July. His funeral took place at Dundee Crematorium on Tuesday at noon. Mourners were instructed to wear “something colourful” instead of black clothing. Groucho’s has been closed as the funeral takes place. Posting to Facebook ahead of the funeral, staff wrote: “All of us here at Groucho’s would like to take a moment this morning to extend an enormous thank you for the overwhelming response to the sad news of the passing of our 
