Once upon a time, I owned the soundtrack to Velvet Goldmine on compact disc, but somebody stole it. Or maybe in an addled state, I let somebody borrow it, and they never gave it back. It’s possible I might’ve left it at a friend’s house or in their car. Somehow, I doubt it. Whatever the reason, it’s long gone, though this fact saddens me no more, because on April 5 MVD Audio is bringing out a fresh edition on double blue and orange vinyl. As it remains one of the few song-based (as opposed to score-driven) soundtracks that didn’t have me giving the CD player skip button a workout, I’m pretty stoked. A few fresh spins had that tone arm gliding steady.
Having enjoyed Todd Haynes’ first two features, I watched Velvet Goldmine, his third from 1998, and liked it, too. I considered digging into it again in service for this review, but ultimately didn’t, which is of no consequence, as the record stands on its own merits. Not only pleasing from start to finish, it’s also unusually multifaceted for a soundtrack, with its handful of genre-appropriate ’70s tracks cohering well with a larger helping of thematically-focused ’90s material.
First, the old stuff. The film Velvet Goldmine is tersely described as loosely based on the lives and artistic trajectories of David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Lou Reed, but especially Bowie. However, Haynes apparently wasn’t able to license any of Bowie’s stuff, a roadblock that became a benefit, as the soundtrack (and the film, as I remember) dually functions as a lengthy trip down one of the main highways of ’70s Glam.
That would be the glam rock-as-Art-as-lifestyle liberation-auteur route on the map, which means a decided deemphasis on bubblegum or hard rock (Gary Glitter and Slade are heard in the film, though). However, the selections grabbed from the era do an adequate job of portraying glam rock’s creative ambition even without access to Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie.
New York, NY | Mexican Summer Launches New NYC Storefront Brooklyn Record Exchange. The indie label is entering the retail business with a new shop housed in the same compound as the venue Elsewhere in Bushwick. While vinyl sales continue to rise, reaching their highest level since 1988 last year, recapturing the classic spirit of the record store has proved a more challenging task. But it’s one that Mexican Summer label founders Andrés Santo Domingo and Keith Abrahamsson and Co-Op 87’s Mike Hunchback and Ben Steidel are taking on with Brooklyn Record Exchange, a new venture they’re bringing to a sunny strip of industrial Bushwick. Their shop — soft launching Thursday before opening in full on Saturday — is housed in the same compound as the venue Elsewhere, which brings a diverse array of artists to the area through 
Seattle, WA | Seattle: Experience the Seattle cool in Sub Pop city: Seattle is full of excellent record stores selling a selection of new and used vinyl. It was while chewing the fat about the local music scene with the owner of Singles Going Steady in Belltown (a great store renowned for punk and grime), that I picked up a print-out of a hand-drawn map of where to find the best vinyl. Easy Street Records & Cafe in West Seattle is a cool place to hang, sift through a selection of vinyl, CDs and memorabilia — I left with a beanie, T-shirt and fridge magnet, as well as some brilliant albums. Named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the US’s top record stores; apparently Eddie Vedder worked a shift in 1995 and played on repeat the store’s copy of Sonic Youth’s new record Washing Machine. Everyone’s 
The Walker Brothers’ enshrinement in the Pop Hall of Fame sorta rests upon the enduring pleasures of the Bacharach & David-penned “Make it Easy on Yourself” and “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore,” both songs climbing to the apex of the British singles charts. They also landed securely in the US Top Twenty to stand as their biggest homeland success, though the reaction of American girls to the trio’s suave image (and young Scott’s, in particular) fell quite a bit short of the mouth-agape and eyes-agog manner of those Swingin’ lasses across the pond.
Stockton, CA | It’s ‘The End’ for Rasputin Music & Movies in Stockton: With very short notice, Rasputin Music & Movies closed its Stockton store at 6211 Pacific Ave. for the final time Sunday, much to the dismay of its loyal fans. It is believed by many to be the last retail store in Stockton selling vinyl records as well as used CDs and DVDs. “I’ve been coming here for years to get my movies. It’s very disappointing. Now I’m told they are moving all the way to Modesto,” said Cristina Cruz, 50, upset that a store she visits about every other week no longer will be in town. “This is the best place for movies — three for $10. You just can’t get that anywhere else — not on Netflix. Online, it’s $16 on up to purchase a single movie,” said the film collector with an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 titles in her library…“I just don’t know why so many businesses are leaving Stockton,” Cruz said. The staff at Rasputin 
Charlottesville, VA | Spinning records: 82 DJs celebrate new WTJU studio: Matt Villiott has held a lot of roles at the radio station WTJU during his four years as a student at the University of Virginia: sound engineer, sound technician and late-night DJ. On Saturday, however, he and 81 other audiophiles added new titles to their radio resumes: Guinness World Record challengers. To celebrate the station’s move to a new, spacious studio at 2244 Ivy Road, general manager Nathan Moore gathered dozens of current and former volunteers and staffers to break the record for the highest number of DJs simultaneously presenting a radio show…At noon Saturday, dozens of people filled the first floor of the studio and began the broadcast, each person briefly introducing and then playing an excerpt from a wide variety of songs. Moore said he was worried the songs wouldn’t jive together — but then decided an eclectic range would be fitting representation of the station and its staff, which can be “a 
Orlando, FL | Vinyl Record Stores in Orlando: The evolution of music has spun around like a record now that listening to tracks on vinyl is back on trend. Buying your albums in record form is a hipster movement we can totally support. Everyone remembers their first album. Whether it was a record, eight-track, cassette tape, or CD, before iTunes and Google Play Music, purchasing your first album was a right of passage. Flip through some vinyl and get lost inside a few of these Vinyl Record Stores in Orlando. Foundation College Park: One of the newer stores on the Orlando record store scene, this little shop located in College Park is owned by two brothers who really love their music and love sharing it with their customers. They also have vintage clothing for sale. Park Ave CDs: We were founded on music and will forever be music lovers. We’re an independent record shop and we’re 
Rewind: audio cassette tapes launch a comeback tour: Music tapes unofficially ‘died’ in the 2000s, but fast forward nearly 20 years and sales are on the rise. The humble cassette – that tiny little plastic rectangle containing the home-made mixtapes of yesteryear – is back, joining vinyl as a darling of audiophiles who miss side A and side B. But as top musicians including Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber release their music on tape and demand continues to climb, the niche revival has faced a global shortage of music-quality magnetic tape needed for production. Now, two facilities – one in the American Midwest and the other in western France – have stepped in to meet the need. “It’s a good place to be – there’s plenty of business for both of us,” said Steve Stepp, who founded the National Audio Company in Springfield, Missouri with his father 50 years ago. He said that around 2000 the “imperial hegemony of the CD” cut his business, which stayed alive as a major manufacturer of books on tape 
