San Diego, CA | Vinyl creates experiences that never die: On Adams Avenue, nestled between a gelato shop and a cafe, you’ll find Ruthie Bible sitting on a stool behind a cash register in a skinny storefront shop, watching over hundreds of vinyl records. She’s been at this post for 35 years, observing and listening, as customers come and go. Bible, who is in her seventies, is the co-owner of Nickelodeon Records, a Normal Heights establishment that has become a San Diego institution. The small record store opened in 1984 but has since been garnering attention from younger generations looking to visit and snap a few pics among the rows of records and with the backdrop of decades of music history behind them. “Their behavior is totally different,” Bible said about the record store’s younger visitors. “They really like (the shop) and it’s cool and everything, but it’s like a little museum to them. They like to come and take pictures and leave.”
Redditch, UK| Vintage stuff as two new shops open in a forgotten corner of the centre: Two new independent shops are to open in Redditch town centre – breathing new life into a neglected spot behind the Post Office and Debenhams. And with the backing of the Borough Council, they hope to help Rejuvenate Redditch by organising a variety of events in the unused covered area in the coming months. Exactly six years to the day since opening in the Kingfisher Centre as a pop up shop, retro record specialists, Vintage Trax is returning to town with a second vinyl record and CD shop, while retaining its popular Headless Cross store. Opening alongside at the same time is Vintage Threads, offering ladies and mens vintage clothing, footwear and accessories, as well as repairs and alterations. Owner, Helen Truman, is a seasoned fashion trader having worked at the Regal, a well known psychedelic clothing shop in Soho in the 1980s, and over 20 years later opened a retro fashion shop at Winyates Barn, Redditch. “It’s an exciting time for both of us,” said Ros Sidaway, owner of Vintage Trax.
Pittsburgh, PA | Introducing Pittsburgh Record Label Roundup: The diverse and plentiful selection of the city’s record labels: No matter how ingrained you are in the Pittsburgh music scene, you still might not know just how many record labels are operating locally. Many of them fly under the radar, but they’re worth knowing. Check out the first three features in our new Pittsburgh Record Label Roundup… When Montgomery was promoting his debut album, Driving While Black in 2016, he noticed that people were buying the merchandise before even hearing the songs. “Seeing how invested people were in the brand made me realize that I could create a platform for both myself and other artists,” he says. Montgomery felt that there was a plethora of great talent in Pittsburgh, but a dearth of opportunities to help artists further their careers. So he created Driving While Black Records (DWB) to help build an infrastructure for artists in the city. DWB prides itself on showing what can happen when a group of like-minded individuals come together to create opportunities for themselves.
Noel Fielding Is Making a Netflix Show About a Magical Record Player: Noel Fielding has spent recent years offering up some conservatively colourful outfits as the co-host of The Great British Bake-Off, but he’ll soon return to his strange comedy roots. After all, he’s currently at work on a new Netflix series. In a recent appearance on BBC 6 Music [via Chortle], Fielding explained that he’s working on the early development stages of his new show, which is a musical comedy with some signature Noel weirdness. “Basically a guy gets hold of a magic record player and when you put the record player on a portal appears and you can go inside your favourite albums,” Fielding explained. That said, don’t expect it to be complete too soon. “I haven’t written it yet,” he admitted. “I pitched it and Netflix liked it and we’re making it, but I haven’t started writing it yet. So that’s my next thing.”
Ann Arbor, MI | Vinyl recording from WWII shows soldier’s love for Ann Arbor family: Oscar Spaly’s voice crackled on the recording — but his family didn’t mind. The message to his wife Lois has been played countless times in the decades since it was originally recorded at a basic training camp in Mississippi during World War II. Documented on a 7-inch vinyl disc that arrived in a cardboard envelope with Pepsi-Cola branding, his words of affirmation flowed from the speakers: “Hello, sweetheart. I’m always thinking of you.” The recording was one of many sent from servicemen and women to their families at the height of the war. The soda brand set up free recording booths in major cities and took travel equipment to canteens across the country for soldiers to send one-minute messages home. Many were sent before soldiers were deployed overseas. Decades later, one of Spaly’s sons, Doug, found it and played it over and over throughout his childhood.
‘The Boys’ Season 1 Soundtrack Vinyl Release Coming Soon! Have you gotten over the look on Billy Butcher’s face in the final moments of season one of The Boys yet? Same. Well, while we all impatiently wait for what’s guaranteed to be an absolutely diabolical second season (coming in 2020!), there’s some exciting news for those that enjoyed the soundtrack from the first season — it’s coming to a record player near you! Composed by Christopher Lennertz (Agent Carter, Lost in Space), this epic score is being released on vinyl by Mondo and Madison Gate Records. The double LP, pressed on 2X 180 Gram “Compound V” colored vinyl (also available in black), features original artwork by the talented Jack Hughes and liner notes by Lennertz, Eric Kripke, Evan Goldberg, and Seth Rogen. The record is slated to go on sale (priced at $35) here on Wednesday, November 13 at noon CT. Orders are expected to ship out this month, and shipping will be available worldwide!
Technics audio brand is back in Oz, headphones, turntables & networked speakers: Finally, the Technics brand is back in Australia after an absence of several years. Panasonic the owners of the iconic brand that is 55 years old, is currently rolling out turntables, noise cancelling and DJ headphones as well as a range of premium networked speakers that will be sold at a select group of specialist retailers according to CEO Paul Read. The Company is looking to take advantage of a surge in record player and vinyl sales with the Japanese Company claiming that vinyl sales in Australia have already reached $40M Vs $400M in sales of streaming content. Panasonic discontinued the brand for most products in October 2010, but it was revived in 2015 with new high-end turntables. The brand is best known for the Technics SL-1200 DJ turntable, an industry standard for decades, this is one of the new products set to be launched in Australia.
