In rotation: 10/27/22

UK | What record shops can teach the high street: Our high streets are struggling, but the spirit of the independent record shop could point the way towards recovery, writes David Rudlin. Spillers Records lays claim to be the oldest record shop in the world. It was established in 1894 selling wax phonograph cylinders and shellac disks not long after these new technologies were invented. I love record shops and visit every time I’m in Cardiff. This I have been doing since the 1990s when much of the store was devoted to CDs although you could tell that their heart wasn’t really in it. In the 2000s Spillers was struggling, and it might have disappeared, were it not for a campaign organised by Owen John Thomas of the Welsh Assembly and the Manic Street Preachers. When I was last there in 2019, it was, once more thriving, riding the wave of the vinyl revival in new premises at the heart of the city’s arcades. The data we have gathered through our research on high streets shows that since 2017 there has been a modest revival in the number of record shops in the UK. This is remarkable when you consider that record shops have seen the almost complete transfer of their product on-line.

Athens, GA | Rock Nobster Sets Up Shop: Of all the dream addresses an Athens-area record dealer could score, proprietor Jimmy Bryant scored about the best one. His record store, Rock Nobster, is located at B, 52 N Main St. in Watkinsville, which can also be written as “52 North Main St., Suite B,” but I like the other way much better, and it’s a certainty Bryant does, too. Anyway, as the newest member of Athens’ record-dealing community, he deserves a shout out. Bryant is to-the-point and hilarious, to boot. In an email to me he said, “Rock Nobster sells vinyl records, CDs, DVDs, cassettes, VHS tapes, 8-tracks, turntables and lunch boxes. We do not sell vintage T-shirts. Please sell us your entire record collection… I have read 1,000 novels, I have seen 1,000 movies, I have been to 1,000 concerts, I have listened to 1,000 records. At least 5,000 works of auditory art are on sale in my store, and I hope you will visit soon.”

Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’ becomes best selling record of 2022 so far: Taylor Swift’s latest album Midnights has become the best-selling record of 2022. The singer released her 10th studio album on Friday (21 October), which includes 13 songs telling stories of “sleepless nights” In a record breaking few days, Swift has sold over a million copies of the album in the US, according to Billboard. The last time this feat was achieved was five years ago by Swift herself, when she released her album Reputation. Swift’s vinyl sales are also nearing 500,000, making it the biggest-selling week for an album on the format since 1991 – when modern vinyl sales began to be tracked. The news comes shortly after the star broke streaming service Spotify’s record of most album streams in a day. In the 24 hours after Midnights was released, Spotify announced that it had already broken the record for most-streamed album in a single day.

Miamisburg, OH | New mural in downtown Miamisburg pays tribute to building’s record store past: A new mural in downtown Miamisburg that “took on a life of its own” is being celebrated this week. “The Last Record Shop in America” is an artwork that covers the side of the building at 72 S. Main St. It pays tribute to the building’s past when it was Kondoff’s Records, a shop that sold vinyl records and music publications in the 1950s and 1960s before it closed in 1970. The store sat untouched for years as a time capsule of rock ‘n’ roll, soul, country and gospel, so the mural depicts some of the era’s music legends: the Beatles, David Bowie, Johnny Cash, Bo Diddley, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holliday, Janis Joplin, Little Richard, Dolly Parton, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. “I’m thrilled,” said Mike Fink, who along with his brother, Ted, commissioned the mural. “It just jumps out at you.”

Hands-On: Making Vinyl Records With the PO-80 Record Factory: If you listen closely, you can hear a soft-spoken hipster in the corner of an artisanal coffee shop respond to an acquaintance telling them about the new vinyl record they just bought. “Oh, you’re still buying records from the store? Cute. I recently started cutting my own records at home with the new PO-80 Record Factory from Teenage Engineering.” All joking aside, there’s nothing snooty about the PO-80 Record Factory and its process of creating vinyl records. Teenage Engineering makes you work for any results you get by requiring you completely assemble the unit, including connecting all the wires. This irresistibly designed product is a clash of passions, a wave of music enthusiasts on one side meeting together with technology enthusiasts on the other. Be warned: This is not a pressing plant where you can cut Taylor Swift’s new album for distribution in Target. This is a novelty in almost every regard. It’s as much about learning about tech and music as it is listening to songs. It’s cool in pictures and, for $149, it’s cool in real life, too.

New York, NY | How an English D.J. in Brooklyn Spends Her Sundays: Trish Mann keeps her walks and cultural outings local. Her taste in breakfast sausage and television, however, is decidedly British. Trish Mann, also known as D.J. Misbehaviour, often plays her singular mix of hip-hop, soul, funk, reggae and house at outdoor events like Uptown Bounce or the upcoming Vinyl Nights Halloween party at the Museum of the City of New York, where hundreds come to let loose in the museum’s stately courtyard. She also anchors evenings as part of the Mobile Mondays crew, a D.J. collective that puts on parties “honoring the 45.” At 60, and as a known commodity with decades of experience, Ms. Mann can pick the gig she wants. “I can be out ’til 4 a.m. and be fine,” she said. “I just can’t do that as regularly as I used to.” She loves the fact that her work bestows joy. “You are as good as the audience in front of you, and I’m lucky to be part of dope parties with amazing audiences.” When she’s not spinning, she likes to explore the city by foot.

Audio-Technica Embraces the “Art of Analog” on its 60th Anniversary: Hideo Matsushita was determined to bring the warmth of analog music listening to the largest audience possible so he began staging “LP concerts” at Tokyo’s Bridgestone Museum of Art in the early 1960s at the urging of the museum’s director. The events were more popular than anyone could have imagined, allowing him to turn his passion for music into a business. So, in 1962, from his small apartment in Shinjuku, Japan, Matsushita founded Audio-Technica and began selling the AT-1 and AT-3 phono cartridges he developed to audio equipment makers. The company grew quickly and, before long, he was able to move to larger headquarters in Machida, where the company is located today. Over the years, Audio-Technica expanded from phono cartridges into the design and manufacture of turntables, microphones, headphones, and music mixers, some of which are based on digital technologies, but analog remains a central focus of the company.

Setting a record—turntable essentials: The great vinyl renaissance continues to gain momentum and it’s not hard to see why. In short, there isn’t a better way to enjoy music; the albums are pieces of handheld art to be scrutinised and admired and the sound infinitely better than compressed audio. Even the ritual of removing the record from the sleeve, placing it on the platter and dropping the needle into the groove is a satisfying process. Playing vinyl demands your full attention – it’s the complete sonic experience. Alongside a good amp and a set of speakers, the other essential part of the vinyl equation is a turntable. The two most popular systems you’ll find in 2020 are what’s known as belt-driven and direct drive. But what is the difference? Allow us to elaborate

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  • SUPPORTING YOUR LOCAL INDIE SHOPS SINCE 2007


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