San Antonio, TX | San Antonio’s Friends of Sound open new record shop after being priced out of old location: Owners blame gentrification for nearly doubling the record store’s rent at its former Beacon Hill location. Beloved San Antonio record shop Friends of Sound has reopened at a new location after being priced out of its former space. Previously located at 700 Fredericksburg Road, the wax emporium secured a new, larger space just a quarter mile up the street at 823 Fredericksburg. The business started moving after Christmas and turned in the keys on New Year’s Day, co-owner George Mendoza told the Current. The relocated shop held its grand opening Sunday, Jan. 5, though Mendoza said it’s still getting into the groove at its new digs. And after the tumult of the past few months, the dust hasn’t quite settled yet. Mendoza said Friends of Sound’s change of venue was necessary after a substantial rent increase at the old location. “I just saw the whole gentrification thing happen right in front of my eyes,” said Mendoza. “It was pretty wild.”
Washington, DC | Adams Morgan’s Smash Records celebrates 40 years of being a communal hub for the D.C. punk scene: When Bobby Polsky opened Smash Records on July 17, 1984, Prince’s “When Doves Cry” was the number one song in the U.S. and Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The USA was the top album. While conventional retail strategy might say opening up a record store devoted to the burgeoning punk and new wave scenes in the era of these 80s music blockbusters was risky, convention has never been the punk ethos. Smash first set up shop at 3324 M Street NW in a 300 square foot storefront, now occupied by a custom window treatment retailer. …Ian MacKaye, co-founder of the D.C. punk label Dischord Records and seminal bands like Minor Threat and Fugazi, recalls that the neighborhood was full of pizza parlors, movie theaters, and new wave spots like the iconic Commander Salamanders that made it an ideal after-school hub for latchkey kids, young rebels and misfits.
Waterford, CT | Crystal Mall’s FYE store to close, leaving Trumbull as its last Connecticut location: The Crystal Mall in Waterford is losing another one of its tenants. The mall’s FYE store will be closing in the next month or two, according to a store employee, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified for fear of being disciplined. The store, which is located on the mall’s upper level near the former JC Penney anchors store, will close when the sale of its inventory has been completed, the employee said. FYE — which sells record albums, compact discs, videos and collectibles—has deeply discounted the merchandise at the Crystal Mall store and posted signs stating all sales are final and no exchanges are permitted. The closing of the Crystal Mall location would leave the FYE in the Trumbull Mall as the chain’s only store remaining in the state. Stores in the Waterbury, Danbury and Meriden malls are in the process of being closed, employees in those stores have previously told Hearst Connecticut Media.
US | 5 Must-Visit Record Stores In The US: The humble record store never really left the high street. Sure, many of the big names, like Sam Goody’s, have closed their doors forever, but there are still some indies left. If you want to pay homage to the home of music culture, then check out some of these must-visit record stores around the US. The record shop has doubled down on what it is that made them great in the first place. Where the large commercial chain record stores focussed only on sales, indies remembered why they were so special in the first place. A great record store is a hub for music lovers to rub shoulders with peers. Record stores today, to remain successful, need to offer the full package. Not only do they need to sell the best and rarest of new and second-hand records, but also host events, advertise local shows, and introduce their shoppers to new music. This is what makes for a must-visit record store for me.
Austin, TX | Waterloo Records Owner John Kunz Saves His 42-Year-Old Baby—By Selling It: With new partners in tow, the pioneering record store moves up Lamar. Toward the close of 2019, the northwest corner lot at Sixth and Lamar sold. Targeted for redevelopment, Waterloo Records’ literal foundation for three full decades suddenly entered turnaround. For owner John Kunz, the five-year odyssey that followed caps a lifetime of selling dreams to Austin and beyond. “For what it’s worth,” he chuckles, “Endeavor’s been a really good landlord considering they bought the building to demo it. The property was sold to go as vertical as it could go.” On Dec. 2, 2024, a bright and sunny Monday morning after Thanksgiving, the music retail pioneer stands in the entryway to the future home of Waterloo Records. His new partners, Caren Kelleher and Trey Watson, look around as light streams through the two-story front door. They estimate the ink on this new triumvirate at “a couple days” old.
Houston, TX | Pop-up vinyl shop Good Stuff Records finds a home at Downtown music bar: Off the Record is now hosting a new vinyl purveyor. After a year and a half of operating as a mobile record store, Good Stuff Records finally has a brick-and-mortar home that, incidentally, already had some vinyl on the premises. In October, the LP-selling pop-up took over the front record store of downtown bar/nightspot Off the Record, where records are currently available for purchase from Thursday to Saturday nights. (It’s also occasionally open for business on Sundays.) Good Stuff Records is the work of one person: Alicia Cannady. Since May of last year, the personal insurance underwriter has been selling her merch at events in locations like Axelrad, Class Bookstore and Frost Town Brewing. “I have always loved music,” Cannady said during a Zoom call. “I had records when I was a kid. I got back into collecting a few years ago and particularly during COVID, spending time looking for independent record stores to support during lockdown…”
The White Stripes announce 20th anniversary reissue of ‘Get Behind Me Satan.’ The reissue features songwriting demos, alternate studio takes and live versions of the tracks found on the original album. The White Stripes have announced a special 20th-anniversary reissue of their fifth album ‘Get Behind Me Satan.’ Titled ‘Get Behind Me Satan XX’, the new reissue serves as a companion release to Jack and Meg White‘s 2005 LP and features songwriting demos, alternate studio takes and live versions of the tracks found on the original album. A 2xLP vinyl package featuring an additional 7″ as well as a Blu-ray containing footage from the band’s 2005 Central and South American tour, and more will be available via The Vault – Third Man Record’s long-running vinyl subscription service. Fans can subscribe for the package here. The deadline for the ‘Get Behind Me Satan XX’ package is January 31, 2025 at 12am CT.
Art Vinyl names Record Cover Artwork of the Year: The winning artwork explores themes of the divine feminine and features a very particular shade of blue with strong line work. Tonight, Art Vinyl unveiled the winner of the 20th Best Art Vinyl Award, the annual art prize for the best record cover design of the year, at the Hari in Belgravia, London. First place was awarded to Toronto-based multimedia artist Rajni Perera for her artwork on the cover of Australian Jazz/funk band Hiatus Kaiyote’s fourth studio album, ‘Love Heart Cheat Code’. The album – released by Brainfeeder and Ninja Tune – was chosen from a diverse shortlist of 50 iconic and memorable vinyl cover art from 2024. There’s no doubt that this year, album art has been an integral part of music artists’ brands. You need only to think about ‘Brat Summer’ to appreciate the huge levels of cultural resonance that some album art has experienced recently.
Cranford, NJ | Vinyl Records Make a Comeback: Cranford Library Class Will Help You Determine the Value of Yours. With the recent resurgence of vinyl records, collectors may be wondering about the worth of what they own. The Cranford Public Library is bringing in Lance Jacobs, whose “Vinyl Revival” class on January 15 at 7:00 p.m. will help participants determine how to “read” a record’s value, as well as discuss authoritative resources and websites to explore. In 2022, vinyl record sales in the U.S. outperformed CDs for the first time since 1987. Record collectors are now looking for original copies of record albums from the early ’60s up through the ‘70s and as a result, values have increased significantly. “Vinyl Revival is a tribute to the Baby Boomers who, despite the advent of the CD, held on to the record albums of their youth,” Jacobs told TAPinto Cranford. The program will help participants learn if there are hidden gems packed away in a cardboard box that could be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
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