In rotation: 2/4/25

Summit, NJ | Final Spin: Scotti’s Record Shop Closing After Nearly 70 Years In Summit: Located at 351 Springfield Ave, Scotti’s has been a staple for music collectors since 1956, when Anthony Scotti established the Summit location. His son, Gary Scotti, later took over the business, continuing the family legacy. Known for its motto, “All Things Vinyl,” Scotti’s stocked everything from LPs, 45s, turntables, CDs, receivers, and speakers to rock T-shirts, books, posters, vintage memorabilia, and recycled vinyl crafts. On special occasions, customers could even enjoy live music performances inside the shop. On Friday, Jan. 31, Gary Scotti announced the closure in a heartfelt Facebook post: “Thank You for the many decades of Friendship and Support, I will miss seeing all the regulars and meeting all the new customers. Special thanks to Susan and Nick and all of the previous employees… Stay Well and Safe, keep the Music Playing.” The news left customers heartbroken.

Plano, TX | The Spin: Where Coffee And Vinyl Records Collide. A cozy blend of vinyl culture and caffeine vibes that feels like home. “We want people to feel like they’re coming into our home,” owner Chris Kraish tells me. It’s not your typical coffee and record store. The Spin, right on the Collin County border on Preston Road, catty-corner to the Shelton School, is a cozy, lived-in space where vinyl stacks and espresso shots have found a natural harmony. Kraish laughs. “It’s almost like the coffee and records just fell together here. We didn’t go in with a grand plan — it just grew organically.” Kraish’s father, Nassif Kraish, had sold his businesses, including a hookah lounge and an antique store. “I told my dad, ‘Don’t sell the records,’” he says, recalling their initial vision of setting up shop to unload their vast, valuable collection. “We’d talked about just renting a place and setting up like a pop-up — maybe throw in a drip coffee machine, sell a few $2 cups. No big deal.” But it quickly became more.

Malvern, UK | ‘Back street’ record shop named one of best in world: Chris Heard launched Carnival Records, selling new and used vinyl, in 2012—at a time when many record stores were closing as they struggled to compete against digital music and streaming services. But it was a gamble that paid off – with the shop having been named among the best in the world. The Financial Times listed the store in Malvern, Worcestershire, alongside counterparts in London, New York, Paris, Barcelona, Sydney, Copenhagen and Lisbon. Mr Heard put his success down to passion: “Records is our business, and it’s what we love.” The shop, found in an alleyway off Church Street, opposite Great Malvern Priory, sells a mix of new and second-hand records, as well as cassette tapes—which Mr Heard said “amazingly have become a thing again.” Mr Heard admitted it was a risky decision to launch a bricks-and-mortar store selling records in an age of online sales and digital entertainment. But he thinks his shop offers something people have missed.

UK | Go ‘Behind The Counter’ of UK’s best vinyl shops in new YouTube series celebrating Record Store Day 2025: The 18th edition of Record Store Day takes place on April 12. A select group of the UK’s vinyl shops are set to be profiled in a new YouTube series to celebrate Record Store Day 2025. Titled Behind The Counter, the 12-part series is premiering every Tuesday leading up to Record Store Day itself on April 12. Each episode will showcase the vibrant culture surrounding a different independent record shop. The series is made in partnership with the audio equipment brand Bowers & Wilkins, as well as Classic Album Sundays and Record Story Day UK itself. The first two episodes have already gone live, profiling London’s Dash The Henge and the Isle Of Man’s Sound Records. This is the sixth season of Behind The Counter, with the series having amassed over 2.5 million views to date in total.

Milwaukee, WI | Retro Revolution: Retrospekt sells thousands of Polaroid cameras, iPods, and other nostalgic tech items yearly. In the past decade or so, there’s been a huge resurgence of old-school tech like vinyl records and Polaroid cameras. I’m one of those people who have been part of that. I have hundreds of records, and I’ve taken hundreds of Polaroid photos. And there’s a Milwaukee company in the middle of it all. Retrospekt is selling and refurbishing thousands of these nostalgic items every year. “There’s a huge demand for things like refurbished iPods, early 2000s digital cameras, and CD players,” Kori Fuerst, the co-owner of Retrospekt said. Fuerst started Retrospekt with her husband Adam. They refurbish and sell everything from Polaroid cameras to VHS tapes to cassette players to Tomagatchis to GameBoys to iPods and more. “I think there is just this craving. I call it second-hand nostalgia because a lot of our audience purchasing these things are younger.”

Syracuse, NY | Middle-Aged Metal Fan Prepares Elaborate Story for Record Store Clerk About Why He’s Just Now Purchasing “Reign in Blood.” Local 46-year-old metalhead Rich Dresden nervously concocted a complex narrative to explain to the clerk at Urgent Breakdown Records why he was only now purchasing a physical copy of Slayer’s classic 1986 album “Reign in Blood,” disinterested sources confirmed. …“Yeah, I could see [Dresden] psyching himself up as he fidgeted in the checkout line,” Browning explained while yawning. “And since he was wearing a battle vest with a bunch of metal band patches, I knew exactly what was coming. A few weeks ago, this guy who was probably in his early 50s and was dressed like he was in Williamsburg in 2001 came in to buy the first Arcade Fire record, and I was treated to a soliloquy about how his ex took his original copy when she moved out, and so he had to replace it with this inferior re-press. Weird that all Arcade Fire fans use this identical story.”

Reno, NV | ‘Radical’ Reno Bookstore Gets New Midtown Digs: …The Radical Cat is more curated than a typical big-box chain store, they explained, because the bookstore is working towards a different goal, and that means choosing the titles sold there with more purpose. “The point of this store is to feel a bit more current and contemporary and sort of responding to this moment in history, rather than being a repository for all the knowledge that’s out there,” Arbatman said. In that same vein, it’s mostly the work of living authors who surround visitors as they enter the bright, airy new space. During special events like readings, workshops and organizing meetings for activist groups, Arbatman said, it’s like all the voices in conversations around change are still present in the room, even if the event is more focused on a few identities or issues.

David Bowie ‘Ready, Set, Go!’ live album to be released for Record Store Day 2025: Nine years after the legendary songwriter passed away, new recordings by David Bowie continue to be published for his legions of adoring fans. Most recently, it was announced that his 2003 concert at Riverside Studios will be released via CD and double LP as a special release in collaboration with Record Store Day 2025. Speaking to the endless innovation of the artist and his willingness to adopt new technologies, Bowie’s 2003 concert at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith was beamed into cinemas in 26 different countries. …Now, an entirely new generation of fans can enjoy the historical Bowie gig as Parlophone unveil the release of Ready, Set, Go! (Live, Riverside Studios ’03). A limited edition release set for April 12, the double album will feature the complete 11-song tracklist from Bowie’s one-off Hammersmith gig, in addition to three previously unreleased songs.

Charli XCX Drops ‘Brat’ Remix Vinyl Filled With White Powder: The cheeky new pressing upended ‘brat’ green in favour of white powder. UK company Bad World, known for making and releasing liquid-filled vinyl, has opened its Vault to release a new version of Charli XCX’s remix album, brat and it’s completely different but also still brat. Upending brat-green for black and white album art, the vinyl in question is an exclusive pressing, with white powder filling the LP and a white second disc. A cheeky new pressing, Bad World, in collaboration with Blood Records, has drawn from the themes of the exceedingly popular album, including Charli’s “365 party girl,” cocaine-enjoying ethos (albeit with some melancholy and reflections on femininity).

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