In rotation: 6/25/19

Little Rock, AK | Vinyl record store opens in Little Rock’s Hillcrest neighborhood: More than 3,000 records in stock. A new store opens its doors Saturday in Little Rock’s Hillcrest neighborhood, and it offers a step back into time. Control New and Used Vinyl Records has been a year in the making, but its two owners are finally ready to offer a novelty that appears to be making a comeback. “A place where people can come shop and explore,” Wes Howerton, co-owner, says. Howerton, along with his business partner, Michael Schaeffer, each invested 350 records from their personal collections to kickstart inventory. The pair recently purchased 800 more from a seller in the Cabot area. Now, their showroom is filled with more than 3,000 records in preparation for Saturday’s grand opening. Their store’s opening comes at a time when digital music seems to dominate airwaves, but some say there’s a nostalgic trend spinning listeners back to vinyl.

Chester, UK | Inside Chester’s oldest record shop that almost never was – and the story behind its success: The team has been selling collectible vinyl for over 30 years. Historical Chester is filled with a wealth of independents… Chester’s record shops have displayed a valiant effort, with many coming and going. Penny Lane Records on Foregate Street was a loved local which unfortunately had to close its doors in the 90s following the boom of the big brands who could easily undercut prices. Global Grooves on Brook Street was for years the go-to shop to top up your dance collection – but unfortunately succumbed to the same fate. Impact Records on Watergate Row was another much-loved favourite that was forced to shut. However, there is one Chester record shop which has stood the test of time. Brook Street’s Grey and Pink Records opened in 1986, and ever since it has offered a vast array of collectors items.

Port Macquarie, AU | 2019 Port Macquarie Record Fair will have vinyl vultures in a spin on July 20: Vinyl vultures will be in a spin come July with the second edition of Port Macquarie’s Record Fair making a return. RAWR Music, Dark Alley Collectables and Hold Steady Records are once again presenting the event with vendors from across NSW bringing their extensive collections of music to the Hastings on July 20. This year the event will coincide with a pop-up beer garden in the space at the rear of Dark Alley Collectables in William Street, Port Macquarie from 12 pm to 4pm. Music fans can sift through thousands of LPs covering popular, folk, alternative, punk, metal, rockabilly, blues, jazz, country, reggae, club, hip hop and every other genre since the dawn of rock and roll. Co-founder and record store owner Travis Fredericks said old time record lovers and those new to the vinyl revival are in for a treat. Jason Sherman from Hold Steady Records said every genre will be available.

Bradford, CA | Vinyl Frontier will be back, despite a rainy start. Record-lovers are invited to four more Vinyl Frontier events this summer, hosted by the Innisfil Arts, Culture and Heritage Council. When the Innisfil Arts, Culture and Heritage Council came up with the idea of the Vinyl Frontier, its members envisioned gathering outside the Lakeshore Library in Alcona on a warm Thursday night to listen to and share vinyl records. There’s nothing like a vinyl recording, say collectors: The nostalgia, the rarity of some recordings, the physical act of picking up a record and placing it on a turntable. While physics might deny that “vinyl sounds better than CD,” there’s a certain warmth – especially connected with pulling out a favourite album and listening to it spin one more time. So it was disappointing when the first Vinyl Frontier evening saw the clouds roll in and the rain pour down.

7 best turntables from Sony, Audio Technica and more: Looking to get into the wonderful world of LP records? Our comprehensive guide tells you everything you need to know before buying. Who’d have thought that 71 years after the format was launched, the venerable vinyl LP record would still be here? It’s true that it had a short spell on the critical list in the 1990s – as everyone went CD, and then MP3-crazy – but the format weathered the storm and is now undergoing a revival. Of course, it’s not going to replace Spotify in mainstream music consumers’ affections, but there’s no denying it’s more popular than anyone ever expected – including the record companies themselves. How so? Well, there are several things that have kept the format afloat. First, vinyl is a cultural icon – from The Beatles to The Sex Pistols, it is baked into so many people’s musical memories. Then, in the late eighties, just when you thought it was about to retire, the dance music craze put it right back in front; many of us remember DJs mixing with Technics decks at all-night raves.

Raconteurs Salute Beatles With ‘Butcher Cover’ Parody Hidden Within New LP Sleeve: Raconteurs fans who thought they heard a hint of the Beatles embedded within the group’s new album, “Help Us Stranger,” may have been more intuitive than they realized. There’s a more blatant homage to the Fab Four in the LP that was sent out to Third Man Vault subscribers, but it’s not in the grooves — it’s in the cardboard. The lenticular cover that is exclusive to the Vault edition is adhesively applied to the LP jacket, as is the case with all 3D album sleeves. Since Jack White’s Third Man label is known for its packaging mischief, fans quickly wondered if there might be some different image underneath, and risked destroying their limited-edition covers to find out. It was worth the “damage”: what lies beneath is a dead-on parody of the Beatles’ famous “butcher cover.” The cover-within-the-cover spoofs the Beatles’ scandalous and withdrawn “Yesterday and Today” jacket nearly to the last detail.

‘33 1/3’ Celebrates The Power 1970s Pop Music To Change Lives: There was a long period of time when pop music fans didn’t stream and download their favorite hits to their phones. Instead, they listened to it on the radio and went to record stores to buy vinyl albums. “Everyone listened to Top 40 radio, but it was very diverse. There was a variety of music. You didn’t just listen to one station to hear one kind of music. As a result, I think we had a much more widespread taste-base,” composer Jay Turvey said. Turvey and co-composer Paul Sportelli came up during one of the high points of enjoying music via records and radio: the 1970s. The two have been writing musicals together in Canada since the mid-1990s and also work together at the Shaw Festival. They teamed to pen “33 1/3,” which Turvey described as “a love letter to that period.” Buying a full recording lent an air of excitement to pop fans.

Albany, NY | Who’d like to buy Albany’s only bookstore? A city is only as good as its best bookstore. That’s as true in this internet-fueled era of smartphone distraction as it was 30 years ago. Without books and pleasant places to buy them, humanity is lost. That’s my opinion, anyway. Happily, cities around here still have good bookstores. Northshire in Saratoga Springs. Market Block in Troy. Open Door in Schenectady. And then there’s the bookstore at the corner of Dove and Hudson in Albany, which in some respects is the most compelling of the bunch. Dan Wedge opened it 30 years ago, and, for many of us, it is an institution. Dove & Hudson mostly sells used books, not new. It’s a relatively small store. But somehow, the selection feels fresher and more relevant than what you’d find at any Bland Chain Bookstore out at the mall, where half the books seem to be written by a Kardashian. The mall also lacks Wedge, who runs Dove & Hudson from under his trademark fedora. Kind and soft-spoken, he has devoted his working life to the significance of books and the words they contain.

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