How I Switched to Physical Music Media After Giving Up on Streaming: If you’re like me and want to time-travel to an era where physical media dominated the AV space, you’re not alone. While streaming music, movies, and TV shows across popular platforms like Spotify and Netflix is certainly convenient, there’s something about the tangibility of physical media that’s hard to replace. It also becomes rather mind-numbing to get caught in the endless scrolling of playlists, suggested content, and advertisements; not to mention the constant price hikes for these services. So, I threw caution to the wind and told myself I’d try to live without Internet-powered media as a means of giving my brain a break from buffering and subscriptions.
Gwent, UK | Gwent’s vinyl champions: the record shops making a scene. Gwent’s independent music and vinyl culture continues to thrive thanks to a passionate group of shop owners who have made music their mission. In Blackwood, Alun Kent left a career in engineering to pursue his dream of selling records. His shop, Heart of the Valleys Records, is a treasure trove of 45s and LPs spanning soul, Motown, country, ska, punk, and metal. Alun explains: “The way of recapturing the original heritage sound of these recordings is by listening on a good-quality turntable. Collectors love the experience of actually seeing and holding the original vinyl album in their hands. Often, it brings back long-lost memories of years gone by.” Alun has created a space that’s as much about community as it is about music.
Wrexham, UK | ReVibed Records in Wrexham is a place for music lovers: A career change has seen one man find his groove… Three-and-a half years ago Ian Rees made the decision to open his own business in Wrexham. The 56-year-old has turned his passion for music into a popular destination for fellow enthusiasts, ReVibed Records. As well as a wide selection of vinyl across several genres, the shop, on Chester Street, also offers all manner of band merchandise. There’s a chilled, retro vibe to the space, including an original 70s rug from their first location in the city. Every inch of the shop has something to look at without feeling overwhelming, and there’s plenty of room to manoeuvre. Ian’s path from a career in IT, started to divert during covid. He said: “I’d worked in IT from 18-years-old until Christmas 2024. “I’d made myself a successful career in IT but music’s alway been my passion, now I’ve changed my passion into my business.”
Lindsay Lohan went wildly off-script for Freakier Friday’s sexy tabletop dance scene: ‘I almost fell off.’ The cast remembers how Lohan’s ace improvisation led to writhing around atop a table. “I think the reactions were real,” Lohan tells EW. Though the Lohannaisance got its bearings via Lindsay Lohan’s trio of Netflix rom-coms, it didn’t fully arrive until Freakier Friday, the actress’ first major role in a theatrical movie in over 10 years. And no scene exemplifies the former child star’s return to prominence more than a sexy, improvised dance scene that sees her writhing around a tabletop, channeling the same natural charm and electric charisma audiences first fell for decades ago. …Enter Jake (Chad Michael Murray), Anna’s ex-Freaky Friday flame, who now owns a record store and is very, very single—and the duo schemes to seduce Jake using Harper-as-Anna’s untested seduction skills. Lohan, Curtis remembers, took things several steps further.
Louisville, KY | Guestroom Records to open 2nd Louisville store on Bardstown Road: A Clifton record shop is expanding into the Highlands area this fall. The co-owners of Guestroom Records Travis Searle and Lisa Foster, tell our partners at Louisville Business First they plan to open a second location on Bardstown Road near Cherokee Parkway. The location is in a recently renovated former firehouse near The Eagle restaurant. The co-owners said they’ve outgrown their 1,500-square-foot space on Frankfort Avenue. The new store will add about 2,800 square feet for the store and added storage. “We’ve seen people return to physical media well since we opened our doors here, and even more so now,” Foster told Louisville Business First. “People got stuck at home during the pandemic, and if they had been thinking about getting into listening to vinyl, they did. So, we really started to see more people come into the store—late ’21, early ’22.”
5 Remarkable Picture Books About the Rare Magic of Vinyl Records: Drop the needle on these books, which can help introduce little readers to a unique and beloved format of listening to music: the vinyl record. What is it about vinyl records that makes them such a lasting format for listening to music? Is it the beautiful album art or the interesting liner notes? Is it the rich sound or the soothing motion of the turntable? Whatever it is, vinyls have been experiencing a massive resurgence in popularity over the last ten years, with 43.6 million vinyl LPs and EPs sold in 2024. With this return to vinyl record collectors—and with a new generation of enthusiasts experiencing this medium for the first time—we’ve gathered five picture books that celebrate pulling out the records and dropping the needle.
Moraga, CA | Rock Steady Records at Moraga Schools Rib Cook Off Sat, Aug 23, 2025 at 4:00 PM: Rock Steady Records will be at the Moraga Schools Rib Cook Off fundraiser on Sat. August 23rd. Rock Steady sells vintage vinyl, including rock, jazz, soul, country, and more. Rock Steady will be in the Vintage Vida booth. 20% of the proceeds goes to the Moraga Schools. Come score some ribs and records.
Pasig City, PH | Clara Benin To Host ‘befriending my tears (and then some)’ Vinyl Fan Signing Event: The forthcoming vinyl launch event will see the indie singer-songwriter performing some tracks live, and is limited to only 50 attendees who have pre-ordered a copy. In celebration of her vinyl album’s release, Clara Benin has just announced a special vinyl fan signing event for this August. The befriending my tears (and then some) vinyl record is scheduled to be released this August 17, with the intimate event also scheduled to take place on the same day at Backspacer Records‘ physical store at Ace Plaza in Pasig City. The fan signing and performance by Benin will begin at 4 PM and is limited to only 50 slots, available to those who pre-order the vinyl record.
Frank Sinatra Collabs, ‘The Giants Of Jazz,’ Coming to Vinyl: A double vinyl set, ‘The Giants of Jazz’, includes collabs with Count Basie and Duke Ellington. UMe, in conjunction with Frank Sinatra Enterprises, has announced a new Frank Sinatra double vinyl set. The Giants of Jazz features Sinatra’s historic collaborations with Count Basie and Duke Ellington. The release features a pair of albums—It Might As Well Be Swing with Count Basie and His Orchestra and Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington—newly remastered from the archival recordings. The collection includes a new gatefold jacket design that incorporates rare photographs as well as the original artwork. The package is available for pre-order and is out September 26, 2025.
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