Jackson, MS | Mississippi record store enlists student influencers to help business: Consumer spending surged in January to its biggest increase in over two years, aided by wage gains. January is traditionally a slow month for Phillip Rollins, the owner of Offbeat, a record and comic book store in Jackson, Mississippi. But in February, Rollins has seen sales rise as customers searched for “that record” for Valentine’s Day gifts. Rollins is focusing on a new strategy for his business: attracting more college students to the shop by offering a place for them to hang out and be part of a community. “There’s a big disconnect between college students and businesses,” Rollins said, “and a lot of college students really think there’s nothing to do or the city has nothing to offer, which isn’t true at all.” So Rollins has turned to college students for help. He’s enlisted a group of students to act as influencers for the shop. They bring their friends around and advertise events via social media.
Bristol, UK | Rise in vinyl sales sees Bristol record store busier than ever: We asked Wanted Records why music fans are reverting back to records as vinyl sales hit the highest point since the 1990s. “I can’t do anything apart from records and music,” admitted John Stapleton when I visited his record store on High Street in Bristol city centre. Those who still listen to music on a turntable will be well acquainted with Wanted Records, and since its expansion from a tiny unit in St Nicks Market to a shop a mere few feet away, it’s become even more popular. But relocating to a street with high footfall is not the sole reason John and his team are busier than ever. Change is afoot in the industry where music streaming giants like Spotify have dominated for years – in 2022, the UK saw its largest volume of vinyl sales since 1990 with 5.5 million units sold. This helped to give a previously struggling HMV its highest profits in years. Granted, this figure is solely new releases—which make up less than five per cent of Wanted Records’ stock.
SG | This Singaporean vinyl collector has over 8,000 records – here’s how he shares his passion with family and friends: Music is how Singaporean vinyl enthusiast CK Teo bonds with his loved ones – the old-school way. or audiophiles, there is little else that can compare with the rich sound quality of vinyl discs when it comes to enjoying music recordings. Even though there are now newer forms of digital music, there is still a demand for analogue sounds. “I don’t think vinyl is dead – it has never been. There are still people who love the magic behind the analogue sound,” said entrepreneur CK Teo, who has amassed a collection of over 8,000 vinyl records over the past decade. “I feel vinyls give a wider dynamic range typically. The warm sound that the vinyl creates is something that is very special. You can get more punch.” His lifelong passion for music began at a young age when he first began listening to music on his father’s cassette tapes as a child.
New Haven, CT | Author Writes A Record Store Epic: Cult band Buttery Cake Ass are playing what might be their final show, and it might be their best. There aren’t many people in the audience, but what they’re hearing is blowing their minds. The saddest songs make them all cry. The songs filled with rage seem like they could set the hall on fire. The band members are engaged in the kind of musical alchemy that maybe only happens a few times in every musician’s life. Somewhere on the soundboard, a tape is rolling. What will it sound like when they take it home? The mysteries of music, the weird family that is a band, and the obsessiveness of record collectors to find the treasures they drop captured on vinyl are all explored in The Ballad of Buttery Cake Ass, a ripping new novel by writer, musician, and comic Aug Stone. But the seeds for that novel were planted decades ago in the aisles of Cutler’s on Broadway, when two friends decided to ask for an album that doesn’t exist.
Altrincham, UK | How a ‘priceless’ Pet Shop Boys letter ended up in an Altrincham record shop: A letter written by Pet Shop Boys star Neil Tennant, thanking Radio 1’s Janice Long for playing the band’s debut single in 1984, has been discovered in a record shop in Altrincham. The note was tucked into the sleeve of a 12-inch copy of West End Girls that shop owner Trevor Morris bought in a job lot of vinyl at an auction. “They mustn’t have checked it to see what was inside,” he tells the BBC. “My guess is they thought it was a bog-standard Pet Shop Boys record.” When he contacted the auction house to ask whether they had sold the memorabilia in error, they insisted he keep it. “They were just like, ‘What a great find for you!” he laughs. The type-written letter is dated 12 April, 1984 – three days after West End Girls was released.
Ely, MN | Memories are Made of This… “Summer breeze makes me feel fine…” is a phrase that many around my age will recognize. Those words were in a song by Seals and Crofts written and released in 1972. I was in 5th grade when the song hit number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. In 2013, it was ranked number 13 in Rolling Stones “Best Summer Songs of All Time.” Hearing “Summer Breeze,” brings forth memories of a different time in Ely. Nights of many cars driving up and down the main drag on warm summer evenings, tuning into WELY on Saturday night request radio and times at Kawishiwi or Burntside beaches. There were so many people in town, the streets were alive with activity at most any time of the day or evening. …If you had an 8-track tape deck mounted in your vehicle, you had something pretty special that would deliver uninterrupted tunes for 80 minutes without the need to flip it over. At the end of an album, the tape would start again at the beginning.
Domino has reissued Owen Pallett’s early catalogue on vinyl: Relive the Toronto composer and violinist’s classics. Owen Pallet’s early catalogue has been reissued by Domino. Comprised of three LPs, the vinyl series features Pallet’s 2005 album Has A Good Home and 2006’s He Poos Clouds, both of which were originally released under the name Final Fantasy. The final LP, titled The Two EPs combines his 2006 EPs Spectrum, 14th Century and Plays To Please onto one 12″ release. The recordings have been remastered by João Carvalho at Revolution. Digital deluxe editions of each release are also available and include rare tracks, B-sides, music from compilations and previously unheard material. Highlights include Joanna Newsom’s “Peach, Plum, Pear” and Pallett’s version of The Strokes’ “Hard to Explain”.
U2 and Notre Dame team up for exclusive vinyl release: The University of Notre Dame has partnered with the iconic rock band U2 to produce a limited-edition vinyl pressing of the group’s upcoming ‘Songs of Surrender’ album (out March 17 on Interscope Records). Notre Dame is the only collegiate property partnering with U2 for their album release which will feature Fighting Irish-inspired design elements. The limited-edition vinyl is available to pre-order online now while supplies last. A limited number will also be available on campus at the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore on Friday, March 17. See store for details. U2 formed in Dublin, Ireland, in 1976, and will officially release ‘Songs of Surrender’ – which features 40 new acoustic & re-imagined recordings from the band’s catalog – on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2023. This special edition 2 LP vinyl release features 16 of those tracks on double disc colored vinyl and is limited to 2500 copies worldwide. This special edition is priced at $50.
