elj
Joined: October 09, 2003 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 5970
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 27, 2005 at 08:47 PM UTC
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Originally posted by Earl Blanton Jr., Late Model Champ:
I bet Richmond Plan 9 does significantly less business than Soundgarden.
I cannot speak on the topic knowledgably. They do what appears to be a phenomenal business, always a line to get to a register, and they've been in business for quite some time.
They do probably have relatively low rent, however.
Rhett Miller
Joined: November 15, 2001 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 17762
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 27, 2005 at 08:56 PM UTC
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I can't speak knowledgably on this. I haven't been to Boston in 10 years. Ten years ago, their cd stores didn't impress me. Does Boston have an equivalent to Soundgarden or Amoeba or Everyday Music in Seattle?
I guess it really depends on what type of stores you're into. Personally, I'm into used cd's and bargain bin cd's. Soundgarden satisfies the former, CD Cellar and CD Game Exchange satisfy the latter. Amoeba would satisfy both. The stores in NYC would satisfy neither. I don't really have much use for niche oriented indie stores with new releases, so I don't really have that many complaints about local cd stores.
Originally posted by god's shoeshine:
boston has a comparable population and better record stores. quite high rent too
ggw
Joined: December 16, 2001 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 14237
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 27, 2005 at 09:05 PM UTC
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Originally posted by Earl Blanton Jr., Late Model Champ:
I can't speak knowledgably
We've noticed.
bags
Joined: October 30, 2001 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 8545
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 27, 2005 at 09:08 PM UTC
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Originally posted by Earl Blanton Jr., Late Model Champ:
Hipster city slickers love shit like that. Makes them feel like their living the real gritty city life.
Absolutely true…I'm loving the current crime spree in Logan Circle. Armed robberies on the street in the light of day as well as at night…now I know I'm living the real city life. I'm so cool!!!!!
thirsty moore
Joined: January 11, 2000 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 6131
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 27, 2005 at 09:11 PM UTC
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Much like gutter punks to city hipsters, Rhett's lawn makes him feel like he's living the country life.
Rhett Miller
Joined: November 15, 2001 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 17762
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 27, 2005 at 09:12 PM UTC
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Underprivileged punk kids in Logan Circle?
Originally posted by Bags:
Originally posted by Earl Blanton Jr., Late Model Champ:
Hipster city slickers love shit like that. Makes them feel like their living the real gritty city life.
Absolutely true…I'm loving the current crime spree in Logan Circle. Armed robberies on the street in the light of day as well as at night…now I know I'm living the real city life. I'm so cool!!!!!
godsshoeshine
Joined: September 18, 2003 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 4826
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 27, 2005 at 09:20 PM UTC
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Originally posted by Earl Blanton Jr., Late Model Champ:
I can't speak knowledgably on this. I haven't been to Boston in 10 years. Ten years ago, their cd stores didn't impress me. Does Boston have an equivalent to Soundgarden or Amoeba or Everyday Music in Seattle?
I guess it really depends on what type of stores you're into. Personally, I'm into used cd's and bargain bin cd's. Soundgarden satisfies the former, CD Cellar and CD Game Exchange satisfy the latter. Amoeba would satisfy both. The stores in NYC would satisfy neither. I don't really have much use for niche oriented indie stores with new releases, so I don't really have that many complaints about local cd stores.
Originally posted by god's shoeshine:
boston has a comparable population and better record stores. quite high rent too
didn't you mention newbury comics in this post originally?
i haven't been to boston in awhile either, but i've hear people from there that live in this area complain about how much better the cd stores are up there
if your happy with the status quo, i'm not sure what you're really driving at, though
Rhett Miller
Joined: November 15, 2001 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 17762
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 27, 2005 at 09:25 PM UTC
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Does Newbury Comics have a good used cd selection? If not, what's the point. Might as well buy online.
I do find the status quo acceptable for my own needs. The arguments I were previously making were prefaced on displeasure with the DC cd store situation. Not saying that I share that displeasure, just pointing out potential causes of the problem if one were to see it as a problem.
Originally posted by god's shoeshine:
Originally posted by Earl Blanton Jr., Late Model Champ:
I can't speak knowledgably on this. I haven't been to Boston in 10 years. Ten years ago, their cd stores didn't impress me. Does Boston have an equivalent to Soundgarden or Amoeba or Everyday Music in Seattle?
I guess it really depends on what type of stores you're into. Personally, I'm into used cd's and bargain bin cd's. Soundgarden satisfies the former, CD Cellar and CD Game Exchange satisfy the latter. Amoeba would satisfy both. The stores in NYC would satisfy neither. I don't really have much use for niche oriented indie stores with new releases, so I don't really have that many complaints about local cd stores.
Originally posted by god's shoeshine:
boston has a comparable population and better record stores. quite high rent too
didn't you mention newbury comics in this post originally?
i haven't been to boston in awhile either, but i've hear people from there that live in this area complain about how much better the cd stores are up there
if your happy with the status quo, i'm not sure what you're really driving at, though
vansmack
Joined: October 04, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 19725
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 27, 2005 at 09:46 PM UTC
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Originally posted by Celeste:
will you show up in a g-string?
Only for you, and it will cost extra.
kosmo
Joined: September 23, 1999 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 16329
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 28, 2005 at 02:04 PM UTC
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Originally posted by Earl Blanton Jr., Late Model Champ:
Basically, what I'm saying is you either need:
1. Low Rents
2. Hip Population
You need not have both. You must have one. DC has neither.
The Detroit area certainly has Low Rents and the Hip Population is debatable, but they certainly do know how to rock in that city. It has better record stores than the DC area, nothing on the scale of Amobea.
Tower Records has a inventory of new stuff that can rival the LA Amobea, it's a shame thier prices are so high in comparsion and they don't deal in used.
ccfalzon
Joined: Unknown
Posts: 0
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 28, 2005 at 02:28 PM UTC
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Massachussetts has Newbury Comics which they have franchised throughout the state. The flagship store in Boston isn't really that cool. The stores all remind me of a hastily assembled, overly-corporate combination of the modern Commander Salamander and SMASH. They took all of the annoying elements and combined them into one shop. They sell lots Doc Martens, Manic Panic, overpriced comics/dvd's, and Operation Ivy t-shirts to the overprivileged, wannabee punks. That's the closest thing that I could find in Boston resembling a cool record store.
As for the Amoeba situation, there's absolutely no such thing as low rent in SF, which rivals only NYC as the most expensive city in the country. I bet they got a long term lease or bought their turf in the Haight and Berkeley years before the Bay Area went through the tech boom. The kids who live outside the store begging for change and burritos are all rich and hate their parents. They make great coin from passersby on that corner doing their thing.
ggw
Joined: December 16, 2001 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 14237
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 28, 2005 at 02:46 PM UTC
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I have good luck at Orpheus.
The only problem is that it isn't really a browsing store. You often have to know what you're looking for because it's invariably in a box in the back, at the bottom of a giant stack in the corner, or in that one section on the top shelf that you can't read without binoculars.
Rhett Miller
Joined: November 15, 2001 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 17762
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 28, 2005 at 02:50 PM UTC
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I know how much you guys like my stories, so here's one.
I was in Newbury Comics one time and Ric Ocasek was right in front of me in line. He bought about $120 worth of swag, including albums by Madonna, Social Disortion, Sonic Youth, and others I don't remember. I was close enough to him to see that the name on his credit card was Richard Otcasek. (He dropped the "t" and Benjamin Orzechowski changed his name to Orr.)
Oddly enough, that was the second run-in I'd had with Ocasek; I once saw him walking down the street in NYC.
You just don't have sightings like that here in DC…though I once saw a bloated Jerry Lewis getting out of a limo on Connecticut Ave.
Venerable Bede
Joined: October 16, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 3863
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 28, 2005 at 02:58 PM UTC
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Originally posted by Etan de Balzac, Footie Ball Player:
You just don't have sightings like that here in DC…though I once saw a bloated Jerry Lewis getting out of a limo on Connecticut Ave.
i saw mario lemieux on a dc street corner once, and he asked me for directions to the men's wearhouse.
Venerable Bede
Joined: October 16, 2001 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 3863
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 28, 2005 at 03:07 PM UTC
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Originally posted by frenchpiece:
As for the Amoeba situation, there's absolutely no such thing as low rent in SF, which rivals only NYC as the most expensive city in the country. I bet they got a long term lease or bought their turf in the Haight and Berkeley years before the Bay Area went through the tech boom.
if i remember correctly, amoeba's s.f. location didn't open until the late 90s or even 2000-2001 (heck, their berkeley store didn't open until 1990). i'm sure smackie or xneverwherex should be able to confirm or deny that. all i know is that when i go home i used to only go to streetlight records, now i drive to san francisco to go to amoeba. course, streetlight is still a good store, but it's stuck having it's largest and best store in san jose.
edited to add- amoeba in s.f. was opened in 1998.
godsshoeshine
Joined: September 18, 2003 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 4826
Re: Plight of local record stores
October 28, 2005 at 03:44 PM UTC
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Originally posted by Venerable Bede:
Originally posted by Etan de Balzac, Footie Ball Player:
You just don't have sightings like that here in DC…though I once saw a bloated Jerry Lewis getting out of a limo on Connecticut Ave.
i saw mario lemieux on a dc street corner once, and he asked me for directions to the men's wearhouse.
i once saw mario in a swanky suburban restraunt. he had about 20 people (family most likely) at his table. my brother was 8, mario waved, everyone was happy