Led Zeppelin- Over The Hills And Far Away
Thursday, May 14, 2009
We Love Record Stores!
Regular readers know that I like to bring attention to the record staores that help keep vinyl alive, here is a gem:
Resurgence in vinyl helps record store in recession
by Jordan Melnick
It’s lunchtime on a typical weekday and Reckless Records downtown is packed. Dave Richardson, a 26-year-old legal clerk, has stopped in on his break to shop for LPs, those 12-inch, non-biodegradable vinyl discs that have been made obsolete many times over, most recently by MP3s.
Why would anybody pay for vinyl when there’s so much free digital music on the Internet? Why opt for a format that hardly fits in a backpack when the iPod can put up to 20,000 songs in a back pocket?
“I like the idea of owning a piece of physical media,” Richardson said.
He isn’t alone. Despite the MP3 takeover of the music industry, more and more audiophiles are turning to vinyl for an old-fashioned listening experience. And after 19 years in business in Chicago, British-owned Reckless Records of London Inc. is reaping the benefits.
The company’s three locations—Lakeview, Wicker Park and the Loop—sold 136,000 LPs in 2008, up about 38,000 from the year before. Despite declining CD revenue, Reckless’s total sales climbed to $4.2 million last year from $3.8 million in 2007. The uptick will allow the company to move its Lakeview store to a bigger location at the end of May.
To Reckless general manager Bryan Smith, vinyl’s resurgence comes down to consumer desire for a hands-on listening experience.
“People are rediscovering the artifact of music, being able to hold the physical product,” Smith said. “They like the mobility of the MP3, [but] it doesn’t give you a physical relationship with bands.”
Reckless’s increased vinyl sales mirror a national trend. There were 1.9 million new LPs sold in the U.S. last year, an 89 percent increase from 2007, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks music sales. CD sales fell 19.7 percent in the same period.
In Nielsen’s East/North Central Region—which includes Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana—LP sales were up 119 percent last year and rose 56 percent through the end of April.
The rise in LP sales is an anomaly in a suffering music industry, which saw 3,000 record stores close nationwide between 2003 and last year, according to the Almighty Institute of Music Retail, a market research firm. In Chicago, 38 stores closed in that time.
A typical LP at Reckless costs between $7 and $25, though some rarities can sell for more than $100. With so much music free for the taking on the Internet, consumers’ willingness to fork over cash for LPs might seem extravagant. But Kip McCabe, store manager at Reckless’s Lakeview location, sees vinyl’s comeback as a reaction to the digital-music revolution epitomized by the iPod.
“I feel like [listening to MP3s] takes out a decent percentage of what the experience was meant to be to begin with,” McCabe said. “I think the first thing you lose is the artists’ intention of how they wanted their art to be received.”
Sales are down this year at Reckless’s three locations, but the upswing in vinyl consumption has helped Reckless weather the recession as consumers take comfort in concrete assets like LPs during hard times, Dylan Posa, manager at the Loop location, said.
“When times get tough you like to have what you own around you,” Posa said. “It’s sort of hard to touch an MP3 and say that you own it.”
Reckless’s trade-in business is another aspect of the company cash-strapped music collectors find attractive.
“People right now need money and that’s something we hand out,” McCabe said. “We hand out cash for product.”
LP lovers espouse everything from cover art to sound quality to the smell of vinyl itself. And with affordable turntables now on the market, some with USB ports that enable LP-to-MP3 conversion, the hands-on music experience and the portable one have converged.
Michelle Ishikawa, 22, a Columbia College Chicago student, used words like “real,” “authentic” and “tangible” when explaining her attachment to vinyl at Reckless’s Lakeview store.
Stephen Koza, 26, from Brooklyn, N.Y., described an aversion to buffet-style music consumption.
“You can download all you can eat, but [listening to LPs] takes a little more devotion,” Koza said. “It’s so easy on the Internet to consume music like a whale.”
The return of vinyl is not just a youth movement. Sixty-year-old Henrik Lang, a native Finlander who now lives in Chicago, said he switched back to vinyl six years ago for the better sound quality.
“It was an Ornette Coleman CD that brought me back,” Lang said, while scouring the jazz section at the Lakeview Reckless. “Transferring something that was made in ’63 didn’t work out well. I thought, ‘Well, if I find something on vinyl, then I’ll buy it.’”
Lang owns about 2,000 LPs. Collectors like him are a big part of the reason vinyl is on the rise. Reckless general manager Smith said he knows people with more than 10,000 LPs.
For Keenan Kelly—also known as DJ Kesa—collecting has become a problem.
“I can’t even keep some of them in my place,” Kelly said of his 3,000-LP collection. “I need to slow down. I’m an addict.”
Other vinyl faithful describe their devotion less as addiction and more as romance.
“Sometimes you just want to go home, put on a record and have a glass of wine,” said Tim Wagner, 26, who works at Andy's Jazz Club & Restaurant in the Gold Coast. “You just don’t have that feeling with an iPod.”
Whether based on addiction or love, increased LP sales are helping Reckless capitalize on the recession. The company is taking advantage of low real estate prices by moving its original Lakeview location down the block to a bigger, 5,000-square-foot space at the end of May.
McCabe is confident that customers will follow Reckless to its new location.
“We have a built-in, very intense constituency,” McCabe said. “Record collectors are … always on the hunt. That audience stays loyal.”
SOURCE: http://news.medill.northwestern.edu
Resurgence in vinyl helps record store in recession
by Jordan Melnick
It’s lunchtime on a typical weekday and Reckless Records downtown is packed. Dave Richardson, a 26-year-old legal clerk, has stopped in on his break to shop for LPs, those 12-inch, non-biodegradable vinyl discs that have been made obsolete many times over, most recently by MP3s.
Why would anybody pay for vinyl when there’s so much free digital music on the Internet? Why opt for a format that hardly fits in a backpack when the iPod can put up to 20,000 songs in a back pocket?
“I like the idea of owning a piece of physical media,” Richardson said.
He isn’t alone. Despite the MP3 takeover of the music industry, more and more audiophiles are turning to vinyl for an old-fashioned listening experience. And after 19 years in business in Chicago, British-owned Reckless Records of London Inc. is reaping the benefits.
The company’s three locations—Lakeview, Wicker Park and the Loop—sold 136,000 LPs in 2008, up about 38,000 from the year before. Despite declining CD revenue, Reckless’s total sales climbed to $4.2 million last year from $3.8 million in 2007. The uptick will allow the company to move its Lakeview store to a bigger location at the end of May.
To Reckless general manager Bryan Smith, vinyl’s resurgence comes down to consumer desire for a hands-on listening experience.
“People are rediscovering the artifact of music, being able to hold the physical product,” Smith said. “They like the mobility of the MP3, [but] it doesn’t give you a physical relationship with bands.”
Reckless’s increased vinyl sales mirror a national trend. There were 1.9 million new LPs sold in the U.S. last year, an 89 percent increase from 2007, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks music sales. CD sales fell 19.7 percent in the same period.
In Nielsen’s East/North Central Region—which includes Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana—LP sales were up 119 percent last year and rose 56 percent through the end of April.
The rise in LP sales is an anomaly in a suffering music industry, which saw 3,000 record stores close nationwide between 2003 and last year, according to the Almighty Institute of Music Retail, a market research firm. In Chicago, 38 stores closed in that time.
A typical LP at Reckless costs between $7 and $25, though some rarities can sell for more than $100. With so much music free for the taking on the Internet, consumers’ willingness to fork over cash for LPs might seem extravagant. But Kip McCabe, store manager at Reckless’s Lakeview location, sees vinyl’s comeback as a reaction to the digital-music revolution epitomized by the iPod.
“I feel like [listening to MP3s] takes out a decent percentage of what the experience was meant to be to begin with,” McCabe said. “I think the first thing you lose is the artists’ intention of how they wanted their art to be received.”
Sales are down this year at Reckless’s three locations, but the upswing in vinyl consumption has helped Reckless weather the recession as consumers take comfort in concrete assets like LPs during hard times, Dylan Posa, manager at the Loop location, said.
“When times get tough you like to have what you own around you,” Posa said. “It’s sort of hard to touch an MP3 and say that you own it.”
Reckless’s trade-in business is another aspect of the company cash-strapped music collectors find attractive.
“People right now need money and that’s something we hand out,” McCabe said. “We hand out cash for product.”
LP lovers espouse everything from cover art to sound quality to the smell of vinyl itself. And with affordable turntables now on the market, some with USB ports that enable LP-to-MP3 conversion, the hands-on music experience and the portable one have converged.
Michelle Ishikawa, 22, a Columbia College Chicago student, used words like “real,” “authentic” and “tangible” when explaining her attachment to vinyl at Reckless’s Lakeview store.
Stephen Koza, 26, from Brooklyn, N.Y., described an aversion to buffet-style music consumption.
“You can download all you can eat, but [listening to LPs] takes a little more devotion,” Koza said. “It’s so easy on the Internet to consume music like a whale.”
The return of vinyl is not just a youth movement. Sixty-year-old Henrik Lang, a native Finlander who now lives in Chicago, said he switched back to vinyl six years ago for the better sound quality.
“It was an Ornette Coleman CD that brought me back,” Lang said, while scouring the jazz section at the Lakeview Reckless. “Transferring something that was made in ’63 didn’t work out well. I thought, ‘Well, if I find something on vinyl, then I’ll buy it.’”
Lang owns about 2,000 LPs. Collectors like him are a big part of the reason vinyl is on the rise. Reckless general manager Smith said he knows people with more than 10,000 LPs.
For Keenan Kelly—also known as DJ Kesa—collecting has become a problem.
“I can’t even keep some of them in my place,” Kelly said of his 3,000-LP collection. “I need to slow down. I’m an addict.”
Other vinyl faithful describe their devotion less as addiction and more as romance.
“Sometimes you just want to go home, put on a record and have a glass of wine,” said Tim Wagner, 26, who works at Andy's Jazz Club & Restaurant in the Gold Coast. “You just don’t have that feeling with an iPod.”
Whether based on addiction or love, increased LP sales are helping Reckless capitalize on the recession. The company is taking advantage of low real estate prices by moving its original Lakeview location down the block to a bigger, 5,000-square-foot space at the end of May.
McCabe is confident that customers will follow Reckless to its new location.
“We have a built-in, very intense constituency,” McCabe said. “Record collectors are … always on the hunt. That audience stays loyal.”
SOURCE: http://news.medill.northwestern.edu
Music News & Notes
Dylan Sales Drop A Bit
Bob Dylan's Together Through Life drops from #1 to #5 on this week's Billboard Album chart in its second week of release with sales of 51,000. The chart is topped by Chrisette Michelle who sold 83,000 copies of her second album. This has nothing to do with veteran artists, but is notable because that is the lowest amount sold by an album premiering at number one in the 18 years that Soundscan has been tracking music sales. The previous title holder belonged to Johnny Cash whose Americana V: A Hundred Highways premiered at number one in 2006 with 88,000 sales.
Cat Stevens' Roadsinger debuts at 41.
============================
New R.E.M. Music
R.E.M. is back in the studio to start work on their next album. They are currently working on demos of possible songs.
Paste magazine received the following from David Bell:
This past week, Peter Buck and Mike Mills of R.E.M. spent a few days with producer Jacknife Lee in Portland's Jackpot Recording Studio. It is early, early demo days for the next record, which is still a ways away. Also involved last week were longtime confederates Bill Rieflin and Scott McCaughey, as well as noted engineer/producer Tucker Martine.
==============================
ALICE COOPER Performs At ASU Commencement Ceremonies In Phoenix
Legendary rocker Alice Cooper appeared yesterday (Wednesday, May 13) before a crowd of 70,000, including 9,000 Arizona State University graduates, at ASU commencement ceremonies at Sun Devil Stadium in Phoenix. Alice performed the perennial start-of-summer anthem "School's Out", backed by RUNAWAY PHOENIX, the band of which his son Dash Cooper (ASU Class of '10) is part. Also appearing on the program was "top-billed" President Barack Obama who delivered ASU's 2009 commencement address.
Watch fan-filmed video footage of Alice's performance below. (Note: Alice wore his varsity letter sweater [Cortez High, Class of '66] when he performed the classic ode to the start of summer.)
"Of all the people I've ever shared a stage with, Obama is the biggest rock star," said Alice.
"School's Out" always seems to take on a life of its own just about every May and this year is no different. Last week, the song was featured as an "American Idol" group performance with guitar great Slash joining in. The song, which first came to light at the end of the 1972 school year, will be heard in the film "I Love You Beth Cooper" (no relation) directed by Chris Columbus and starring Hayden Panettier with companion soundtrack album to be released by ABKCO Records next month.
Aside from his ongoing role as the de facto harbinger of summer, Alice Cooper hosts, "Nights with Alice Cooper", heard over a network of more than one hundred affiliated stations for which Alice anchors 30 hours per week of original classic rock programming. Produced and distributed by the United Stations Radio Networks, "Nights with Alice Cooper" has 110 affiliates broadcasting a combination of weeknight and weekend programming. Alice's time slot reaches 1.1 million listeners (12+) each week, and his affiliates have a weekly reach of over 6 millions listeners.
Mr. Cooper- you still rock!
==============================
Depeche Mode Cancel Four More Concerts Due to Gahan Illness
David Gahan’s severe bout of gastroenteritis has forced Depeche Mode to cancel four more concerts on their Sounds of the Universe tour, the band announced in a statement. Gahan was rushed to the hospital earlier this week shortly before Depeche Mode were scheduled to perform a show in Athens, Greece. Yesterday’s concert in Istanbul was also canceled. “Dave is currently undergoing further tests,” the band said in the statement. “Depeche Mode apologizes to all their fans for this inconvenience and wish Dave a speedy recovery.”
The nixed shows affect Bucharest, Romania; Sofia, Bulgaria; Belgrade, Serbia; and Zagreb, Croatia and mean the tour is shut down until at least May 21st. Ticket holders for all the shows are advised to hold on to their tickets as announcements regarding rescheduled dates or cancellations will be made shortly.
==============================
Kings Of Leon To Play MTV Movie Awards
Setting the stage for some of this summer's most talked about performances, MTV has announced that rock icons Kings of Leon will perform at the "2009 MTV Movie Awards." The band will perform their rock anthem "Use Somebody" from their hit album "Only By The Night." Hosted by Andy Samberg, the "2009 MTV Movie Awards" will air on Sunday, May 31st at 9PM (Live ET/Tape Delayed PT). The show will also feature a musical performance by Eminem who will perform music from his anticipated new album "Relapse."
Kings of Leon have thrived as one of the most popular artists to hit the music scene in recent years and their latest album "Only By The Night," has sold almost four-million units world-wide. Their infectious single, "Sex On Fire," topped the Modern Rock chart at number one for eight weeks straight and "Use Somebody," the album's second single, stayed at number one on the chart for three weeks straight. "Sex On Fire" also broke the record for biggest selling digital album and digital single of all time in the UK. Just completing their first-ever arena tour of America, following the MTV Movie Awards, Kings of Leon will be playing festivals worldwide all summer long and into the fall, including headlining slots at Lollapalooza and the Austin Limits City Festival.
Bob Dylan's Together Through Life drops from #1 to #5 on this week's Billboard Album chart in its second week of release with sales of 51,000. The chart is topped by Chrisette Michelle who sold 83,000 copies of her second album. This has nothing to do with veteran artists, but is notable because that is the lowest amount sold by an album premiering at number one in the 18 years that Soundscan has been tracking music sales. The previous title holder belonged to Johnny Cash whose Americana V: A Hundred Highways premiered at number one in 2006 with 88,000 sales.
Cat Stevens' Roadsinger debuts at 41.
============================
New R.E.M. Music
R.E.M. is back in the studio to start work on their next album. They are currently working on demos of possible songs.
Paste magazine received the following from David Bell:
This past week, Peter Buck and Mike Mills of R.E.M. spent a few days with producer Jacknife Lee in Portland's Jackpot Recording Studio. It is early, early demo days for the next record, which is still a ways away. Also involved last week were longtime confederates Bill Rieflin and Scott McCaughey, as well as noted engineer/producer Tucker Martine.
==============================
ALICE COOPER Performs At ASU Commencement Ceremonies In Phoenix
Legendary rocker Alice Cooper appeared yesterday (Wednesday, May 13) before a crowd of 70,000, including 9,000 Arizona State University graduates, at ASU commencement ceremonies at Sun Devil Stadium in Phoenix. Alice performed the perennial start-of-summer anthem "School's Out", backed by RUNAWAY PHOENIX, the band of which his son Dash Cooper (ASU Class of '10) is part. Also appearing on the program was "top-billed" President Barack Obama who delivered ASU's 2009 commencement address.
Watch fan-filmed video footage of Alice's performance below. (Note: Alice wore his varsity letter sweater [Cortez High, Class of '66] when he performed the classic ode to the start of summer.)
"Of all the people I've ever shared a stage with, Obama is the biggest rock star," said Alice.
"School's Out" always seems to take on a life of its own just about every May and this year is no different. Last week, the song was featured as an "American Idol" group performance with guitar great Slash joining in. The song, which first came to light at the end of the 1972 school year, will be heard in the film "I Love You Beth Cooper" (no relation) directed by Chris Columbus and starring Hayden Panettier with companion soundtrack album to be released by ABKCO Records next month.
Aside from his ongoing role as the de facto harbinger of summer, Alice Cooper hosts, "Nights with Alice Cooper", heard over a network of more than one hundred affiliated stations for which Alice anchors 30 hours per week of original classic rock programming. Produced and distributed by the United Stations Radio Networks, "Nights with Alice Cooper" has 110 affiliates broadcasting a combination of weeknight and weekend programming. Alice's time slot reaches 1.1 million listeners (12+) each week, and his affiliates have a weekly reach of over 6 millions listeners.
Mr. Cooper- you still rock!
==============================
Depeche Mode Cancel Four More Concerts Due to Gahan Illness
David Gahan’s severe bout of gastroenteritis has forced Depeche Mode to cancel four more concerts on their Sounds of the Universe tour, the band announced in a statement. Gahan was rushed to the hospital earlier this week shortly before Depeche Mode were scheduled to perform a show in Athens, Greece. Yesterday’s concert in Istanbul was also canceled. “Dave is currently undergoing further tests,” the band said in the statement. “Depeche Mode apologizes to all their fans for this inconvenience and wish Dave a speedy recovery.”
The nixed shows affect Bucharest, Romania; Sofia, Bulgaria; Belgrade, Serbia; and Zagreb, Croatia and mean the tour is shut down until at least May 21st. Ticket holders for all the shows are advised to hold on to their tickets as announcements regarding rescheduled dates or cancellations will be made shortly.
==============================
Kings Of Leon To Play MTV Movie Awards
Setting the stage for some of this summer's most talked about performances, MTV has announced that rock icons Kings of Leon will perform at the "2009 MTV Movie Awards." The band will perform their rock anthem "Use Somebody" from their hit album "Only By The Night." Hosted by Andy Samberg, the "2009 MTV Movie Awards" will air on Sunday, May 31st at 9PM (Live ET/Tape Delayed PT). The show will also feature a musical performance by Eminem who will perform music from his anticipated new album "Relapse."
Kings of Leon have thrived as one of the most popular artists to hit the music scene in recent years and their latest album "Only By The Night," has sold almost four-million units world-wide. Their infectious single, "Sex On Fire," topped the Modern Rock chart at number one for eight weeks straight and "Use Somebody," the album's second single, stayed at number one on the chart for three weeks straight. "Sex On Fire" also broke the record for biggest selling digital album and digital single of all time in the UK. Just completing their first-ever arena tour of America, following the MTV Movie Awards, Kings of Leon will be playing festivals worldwide all summer long and into the fall, including headlining slots at Lollapalooza and the Austin Limits City Festival.
Vinyl Collective News
Sell your Used Records in Vinyl Collective’s store
If Amazon and Half.com can do it, why shouldn’t we? At least that is what I have been thinking for a while now. I have been wanting to offer used records in the Vinyl Collective store but I wasn’t sure how to make this happen. Should I have people with Used records send them to us for sale? Nah, that could potentially damage a box of records. Should we put up ads that we buy records and sell those records to all of you? That could work, but only selling used records from folks in Colorado could be limiting. After much thought, I have come up with what I think is the best solution. I already know that many of you sell on Ebay and I know that some of you have had lots of success selling there and may have no interest in what we are about to offer. What I offer is a new section within the Vinyl Collective store for Used Records searchable by seller. There will be no listing fees, you set the price you want to sell it at, and you only see a “fee” when your record(s) are sold. We accept and process the payment, pay all merchant fees, and all you do is ship the record to the buyer. You benefit from the traffic to the Vinyl Collective store. We set you up with a seller account and people will be able to search for just your titles.
We will take a 15 percent commission when your record is sold(this includes all merchant processing fees), pay you once a month for your sales, and you can keep your records listed for as long as you like.
Any volunteers? We want to test this out and are looking for 10 people interested in helping us make this work. We want to work out the kinks before we launch it worldwide. Email me if you are interested. Only U.S. sellers for now please. Thanks.
If Amazon and Half.com can do it, why shouldn’t we? At least that is what I have been thinking for a while now. I have been wanting to offer used records in the Vinyl Collective store but I wasn’t sure how to make this happen. Should I have people with Used records send them to us for sale? Nah, that could potentially damage a box of records. Should we put up ads that we buy records and sell those records to all of you? That could work, but only selling used records from folks in Colorado could be limiting. After much thought, I have come up with what I think is the best solution. I already know that many of you sell on Ebay and I know that some of you have had lots of success selling there and may have no interest in what we are about to offer. What I offer is a new section within the Vinyl Collective store for Used Records searchable by seller. There will be no listing fees, you set the price you want to sell it at, and you only see a “fee” when your record(s) are sold. We accept and process the payment, pay all merchant fees, and all you do is ship the record to the buyer. You benefit from the traffic to the Vinyl Collective store. We set you up with a seller account and people will be able to search for just your titles.
We will take a 15 percent commission when your record is sold(this includes all merchant processing fees), pay you once a month for your sales, and you can keep your records listed for as long as you like.
Any volunteers? We want to test this out and are looking for 10 people interested in helping us make this work. We want to work out the kinks before we launch it worldwide. Email me if you are interested. Only U.S. sellers for now please. Thanks.
This Date In Music History-May 14
Birthdays:
Derek Leckenby - Herman's Hermits (1943)
Gener Cornish - The Young Rascals (1945)
David Byrne - Talking Heads (1952)
Ian Astbury – Cult (1962)
C.C. DeVille – Poison (1962)
Mike Inez - Alice in Chains (1966)
Fabrice Morvan - Milli Vanilli (1966)
Steve Hogarth – Marillion (1956)
Jack Bruce – Cream (1943)
Shanice (1973)
Danny Wood - New Kids On The Block (1971)
They Are Missed:
Frank Sinatra died of a heart attack in 1998.
Former Yardbirds guitarist Keith Relf was electrocuted by his guitar and died in 1976.
In 2005, bluegrass singer Jimmy Martin died in Nashville aged 77. Inspired by Bill Monroe, he sang with both the Blue Grass Boys and his own Sunny Mountain Boys combo.
In 1969, a car crash took the lives of Fairport Convention drummer Martin Lamble and Jeanne "Genie the Taylor" Franklin. Franklin was a clothes designer for, among others, Jefferson Airplane, Donovan, and Jimi Hendrix.
The late Bobby Darin was born in 1936 (died on December 20, 1973)
History:
In 1955, "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & the Comets first entered the Top 40. It would become the first #1 record of the rock era.
Bo Diddley’s “Bo Diddley” backed with “I’m A Man” landed on the R&B charts in 1955. Both songs were later covered in the '60s by British groups.
In 1957, Elvis Presley swallowed a porcelain cap from one of his teeth during the filming of Jailhouse Rock and was rushed to the hospital. The cap was lodged in a lung and Presley had to stay overnight to get it removed.
The Strawbs formed in 1967.
Leo Sayer went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1977 with “When I Need You,” the singer’s second US #1 (also #1 in the UK).
In 1956, Buddy Holly's optometrist gave him contact lenses for his 20/800 eyesight, but he couldn’t get used to them, so the trademark glasses stayed.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon appeared on NBC-TV's "Tonight Show" in 1968 with guest-host Joe Garagiola.
In 1970, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released "Ohio,” ten days after the shooting of four students at Kent State University that inspired the classic song.
Jan & Dean began recording "Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)" in 1964.
The Rascals recorded "People Got To Be Free" in 1968.
In 1966, one of the best compilation records ever released, “Big Hits (High Tides And Green Grass),” collected the best Rolling Stones songs to date. The album sold over two-million copies.
"The Platters" was released in 1956. It was the group's first album.
Atlantic Records celebrated its 40th anniversary at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 1988. Yes, Genesis, Foreigner and Crosby, Stills & Nash performed. A re-united Led Zeppelin hit the stage with Jason Bonham filling in for his late father John. Zeppelin played “Stairway To Heaven” and “Whole Lotta Love.” Also, the Iron Butterfly appeared and yes, they played "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" in its entirety.
The album "Revenge" was released by KISS in 1992. The album featured a new drummer, Eric Singer.
In 2007, Capitol/EMI announced that Paul McCartney's post-Beatles catalog will be sold digitally. "For the very first time, McCartney and Wings albums will be made available across all digital platforms," read the EMI/Capitol statement.
Also in 2007, Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor spoke out against records labels marking up album prices to compensate for declining sales. He says he discovered that NIN's "Year Zero" had a list price of more than $29 in Australia. "No wonder people steal music," he says. Has anything changed?
Derek Leckenby - Herman's Hermits (1943)
Gener Cornish - The Young Rascals (1945)
David Byrne - Talking Heads (1952)
Ian Astbury – Cult (1962)
C.C. DeVille – Poison (1962)
Mike Inez - Alice in Chains (1966)
Fabrice Morvan - Milli Vanilli (1966)
Steve Hogarth – Marillion (1956)
Jack Bruce – Cream (1943)
Shanice (1973)
Danny Wood - New Kids On The Block (1971)
They Are Missed:
Frank Sinatra died of a heart attack in 1998.
Former Yardbirds guitarist Keith Relf was electrocuted by his guitar and died in 1976.
In 2005, bluegrass singer Jimmy Martin died in Nashville aged 77. Inspired by Bill Monroe, he sang with both the Blue Grass Boys and his own Sunny Mountain Boys combo.
In 1969, a car crash took the lives of Fairport Convention drummer Martin Lamble and Jeanne "Genie the Taylor" Franklin. Franklin was a clothes designer for, among others, Jefferson Airplane, Donovan, and Jimi Hendrix.
The late Bobby Darin was born in 1936 (died on December 20, 1973)
History:
In 1955, "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & the Comets first entered the Top 40. It would become the first #1 record of the rock era.
Bo Diddley’s “Bo Diddley” backed with “I’m A Man” landed on the R&B charts in 1955. Both songs were later covered in the '60s by British groups.
In 1957, Elvis Presley swallowed a porcelain cap from one of his teeth during the filming of Jailhouse Rock and was rushed to the hospital. The cap was lodged in a lung and Presley had to stay overnight to get it removed.
The Strawbs formed in 1967.
Leo Sayer went to #1 on the US singles chart in 1977 with “When I Need You,” the singer’s second US #1 (also #1 in the UK).
In 1956, Buddy Holly's optometrist gave him contact lenses for his 20/800 eyesight, but he couldn’t get used to them, so the trademark glasses stayed.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon appeared on NBC-TV's "Tonight Show" in 1968 with guest-host Joe Garagiola.
In 1970, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released "Ohio,” ten days after the shooting of four students at Kent State University that inspired the classic song.
Jan & Dean began recording "Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)" in 1964.
The Rascals recorded "People Got To Be Free" in 1968.
In 1966, one of the best compilation records ever released, “Big Hits (High Tides And Green Grass),” collected the best Rolling Stones songs to date. The album sold over two-million copies.
"The Platters" was released in 1956. It was the group's first album.
Atlantic Records celebrated its 40th anniversary at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 1988. Yes, Genesis, Foreigner and Crosby, Stills & Nash performed. A re-united Led Zeppelin hit the stage with Jason Bonham filling in for his late father John. Zeppelin played “Stairway To Heaven” and “Whole Lotta Love.” Also, the Iron Butterfly appeared and yes, they played "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" in its entirety.
The album "Revenge" was released by KISS in 1992. The album featured a new drummer, Eric Singer.
In 2007, Capitol/EMI announced that Paul McCartney's post-Beatles catalog will be sold digitally. "For the very first time, McCartney and Wings albums will be made available across all digital platforms," read the EMI/Capitol statement.
Also in 2007, Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor spoke out against records labels marking up album prices to compensate for declining sales. He says he discovered that NIN's "Year Zero" had a list price of more than $29 in Australia. "No wonder people steal music," he says. Has anything changed?
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Mr. Music
I am continuing our new feature: Ask "Mr. Music." Now in its 23rd year of syndication (1986-2008), Jerry Osborne's weekly Q&A feature will be a regular post every Wednesday from now on. Be sure to stop by Jerry's site (www.jerryosborne.com) for more Mr. Music archives, record price guides, anything Elvis, buy & sell collectibles, record appraisals and much more. I thank Jerry for allowing the reprints.
FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 4, 2009
DEAR JERRY: While in Connecticut in the mid-'90s, I clipped and saved a column you wrote about what at the time seemed to be some very early stereo recordings.
One example cited is “Charlie Parker — The Legendary Rockland Palace Concert, Vol. 1” (Jazz Classics JZCL-6010). From a September of 1952 concert, you confirmed some of the music is true stereo.
In more recent years, we have seen many CDs with “astonishing newly discovered stereo” from as far back as the 1930s.
I have not purchased any of these as I am not completely sold on the authenticity of the stereo, even though I am not a hard core audiophile.
Also, any idea what the first honest-to-goodness stereo album might be?
—Philip Marlow, Madison, Wisc.
DEAR PHILIP: But are you a hard core audiophile? (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
Nearly all “newly discovered stereo” music is the result of various remastering techniques, the best of which involve using the original multi-track elements to fabricate all-new selections.
As for the stereo itself, the channel separation varies depending on the number of pick-ups (microphones) originally used, especially with the vocals.
Most desirable is with lead vocals in the center of the audio field and background singers and orchestration balanced across the “stage,” as one would hear if positioned in the middle of a concert hall.
Many audiophiles praise the results of the latest remastering techniques, favoring the recently recast versions of those venerable classics.
Generally disliked by stereo lovers is the extreme separation often found on early and mid-'60s albums, where one channel is devoted to vocals, with little or no music, and the other for the instruments, with little or no vocals. EMI used this approach on some early Beatles LPs. True stereo it is, but a bit too true.
None of this remastering should be confused with the fake stereo so common in the 1960s, in which monaural masters are refiltered, rephased, rehashed, reverberated, and usually ruined.
The respectable labels identified their phony stereo releases as being “electronically reprocessed,” “electronically enhanced,” or with a similar disclaimer.
Depending on who you ask, or whose research you read, the first true stereo LP is either Columbia's Original Broadway Cast Recording of “West Side Story,” or an Audio Fidelity double LP combining the “Dukes of Dixieland” and “Railroad Sound Effects.” “West Side Story” opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre, September 26, 1957.
Knowing the show was a smash, they wasted no time getting over to Columbia's 30th Street Studio where the recording session took place September 29th.
Columbia rush-released the Original Broadway Cast LP. The company shows this to be an October '57 issue, and commercially available in three formats: a boxed set of five extended play 45 rpm singles (A-5230); monaural long-play (OL-5230); and their first stereo album (OS-2001).
“West Side Story” lyricist, Stephen Sondheim also confirms these 1957 releases, yet no one can say with certainty whether the stereo edition came out exactly at the same time as the mono, or a short time later — such as in November.
We also know Audio Fidelity, an independent New York label, issued their “Dukes of Dixieland (You Have to Hear It to Believe It!)” (AFSD-5823) & “Railroad Sound Effects: Sounds of a Vanishing Era” LP (AFSD-5843), a demonstration of stereo aimed at the recording industry, in November 1957.
Not sold in stores, this album was only available by mail directly from Audio Fidelity, and only to those requesting a free copy using company letterhead.
Which came first? Without the aid of instant replay, this race is still too close to call.
IZ ZAT SO? Audio Fidelity's selection of the Dukes of Dixieland and sound effects for their first stereo issue was prophetic, as recordings — stereo in particular — of these two divergent choices became the backbone of the company.
Ultimately they released about 15 LPs by the Dukes and 30 with nothing but sound effects.
Unlike music and vocals, the novelty of authentic railroad sounds is hearing the train gradually approach in just one channel, then rumble through the center of the audio field (equally from both speakers) only to chug off into the distance from the other channel.
These sounds are from old-time cannonballs (i.e., steam locomotives) rather than diesels, thus the “Sounds of a Vanishing Era” reference.
Copyright 2009 Osbourne Enterprises- Reprinted By Permission
====================================================
Toll-Free: (800) 246-3255
"Rockin Records" is now on sale- call with the code "CVR" and receive $6 off your purchase
http://www.jerryosborne.com/
Jerry Osborne's "Rockin' Records" has long been the most popular record guide. Now with 1,104 pages, it is by far the biggest record guide we've ever made. It is regarded throughout the industry as the best available guide, and it is the one accepted by all the major insurance companies.
Call today with the code "CVR" to receive your discount!
Also check out - CYBERGUIDES
The Up-To-Date Record Price Guide
https://protected.ehost.com/jerryosb/cyberguides.htm
FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 4, 2009
DEAR JERRY: While in Connecticut in the mid-'90s, I clipped and saved a column you wrote about what at the time seemed to be some very early stereo recordings.
One example cited is “Charlie Parker — The Legendary Rockland Palace Concert, Vol. 1” (Jazz Classics JZCL-6010). From a September of 1952 concert, you confirmed some of the music is true stereo.
In more recent years, we have seen many CDs with “astonishing newly discovered stereo” from as far back as the 1930s.
I have not purchased any of these as I am not completely sold on the authenticity of the stereo, even though I am not a hard core audiophile.
Also, any idea what the first honest-to-goodness stereo album might be?
—Philip Marlow, Madison, Wisc.
DEAR PHILIP: But are you a hard core audiophile? (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
Nearly all “newly discovered stereo” music is the result of various remastering techniques, the best of which involve using the original multi-track elements to fabricate all-new selections.
As for the stereo itself, the channel separation varies depending on the number of pick-ups (microphones) originally used, especially with the vocals.
Most desirable is with lead vocals in the center of the audio field and background singers and orchestration balanced across the “stage,” as one would hear if positioned in the middle of a concert hall.
Many audiophiles praise the results of the latest remastering techniques, favoring the recently recast versions of those venerable classics.
Generally disliked by stereo lovers is the extreme separation often found on early and mid-'60s albums, where one channel is devoted to vocals, with little or no music, and the other for the instruments, with little or no vocals. EMI used this approach on some early Beatles LPs. True stereo it is, but a bit too true.
None of this remastering should be confused with the fake stereo so common in the 1960s, in which monaural masters are refiltered, rephased, rehashed, reverberated, and usually ruined.
The respectable labels identified their phony stereo releases as being “electronically reprocessed,” “electronically enhanced,” or with a similar disclaimer.
Depending on who you ask, or whose research you read, the first true stereo LP is either Columbia's Original Broadway Cast Recording of “West Side Story,” or an Audio Fidelity double LP combining the “Dukes of Dixieland” and “Railroad Sound Effects.” “West Side Story” opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre, September 26, 1957.
Knowing the show was a smash, they wasted no time getting over to Columbia's 30th Street Studio where the recording session took place September 29th.
Columbia rush-released the Original Broadway Cast LP. The company shows this to be an October '57 issue, and commercially available in three formats: a boxed set of five extended play 45 rpm singles (A-5230); monaural long-play (OL-5230); and their first stereo album (OS-2001).
“West Side Story” lyricist, Stephen Sondheim also confirms these 1957 releases, yet no one can say with certainty whether the stereo edition came out exactly at the same time as the mono, or a short time later — such as in November.
We also know Audio Fidelity, an independent New York label, issued their “Dukes of Dixieland (You Have to Hear It to Believe It!)” (AFSD-5823) & “Railroad Sound Effects: Sounds of a Vanishing Era” LP (AFSD-5843), a demonstration of stereo aimed at the recording industry, in November 1957.
Not sold in stores, this album was only available by mail directly from Audio Fidelity, and only to those requesting a free copy using company letterhead.
Which came first? Without the aid of instant replay, this race is still too close to call.
IZ ZAT SO? Audio Fidelity's selection of the Dukes of Dixieland and sound effects for their first stereo issue was prophetic, as recordings — stereo in particular — of these two divergent choices became the backbone of the company.
Ultimately they released about 15 LPs by the Dukes and 30 with nothing but sound effects.
Unlike music and vocals, the novelty of authentic railroad sounds is hearing the train gradually approach in just one channel, then rumble through the center of the audio field (equally from both speakers) only to chug off into the distance from the other channel.
These sounds are from old-time cannonballs (i.e., steam locomotives) rather than diesels, thus the “Sounds of a Vanishing Era” reference.
Copyright 2009 Osbourne Enterprises- Reprinted By Permission
====================================================
Toll-Free: (800) 246-3255
"Rockin Records" is now on sale- call with the code "CVR" and receive $6 off your purchase
http://www.jerryosborne.com/
Jerry Osborne's "Rockin' Records" has long been the most popular record guide. Now with 1,104 pages, it is by far the biggest record guide we've ever made. It is regarded throughout the industry as the best available guide, and it is the one accepted by all the major insurance companies.
Call today with the code "CVR" to receive your discount!
Also check out - CYBERGUIDES
The Up-To-Date Record Price Guide
https://protected.ehost.com/jerryosb/cyberguides.htm
Music News & Notes
A Fresh Start for Taking Back Sunday
Though the band is only four albums into their career, Taking Back Sunday has announced that with their upcoming full length, New Again, the group is in a state of rejuvenation (thus the title of the LP). The band has had its ups and downs over the past eight years, from 2002's explosive debut album Tell All Your Friends to the disappointing follow up Where You Want To Be, and a number of band defections later - there's good reason why frontman Adam Lazzara says that TBS "really does feel like a new band."
New Again will be Taking Back Sunday's second album on a major label and will be released through Warner Bros. on June 2nd. The album is highly anticipated among fans of the genre and can only hope to emulate the outstanding success of their last album Louder Now.
==========================
Rodgers Done With Queen
In an interview with VH1 Classic Radio, Paul Rodgers stated that he's pretty much done with his collaboration with Queen.
“Well, you know, we did a world tour, we did a second tour of Europe and the Far East and Eastern Europe and we did a studio album and I think we’re kind of leaving it there gently. It’s out there for us to do things in the future if there’s something, a huge charity say like Nelson Mandela, I’m always open to that, but I think we are pretty much done.”
==========================
Lips LP Taking Shape
The Flaming Lips are set to release a double album in late September, tentatively called "Embryonic." Thirteen songs are already on paper and plans are to write eight or nine more.
Wayne Coyne told Billboard, "Somewhere along the way it occurred to me that we should do a double album. Just this idea that you can kind of weave a couple of themes into there and you can sort of sprawl a little bit."
==========================
The Donnas Announce "Greatest Hits" Album
In celebration of sixteen years playing high-powered rock and roll, all-female quartet The Donnas will deliver a career-spanning retrospective entitled "The Donnas Greatest Hits, Vol 16" on July 7th on their own Purple Feather Records. The comprehensive album features two brand new songs, two never-before-heard b-sides from their self-released 2007 album "Bitchin," live versions of hits “Take It Off” and “Fall Behind Me,” and two previously unreleased tracks from the band’s earliest days together. The band also re-recorded five tracks, remixed one and included two alternative versions of songs from their Lookout! Records catalog (1998-2001), one of which is sung by original producer/co-writer Darin Raffaelli.
Brett Anderson (vocals), Allison Robertson (vocals, guitar), Maya Ford (bass guitar), and Torry Castellano (drums, percussion, vocals) formed The Donnas in Palo Alto, CA, in 1993 and have been consistently rocking since, an unprecedented longevity for the all-female rock band. Drawing inspiration from The Ramones, AC/DC and Kiss, "Greatest Hits" marks the band’s 8th release and their music has recently been featured in the film and soundtrack toI Love You, Man, Rock Band 2, “The Bad Girls Club” (Oxygen network) and “Ultimate Gamer” (Sci-Fi Channel).
The Donnas will tour the US this summer as headliners and with female musical pioneers Blondie and Pat Benatar
Though the band is only four albums into their career, Taking Back Sunday has announced that with their upcoming full length, New Again, the group is in a state of rejuvenation (thus the title of the LP). The band has had its ups and downs over the past eight years, from 2002's explosive debut album Tell All Your Friends to the disappointing follow up Where You Want To Be, and a number of band defections later - there's good reason why frontman Adam Lazzara says that TBS "really does feel like a new band."
New Again will be Taking Back Sunday's second album on a major label and will be released through Warner Bros. on June 2nd. The album is highly anticipated among fans of the genre and can only hope to emulate the outstanding success of their last album Louder Now.
==========================
Rodgers Done With Queen
In an interview with VH1 Classic Radio, Paul Rodgers stated that he's pretty much done with his collaboration with Queen.
“Well, you know, we did a world tour, we did a second tour of Europe and the Far East and Eastern Europe and we did a studio album and I think we’re kind of leaving it there gently. It’s out there for us to do things in the future if there’s something, a huge charity say like Nelson Mandela, I’m always open to that, but I think we are pretty much done.”
==========================
Lips LP Taking Shape
The Flaming Lips are set to release a double album in late September, tentatively called "Embryonic." Thirteen songs are already on paper and plans are to write eight or nine more.
Wayne Coyne told Billboard, "Somewhere along the way it occurred to me that we should do a double album. Just this idea that you can kind of weave a couple of themes into there and you can sort of sprawl a little bit."
==========================
The Donnas Announce "Greatest Hits" Album
In celebration of sixteen years playing high-powered rock and roll, all-female quartet The Donnas will deliver a career-spanning retrospective entitled "The Donnas Greatest Hits, Vol 16" on July 7th on their own Purple Feather Records. The comprehensive album features two brand new songs, two never-before-heard b-sides from their self-released 2007 album "Bitchin," live versions of hits “Take It Off” and “Fall Behind Me,” and two previously unreleased tracks from the band’s earliest days together. The band also re-recorded five tracks, remixed one and included two alternative versions of songs from their Lookout! Records catalog (1998-2001), one of which is sung by original producer/co-writer Darin Raffaelli.
Brett Anderson (vocals), Allison Robertson (vocals, guitar), Maya Ford (bass guitar), and Torry Castellano (drums, percussion, vocals) formed The Donnas in Palo Alto, CA, in 1993 and have been consistently rocking since, an unprecedented longevity for the all-female rock band. Drawing inspiration from The Ramones, AC/DC and Kiss, "Greatest Hits" marks the band’s 8th release and their music has recently been featured in the film and soundtrack toI Love You, Man, Rock Band 2, “The Bad Girls Club” (Oxygen network) and “Ultimate Gamer” (Sci-Fi Channel).
The Donnas will tour the US this summer as headliners and with female musical pioneers Blondie and Pat Benatar
Bowie's Storytellers Coming to CD/DVD on July 14
VH1...August 1999...back when they played music. David Bowie was guest on VH1 Storytellers, turning in a show that covered material from his entire career.
That appearance is coming to CD/DVD and digital audio on July 14 via Virgin/EMI. Featured are the eight songs from the original broadcast plus video of four additional numbers that were recorded during the session but never shown. Audio of those four performances will also be available via the digital release.
Storytellers Executive Producer Bill Flanagan says in the liner notes "We were used to dealing with legendary musicians. Still, landing David Bowie was more than a big booking. There's no way to say this without being corny: it was an honor. Bowie has a unique place in rock & roll. He is not only one of the most influential musicians of the era, he does nothing unless he is fully committed. He never phones it in.
"Bowie's Storytellers was a unique theatrical event, a sort of off-Broadway Evening with the Artist in which a great songwriter used bits and pieces from his life and career to show us all the roads leading up to a single moment, a complement to his current album but also a performance strong enough to stand on its own: a compelling introduction to David Bowie for the uninitiated and a fresh experience for the long time fan."
The track list for David Bowie: VH1 Storytellers:
CD/DVD/Digital Audio
Life On Mars?
Rebel Rebel (truncated)
Thursday's Child
Can't Help Thinking About Me
China Girl
Seven
Drive-In Saturday
Word On A Wing
Bonus Video (DVD) & Audio (Digital Release) Performances
Survive
I Can't Read
Always Crashing In The Same Car
If I'm Dreaming My Life
SOURCE: http://winkscollectibles.blogspot.com
Vinyl Record News
The Younger Generation Enjoys The Rich Sound Of Vinyl On The New Audio Turntables
by Stacy Bushaw
The CDs out there have a pristine sound, but records provide a better sound. Younger kids like the cover art on the records as well, according to James Patterson, age 17, who doesn’t even remember when they LPs were popular in the past. He found some old LPs up in the attic at his grandparents home by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, then his uncle grabbed him a player on eBay and he know displays it in his room.
Today there are a variety of manufacturers that are designing turntable systems that have the same designs from the past but with newer technology. A few of the manufacturers making these creations include jWin, teac, Crosely, and Memorex. Some of the great features on these new systems include stacking more than record, using USB connections, and even recording to CD.
When it comes to the gift giving time of Christmas, nostalgia turntables are one of the top sellers according to Classic Buys’ Raman. Some of the most popular brands that are sold include Memorex, Teac, Thomas Pacconi, and Crosley each year.
Many people today prefer to go with top brand names and turntables that provide you with various features. Consumers often go with four in one systems that play the radio, cassettes, records, and CDs. Top brands are usually purchased as well, such as Teac and Crosley. Features are important to most consumers today, such as the feature to record to CD or Stack-O-Matic features. With the Stack-O-Matic you are able to stack up several records and play continuously, and then with the recorder, you can take your LPs and record them onto CDs for your listening pleasure.
The purest form of music happens to be on vinyl records according to Crosley Radio president. This has made nostalgic reproductions on these record players very popular and very highly promoted during the holiday season. Everything the produced wants on record is captured, but with the CDs you lose something.
Today the Crosley name lives on with superbly detailed replicas that truly transcend time. Reintroductions of original vintage radios and turntables feature the newest technologies graced by unforgettable Crosley stylings. The Crosley Collection includes AM/FM radios, portable suitcase - styled record players and audio turntables, record changers, multi-functional audio cassette/compact disc players, jukeboxes, music boxes, telephones and more. Rich lines, retro designs and authentic crafting have made Crosley today’s premier vintage electronics manufacturer. True to the Crosley tradition, these replicas are as fabulous as they are functional, providing a delightful dose of nostalgia.
400,000 plus record players were sold by Crosley alone back in 2005 and they are expecting to sell even more this year. The sales of Teac have tripled within the past year and they figure there are about 10 billion albums that are sitting on the shelves in people’s homes. Now there is a great way to play this music again with the great units that Crosley and Teac are providing for about $100 to start out with.
Of course these sales don’t even compare to the sales of CD players, which have sold millions of units. These sales are small enough that they are not even tracked at all by the Consumer Electronics Association. However, among DJs and rap fans, they definitely still have a home today.
Among new turntable buyers, “You’ve got two camps,” says Dave Glassman of Restoration Hardware, which has turntables and sampler 45s in heavy rotation at its 105 stores, as well as in its catalog and on its Web site. “Thirty-five years and older, who grew up on LPs and still have them, and their kids, who have found these records in the closet and want to hear them.” Teac and Crosley unveiled new models that meld old and new at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, such as Crosley’s $229 4 in 1 Entertainment Center, with a CD player, cassette deck, radio and the ability to play vinyl at 33, 45 and 78 rpm.
About the Author:
Before purchasing audio turntables online check out Stacy Bushaws’ favorite audio turntable store on the internet at www.ultimateturntables.com.
by Stacy Bushaw
The CDs out there have a pristine sound, but records provide a better sound. Younger kids like the cover art on the records as well, according to James Patterson, age 17, who doesn’t even remember when they LPs were popular in the past. He found some old LPs up in the attic at his grandparents home by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, then his uncle grabbed him a player on eBay and he know displays it in his room.
Today there are a variety of manufacturers that are designing turntable systems that have the same designs from the past but with newer technology. A few of the manufacturers making these creations include jWin, teac, Crosely, and Memorex. Some of the great features on these new systems include stacking more than record, using USB connections, and even recording to CD.
When it comes to the gift giving time of Christmas, nostalgia turntables are one of the top sellers according to Classic Buys’ Raman. Some of the most popular brands that are sold include Memorex, Teac, Thomas Pacconi, and Crosley each year.
Many people today prefer to go with top brand names and turntables that provide you with various features. Consumers often go with four in one systems that play the radio, cassettes, records, and CDs. Top brands are usually purchased as well, such as Teac and Crosley. Features are important to most consumers today, such as the feature to record to CD or Stack-O-Matic features. With the Stack-O-Matic you are able to stack up several records and play continuously, and then with the recorder, you can take your LPs and record them onto CDs for your listening pleasure.
The purest form of music happens to be on vinyl records according to Crosley Radio president. This has made nostalgic reproductions on these record players very popular and very highly promoted during the holiday season. Everything the produced wants on record is captured, but with the CDs you lose something.
Today the Crosley name lives on with superbly detailed replicas that truly transcend time. Reintroductions of original vintage radios and turntables feature the newest technologies graced by unforgettable Crosley stylings. The Crosley Collection includes AM/FM radios, portable suitcase - styled record players and audio turntables, record changers, multi-functional audio cassette/compact disc players, jukeboxes, music boxes, telephones and more. Rich lines, retro designs and authentic crafting have made Crosley today’s premier vintage electronics manufacturer. True to the Crosley tradition, these replicas are as fabulous as they are functional, providing a delightful dose of nostalgia.
400,000 plus record players were sold by Crosley alone back in 2005 and they are expecting to sell even more this year. The sales of Teac have tripled within the past year and they figure there are about 10 billion albums that are sitting on the shelves in people’s homes. Now there is a great way to play this music again with the great units that Crosley and Teac are providing for about $100 to start out with.
Of course these sales don’t even compare to the sales of CD players, which have sold millions of units. These sales are small enough that they are not even tracked at all by the Consumer Electronics Association. However, among DJs and rap fans, they definitely still have a home today.
Among new turntable buyers, “You’ve got two camps,” says Dave Glassman of Restoration Hardware, which has turntables and sampler 45s in heavy rotation at its 105 stores, as well as in its catalog and on its Web site. “Thirty-five years and older, who grew up on LPs and still have them, and their kids, who have found these records in the closet and want to hear them.” Teac and Crosley unveiled new models that meld old and new at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, such as Crosley’s $229 4 in 1 Entertainment Center, with a CD player, cassette deck, radio and the ability to play vinyl at 33, 45 and 78 rpm.
About the Author:
Before purchasing audio turntables online check out Stacy Bushaws’ favorite audio turntable store on the internet at www.ultimateturntables.com.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
This Date In Music History- May 12
I am resuming this feature, look for it every other day from now on!
Birthdays:
Melanie Chisholm - Spice Girls (1976)
Kix Brooks - Brooks and Dunn (1955)
Billy Squier - (1950)
Billy Duffy – Cult (1961)
Steve Winwood - Traffic, Blind Faith and the Spencer Davis Group turns 61.
Billy Swan ("I Can Help") is 67.
James Purify ("I'm Your Puppet") is 65.
Ian McLagen – Faces (1946)
Born on this day in 1940, Norman Whitfield, songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Berry Gordy's Motown. Also collaborated with Barrett Strong on such hits as ‘I Heard It through the Grapevine,” “Ain't Too Proud to Beg,” “(I Know) I'm Losing You” “War,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and others.
Born on this day in 1928, Burt Bacharach, US songwriter, pianist and arranger. With Hal David wrote many classic songs including, “Close To You,” “Magic Moments,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” among others. Won two Oscars for film score “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid,” for “Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head.”
They Are Missed:
In 2001, Perry Como died aged 88. He scored fourteen US #1 singles, from 150 US chart hits and over 25 UK chart hits, including the single “Magic Moments” and “Catch A Falling Star.” Como was once the highest-paid performer in the history of television.
Ian Dury, singer, songwriter, poet, actor (1942) - 1977 UK #5 album “New Boots And Panties!!” spent 90 weeks on the UK chart, 1979 UK #1 single “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick”). Dury died on March 2000 27, 2000 (age 57).
The late George Carlin ("Wonderful WINO") was born in 1937.
History:
The only single of Billie Holiday's ever to chart, "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be), entered Billboard's R&B chart in 1945, peaking at #5.
In 1958, "Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Nu Nu" by Dicky Doo & the Don'ts peaks at #40 on the charts.
In 1960, Elvis guest-starred on a Frank Sinatra-hosted TV special, “Welcome Home Elvis, and cut his first post-Army recordings in Nashville. They yield the hit album “Elvis Is Back” and such million-selling singles as "It's Now or Never" and "Are You Lonesome Tonight."
In 1962, the Temptations appeaedr on the chart for the first time with "Dream Come True."
"Right Place Wrong Time," by Dr. John, enters the singles chart in 1973, where it will peak at #9. Allen Toussaint produced, arranged, played and sang on the song, which was Dr. John's commercial zenith.
In 1967, Pink Floyd played London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, one of their first concerts to experiment with quadraphonic sound.
A British radio station debuts the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" album in its entirety in 1967.
"Satisfaction" was recorded by The Rolling Stones in 1965.
In 1968, Jimi Hendrix was arrested for possession of hashish and heroin when he crossed the Canadian border for a concert in Toronto. He claimed the drugs were planted and he was later exonerated.
All I Have To Do Is Dream,” the Everly Brothers ballad, was the #1 song in America in 1958.
In 2008, Neil Young had a spider named after him. Officially known as a Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi, the trap door spider is named by biologist Jason Bond. According to Bond "Young is worthy of that honor." The spider in question is found only in Alabama.
In 1962, Billboard Magazine reported that last year's most-played jukebox record was “Big Bad John” by Jimmy Dean. The second most-played was Chubby Checker's “The Twist.”
Led Zeppelin started a three week run at #1 on the US album chart in 1973 with “Houses Of The Holy.”
Buy Zeppelin Music - Picture Disc of "Houses of the Holy" Available Now!
Birthdays:
Melanie Chisholm - Spice Girls (1976)
Kix Brooks - Brooks and Dunn (1955)
Billy Squier - (1950)
Billy Duffy – Cult (1961)
Steve Winwood - Traffic, Blind Faith and the Spencer Davis Group turns 61.
Billy Swan ("I Can Help") is 67.
James Purify ("I'm Your Puppet") is 65.
Ian McLagen – Faces (1946)
Born on this day in 1940, Norman Whitfield, songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Berry Gordy's Motown. Also collaborated with Barrett Strong on such hits as ‘I Heard It through the Grapevine,” “Ain't Too Proud to Beg,” “(I Know) I'm Losing You” “War,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and others.
Born on this day in 1928, Burt Bacharach, US songwriter, pianist and arranger. With Hal David wrote many classic songs including, “Close To You,” “Magic Moments,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” among others. Won two Oscars for film score “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid,” for “Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head.”
They Are Missed:
In 2001, Perry Como died aged 88. He scored fourteen US #1 singles, from 150 US chart hits and over 25 UK chart hits, including the single “Magic Moments” and “Catch A Falling Star.” Como was once the highest-paid performer in the history of television.
Ian Dury, singer, songwriter, poet, actor (1942) - 1977 UK #5 album “New Boots And Panties!!” spent 90 weeks on the UK chart, 1979 UK #1 single “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick”). Dury died on March 2000 27, 2000 (age 57).
The late George Carlin ("Wonderful WINO") was born in 1937.
History:
The only single of Billie Holiday's ever to chart, "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be), entered Billboard's R&B chart in 1945, peaking at #5.
In 1958, "Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Nu Nu" by Dicky Doo & the Don'ts peaks at #40 on the charts.
In 1960, Elvis guest-starred on a Frank Sinatra-hosted TV special, “Welcome Home Elvis, and cut his first post-Army recordings in Nashville. They yield the hit album “Elvis Is Back” and such million-selling singles as "It's Now or Never" and "Are You Lonesome Tonight."
In 1962, the Temptations appeaedr on the chart for the first time with "Dream Come True."
"Right Place Wrong Time," by Dr. John, enters the singles chart in 1973, where it will peak at #9. Allen Toussaint produced, arranged, played and sang on the song, which was Dr. John's commercial zenith.
In 1967, Pink Floyd played London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, one of their first concerts to experiment with quadraphonic sound.
A British radio station debuts the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" album in its entirety in 1967.
"Satisfaction" was recorded by The Rolling Stones in 1965.
In 1968, Jimi Hendrix was arrested for possession of hashish and heroin when he crossed the Canadian border for a concert in Toronto. He claimed the drugs were planted and he was later exonerated.
All I Have To Do Is Dream,” the Everly Brothers ballad, was the #1 song in America in 1958.
In 2008, Neil Young had a spider named after him. Officially known as a Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi, the trap door spider is named by biologist Jason Bond. According to Bond "Young is worthy of that honor." The spider in question is found only in Alabama.
In 1962, Billboard Magazine reported that last year's most-played jukebox record was “Big Bad John” by Jimmy Dean. The second most-played was Chubby Checker's “The Twist.”
Led Zeppelin started a three week run at #1 on the US album chart in 1973 with “Houses Of The Holy.”Buy Zeppelin Music - Picture Disc of "Houses of the Holy" Available Now!
Audiophile Audition Review
I want to thank John over at http://www.audaud.com for the exclusive rights to reprint this great review!
AUDIOPHILE AUDITION focuses on recordings of interest to audiophiles and collectors, with an accent on surround sound for music, and on all hi-res disc formats. Over 100SACD, DVD Video/Audio and standard CD reviews are published during each month, and our archives go back to January 2001.
Neil Young - Fork in the Road - Reprise
There is a willfully off-the-cuff articulation to Neil Young's newest rock album.
Neil Young - Fork in the Road - Reprise 518040-2, 38:44 ***1/2:
(Neil Young - acoustic & electric guitar, vocals, producer; Ben Keith - lap steel guitar, electric guitar, Hammond B-3 organ, backing vocals; Anthony Crawford - acoustic & electric guitar, piano, Hammond B-3 organ, backing vocals; Pegi Young - acoustic guitar, backing vocals, vibraphone; Rick Rosas - bass; Chad Cromwell - drums; Niko Bolas - producer, engineer, mixing)
There is a willfully off-the-cuff articulation to Neil Young's newest rock album, Fork in the Road. For those who have been following Young's sometimes erratic solo career, you can put Fork in the Road somewhere between Re-ac-tor and Living With War, which were both ragged, full-throttle records that pinpointed with snapshot conciseness just where Young was in his life. On Young's current batch of low-fidelity material, he sings about the past (where we've been), the present (our contemporary problems) and the future (hope is alive again). Musically, the ten tracks overflow with stout and distorted Les Paul electric guitar fills, Chad Cromwell's thumping drums, and on most songs, slightly sweetening backing vocals that add balance.
Thematically, Young's latest venture is a socially-conscious travelogue centering on the American automobile, with appropriate tunes such as the shuffling "Fuel Line," the bluesy "Get Behind the Wheel," and the self-deprecating title track. On the grunge opener, "When Worlds Collide," Young depicts his road trip from California to Washington, D.C., when he drove his hybridized Lincvolt, a 1959 Lincoln Continental outfitted with a biodiesel-electric motor. Young describes places and people he saw and things he did along the way: floating on the Rio Grande with a Coca Cola in his hand; a man out of luck who spends his days in a jail cell; and old folks cruising down Route 66. Young continues both the contorted music and his passion for going green on "Fuel Line," an ode to ending dependence on oil companies. Throbbing "Johnny Magic," which nods to Young's tune "Hey Hey, My My," is a tribute to visionary mechanic Jonathan "Motorhead Messiah" Goodwin, Young's partner in the Lincvolt endeavor [http://www.lincvolt.com/]. The cut is a not-quite-eloquent plea to change the system by replacing the rules.
Young has written about his vehicles and the road before. "Long May You Run," "Drive Back" and "Motor City" are but a few examples of Young's fascination with traveling down the byways and highways. The blues jammer "Get Behind the Wheel" is not one of Young's best car songs, but its utter simplicity gives it a plain-spoken rock and roll charm. "Hit the Road" has a likeminded musical and lyrical stance, a craggy, mid-tempo tumbler that easily could have been performed by Crazy Horse.
Young is on shaky ground, though, when he heads straight into counterculture, political territory, such as during boogie toss-off "Cough Up the Bucks," a rant against greedy Wall Street denizens, which mimics "T-Bone," a similarly patterned and repetitive track that showed up on Re-ac-tor. If "Cough Up the Bucks" sounds as if it was penned and produced in a single afternoon, it probably was.
Young provides his most personal and poignant performance on country-colored "Light a Candle," where he expressively unplugs to sing about sincere inner transformation: Young's folksy acoustic guitar, assured vocals, and Ben Keith's masterful lap steel furnish the sparse piece a potent persuasiveness.
Fork in the Road doesn't rank with Young's best work, lacking the comprehensive focus of Rust Never Sleeps or Harvest, but it does have the organic, buckled impact of underrated outings such as Zuma or On the Beach. Casual fans who only remember iconic hits like "Heart of Gold," "Cinnamon Girl" or "Southern Man" can ignore this Fork in the Road and safely stay on their familiar path. But for those who prefer to take the road not taken, and welcome a different perspective, Fork in the Road is a detour worth traversing.
TrackList:
1. When Worlds Collide
2. Fuel Line
3. Just Singing a Song
4. Johnny Magic
5. Cough Up the Bucks
6. Get Behind the Wheel
7. Off the Road
8. Hit the Road
9. Light a Candle
10. Fork in the Road
-- Doug Simpson
Reprinted By Permission
AUDIOPHILE AUDITION focuses on recordings of interest to audiophiles and collectors, with an accent on surround sound for music, and on all hi-res disc formats. Over 100SACD, DVD Video/Audio and standard CD reviews are published during each month, and our archives go back to January 2001.
Neil Young - Fork in the Road - Reprise
There is a willfully off-the-cuff articulation to Neil Young's newest rock album.
Neil Young - Fork in the Road - Reprise 518040-2, 38:44 ***1/2:
(Neil Young - acoustic & electric guitar, vocals, producer; Ben Keith - lap steel guitar, electric guitar, Hammond B-3 organ, backing vocals; Anthony Crawford - acoustic & electric guitar, piano, Hammond B-3 organ, backing vocals; Pegi Young - acoustic guitar, backing vocals, vibraphone; Rick Rosas - bass; Chad Cromwell - drums; Niko Bolas - producer, engineer, mixing)
There is a willfully off-the-cuff articulation to Neil Young's newest rock album, Fork in the Road. For those who have been following Young's sometimes erratic solo career, you can put Fork in the Road somewhere between Re-ac-tor and Living With War, which were both ragged, full-throttle records that pinpointed with snapshot conciseness just where Young was in his life. On Young's current batch of low-fidelity material, he sings about the past (where we've been), the present (our contemporary problems) and the future (hope is alive again). Musically, the ten tracks overflow with stout and distorted Les Paul electric guitar fills, Chad Cromwell's thumping drums, and on most songs, slightly sweetening backing vocals that add balance.
Thematically, Young's latest venture is a socially-conscious travelogue centering on the American automobile, with appropriate tunes such as the shuffling "Fuel Line," the bluesy "Get Behind the Wheel," and the self-deprecating title track. On the grunge opener, "When Worlds Collide," Young depicts his road trip from California to Washington, D.C., when he drove his hybridized Lincvolt, a 1959 Lincoln Continental outfitted with a biodiesel-electric motor. Young describes places and people he saw and things he did along the way: floating on the Rio Grande with a Coca Cola in his hand; a man out of luck who spends his days in a jail cell; and old folks cruising down Route 66. Young continues both the contorted music and his passion for going green on "Fuel Line," an ode to ending dependence on oil companies. Throbbing "Johnny Magic," which nods to Young's tune "Hey Hey, My My," is a tribute to visionary mechanic Jonathan "Motorhead Messiah" Goodwin, Young's partner in the Lincvolt endeavor [http://www.lincvolt.com/]. The cut is a not-quite-eloquent plea to change the system by replacing the rules.
Young has written about his vehicles and the road before. "Long May You Run," "Drive Back" and "Motor City" are but a few examples of Young's fascination with traveling down the byways and highways. The blues jammer "Get Behind the Wheel" is not one of Young's best car songs, but its utter simplicity gives it a plain-spoken rock and roll charm. "Hit the Road" has a likeminded musical and lyrical stance, a craggy, mid-tempo tumbler that easily could have been performed by Crazy Horse.
Young is on shaky ground, though, when he heads straight into counterculture, political territory, such as during boogie toss-off "Cough Up the Bucks," a rant against greedy Wall Street denizens, which mimics "T-Bone," a similarly patterned and repetitive track that showed up on Re-ac-tor. If "Cough Up the Bucks" sounds as if it was penned and produced in a single afternoon, it probably was.
Young provides his most personal and poignant performance on country-colored "Light a Candle," where he expressively unplugs to sing about sincere inner transformation: Young's folksy acoustic guitar, assured vocals, and Ben Keith's masterful lap steel furnish the sparse piece a potent persuasiveness.
Fork in the Road doesn't rank with Young's best work, lacking the comprehensive focus of Rust Never Sleeps or Harvest, but it does have the organic, buckled impact of underrated outings such as Zuma or On the Beach. Casual fans who only remember iconic hits like "Heart of Gold," "Cinnamon Girl" or "Southern Man" can ignore this Fork in the Road and safely stay on their familiar path. But for those who prefer to take the road not taken, and welcome a different perspective, Fork in the Road is a detour worth traversing.
TrackList:
1. When Worlds Collide
2. Fuel Line
3. Just Singing a Song
4. Johnny Magic
5. Cough Up the Bucks
6. Get Behind the Wheel
7. Off the Road
8. Hit the Road
9. Light a Candle
10. Fork in the Road
-- Doug Simpson
Reprinted By Permission
Music News & Notes
Jack White’s Dead Weather: Album Art, Tour Dates Revealed
Jack White’s new band The Dead Weather have revealed the album cover for their upcoming debut LP Horehound and announced plans to embark on a full North American tour.
The supergroup consists of Jack White and Jack Lawrence of the Raconteurs, Alison Mosshart and Queens of the Stone Age member Dean Fertita.
===========================
Dylan #1 in UK
Bob Dylan's Together Through Life stays at #1 for a second week in the UK, something he hasn't done since Nashville Skyline in 1969. Yusuf Islam's (Cat Stevens) Roadsinger debuts at #10.
===========================
Stevie To Play Free Concert
It's being reported that Stevie Wonder is set to play a free outdoor concert to open the Montreal Jazz Festival on June 30. The show will be at the La Place de festivals which is currently being restored.
Others playing at the festival include Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, Jeff Beck, Joe Cocker, Jackson Browne and Al Jarreau.
===========================
Modest Mouse Single Due May 26
In your mad rush to scoop up Record Store Day exclusives, you may have noticed that Modest Mouse’s contribution to the day’s festivities was nowhere to be found. Well, that’s because the band’s new limited-edition seven-inch never made it out in time for the April 18 celebrations. However, if you were disappointed, don’t be: Modest Mouse’s latest joint is now getting an official release on May 26.
The band’s new vinyl artifact will include two new tracks, "Satellite Skin" and "Guilty Cocker Spaniels," and pressed up on fancy orange vinyl with an embossed sleeve. The release is limited to 4,000 copies, but if you can’t hunt one down, it will also be up for sale on iTunes.
============================
Faith No More To Drop The Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection
Faith No More are on deck to receive another best-of comp this summer. Dubbed T"he Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection," the new double-disc package is due out in the UK on June 1 via Rhino, marking the band’s umpteenth greatest hits package.
On disc one, the band gather up an array of tracks from their career, which until recently ended in 1998. This means such Faith No More classics as “The Real Thing,” “We Care A Lot” and “Everything's Ruined,” along with 15 others, will make an appearance on the 18-track CD. For many fans, though, it will be disc two that will be the obvious draw, with that bonus CD coming packed full of various B-sides and rarities. (Two more yet-unannounced tracks will be added to iTunes’ digital version of the ten-song bonus disc.)
Jack White’s new band The Dead Weather have revealed the album cover for their upcoming debut LP Horehound and announced plans to embark on a full North American tour.The supergroup consists of Jack White and Jack Lawrence of the Raconteurs, Alison Mosshart and Queens of the Stone Age member Dean Fertita.
===========================
Dylan #1 in UK
Bob Dylan's Together Through Life stays at #1 for a second week in the UK, something he hasn't done since Nashville Skyline in 1969. Yusuf Islam's (Cat Stevens) Roadsinger debuts at #10.
===========================
Stevie To Play Free Concert
It's being reported that Stevie Wonder is set to play a free outdoor concert to open the Montreal Jazz Festival on June 30. The show will be at the La Place de festivals which is currently being restored.
Others playing at the festival include Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, Jeff Beck, Joe Cocker, Jackson Browne and Al Jarreau.
===========================
Modest Mouse Single Due May 26
In your mad rush to scoop up Record Store Day exclusives, you may have noticed that Modest Mouse’s contribution to the day’s festivities was nowhere to be found. Well, that’s because the band’s new limited-edition seven-inch never made it out in time for the April 18 celebrations. However, if you were disappointed, don’t be: Modest Mouse’s latest joint is now getting an official release on May 26.
The band’s new vinyl artifact will include two new tracks, "Satellite Skin" and "Guilty Cocker Spaniels," and pressed up on fancy orange vinyl with an embossed sleeve. The release is limited to 4,000 copies, but if you can’t hunt one down, it will also be up for sale on iTunes.
============================
Faith No More To Drop The Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection
Faith No More are on deck to receive another best-of comp this summer. Dubbed T"he Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection," the new double-disc package is due out in the UK on June 1 via Rhino, marking the band’s umpteenth greatest hits package.
On disc one, the band gather up an array of tracks from their career, which until recently ended in 1998. This means such Faith No More classics as “The Real Thing,” “We Care A Lot” and “Everything's Ruined,” along with 15 others, will make an appearance on the 18-track CD. For many fans, though, it will be disc two that will be the obvious draw, with that bonus CD coming packed full of various B-sides and rarities. (Two more yet-unannounced tracks will be added to iTunes’ digital version of the ten-song bonus disc.)
Monday, May 11, 2009
Used Vinyl Moving Well
I love articles about the resurgence of the beloved vinyl record. Here's another one, this one from our friends in Vermont:
Music shops selling used albums strong
By CHRIS GAROFOLO, Reformer Staff
BRATTLEBORO -- The faltering economy has caused several major industries to suffer on a national scale, but there's at least one on the local level that has not felt the effects of the recession.
Local retailers specializing in used records and CDs say their businesses have held steady even in the midst of what officials call the worst economic period since the Great Depression.
Cash-strapped music lovers continue to head to the corner shop to browse through the latest collection of secondhand albums.
"Despite it being a lousy economy, we still have a really loyal customer base," said Alicia Beasley, manager of Turn It Up! in Brattleboro. "We're doing well, we're doing good."
The store has seen a bump in sales since winter, with annual events such as last weekend's "May Magic" sidewalk sale bringing in decent profits.
"I think the economic downturn has helped us a bit, but the whole industry has seen a steady decline beginning in 1999," said Fred Wilber, owner of Montpelier's Buch Spieler.
With the digitizing of music and its wide availability online, secondhand stores have taken a major hit over the past decade, he said.
Elektra Duncan, co-owner of In the Moment, a record store in Brattleboro, agreed with Wilber about the condition of the music retail industry.
"I think that we're holding steady in a time when many stores are showing a decline," she said.
Approaching its fourth year in downtown Brattleboro, Duncan said In the Moment has seen a jump in its annual sales regardless of the national economy.
To stay in business during a recession and the explosion of music Web sites, many retail shops have turned to the Internet to reach a broader audience.
Duncan said their online business is holding its own, selling a good portion of contemporary and pop music to buyers in Europe, Russia and Japan.
"We've decided to integrate (the Internet) rather than fight it," he said.
Expanding retail services to the Internet has also helped Burlington-based Pure Pop Records stay afloat.
According to store employee Amy Wild, online albums sales have boosted even as less business is seen revolving through the doors.
"The stuff that won't necessarily sell at the store in Burlington will sell online in other parts of the country and around the world," she said.
Online music has also helped Turn It Up! sales, but in a different way.
Beasley said the store can compete with online music sites because Turn It Up! is selling music for the same price or less than downloading tunes.
"We're finding a lot of people check here and compare it to online, and buy their music here," she said.
Resale stores usually thrive during difficult economic periods. Consumers with less money in their pockets tend to sell unnecessary items in an effort to acquire some quick cash.
"We're definitively seeing an older generation bringing stuff in," said Beasley. There has been a mixed bag of middle-aged customers selling vinyl and CDs, she added.
"There's been a lot of people coming in to sell their music collection to make some extra money," said Wild.
Most shops report an increase in customers bringing in their vinyl records, but many retailers say the aging bundles often yield few sales.
"I've been seeing more vinyl coming in, but what they bring in isn't very good," said Wilber. If people are trying to maximize their return, many turn to online services, he said.
In some cases, it isn't even the dusty vinyl boxes left in the attic for years that people are selling.
"We buy movies, too, we're seen a lot of that," said Beasley.
But since more customers are pawning off old vinyl albums and used CDs, music shops also benefit because it provides a high turnover rate of new merchandise coming in.
"People are getting rid of a lot of old stuff, but vinyl's coming back around," said Duncan. The record sales are increasing at a faster rate than CDs, she said.
With a new awareness around records, more teenagers are coming in and looking at classic rock 'n' roll albums re-released on vinyl, said Duncan. "People are recognizing there is a difference in how it sounds."
Buch Spieler has seen the opposite effect -- less youth purchasing records and more people buying new CDs.
Wilber said he has noticed his shop alter from an after-school hangout to an older clientele looking to add to their collections with brand new CDs.
"I'm not getting as many used CDs as I used to," he added. Wilber has owned the capital city music store for more than three decades.
Even in tough economic times, people continue to look at entertainment items, such as purchasing music or going to see the latest Hollywood blockbuster.
But for the same price seeing a movie once in the theater, Wilber said a customer can own an album for a lifetime. "Music is still a relatively good bargain."
SOURCE: http://www.reformer.com
Music shops selling used albums strong
By CHRIS GAROFOLO, Reformer Staff
BRATTLEBORO -- The faltering economy has caused several major industries to suffer on a national scale, but there's at least one on the local level that has not felt the effects of the recession.
Local retailers specializing in used records and CDs say their businesses have held steady even in the midst of what officials call the worst economic period since the Great Depression.
Cash-strapped music lovers continue to head to the corner shop to browse through the latest collection of secondhand albums.
"Despite it being a lousy economy, we still have a really loyal customer base," said Alicia Beasley, manager of Turn It Up! in Brattleboro. "We're doing well, we're doing good."
The store has seen a bump in sales since winter, with annual events such as last weekend's "May Magic" sidewalk sale bringing in decent profits.
"I think the economic downturn has helped us a bit, but the whole industry has seen a steady decline beginning in 1999," said Fred Wilber, owner of Montpelier's Buch Spieler.
With the digitizing of music and its wide availability online, secondhand stores have taken a major hit over the past decade, he said.
Elektra Duncan, co-owner of In the Moment, a record store in Brattleboro, agreed with Wilber about the condition of the music retail industry.
"I think that we're holding steady in a time when many stores are showing a decline," she said.
Approaching its fourth year in downtown Brattleboro, Duncan said In the Moment has seen a jump in its annual sales regardless of the national economy.
To stay in business during a recession and the explosion of music Web sites, many retail shops have turned to the Internet to reach a broader audience.
Duncan said their online business is holding its own, selling a good portion of contemporary and pop music to buyers in Europe, Russia and Japan.
"We've decided to integrate (the Internet) rather than fight it," he said.
Expanding retail services to the Internet has also helped Burlington-based Pure Pop Records stay afloat.
According to store employee Amy Wild, online albums sales have boosted even as less business is seen revolving through the doors.
"The stuff that won't necessarily sell at the store in Burlington will sell online in other parts of the country and around the world," she said.
Online music has also helped Turn It Up! sales, but in a different way.
Beasley said the store can compete with online music sites because Turn It Up! is selling music for the same price or less than downloading tunes.
"We're finding a lot of people check here and compare it to online, and buy their music here," she said.
Resale stores usually thrive during difficult economic periods. Consumers with less money in their pockets tend to sell unnecessary items in an effort to acquire some quick cash.
"We're definitively seeing an older generation bringing stuff in," said Beasley. There has been a mixed bag of middle-aged customers selling vinyl and CDs, she added.
"There's been a lot of people coming in to sell their music collection to make some extra money," said Wild.
Most shops report an increase in customers bringing in their vinyl records, but many retailers say the aging bundles often yield few sales.
"I've been seeing more vinyl coming in, but what they bring in isn't very good," said Wilber. If people are trying to maximize their return, many turn to online services, he said.
In some cases, it isn't even the dusty vinyl boxes left in the attic for years that people are selling.
"We buy movies, too, we're seen a lot of that," said Beasley.
But since more customers are pawning off old vinyl albums and used CDs, music shops also benefit because it provides a high turnover rate of new merchandise coming in.
"People are getting rid of a lot of old stuff, but vinyl's coming back around," said Duncan. The record sales are increasing at a faster rate than CDs, she said.
With a new awareness around records, more teenagers are coming in and looking at classic rock 'n' roll albums re-released on vinyl, said Duncan. "People are recognizing there is a difference in how it sounds."
Buch Spieler has seen the opposite effect -- less youth purchasing records and more people buying new CDs.
Wilber said he has noticed his shop alter from an after-school hangout to an older clientele looking to add to their collections with brand new CDs.
"I'm not getting as many used CDs as I used to," he added. Wilber has owned the capital city music store for more than three decades.
Even in tough economic times, people continue to look at entertainment items, such as purchasing music or going to see the latest Hollywood blockbuster.
But for the same price seeing a movie once in the theater, Wilber said a customer can own an album for a lifetime. "Music is still a relatively good bargain."
SOURCE: http://www.reformer.com
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