other music hyperbole? or are they all that

i would definitely shop at downtown music gallery if i lived...in Chinatown. that's my kinda spot. i wouldn't buy from them online though. there are cheaper online resources for a lot of that stuff. easier/cheaper to get a lot of it from a place like squidco.

can someone list all the record stores that were in that area on or a few blocks from st. mark's ca. 1995–2000? b/c i shopped around there probably once a month in that era but couldn't recall the names of all of the stores. there were like 25 stores in a mile radius, with kim's at the center.

i guess i should just find a ca. 1998 manhattan phonebook....

there was one place (about a block from the mouth of st. mark's), near a jewelry store, that just stocked tons and tons of new CDs at steep discounts. they had videos downstairs IIRC. they had just about everything piled into store that was like 1/10th the size of the tower records in that neighborhood. the tower was always a little depressing to me since it didn't have the atmosphere of the other places nearby. and basically i'd end up there after a long afternoon of shopping in other stores, and i'd just see the same stuff but priced like 40% higher. except for the discount section, where i'd get, like 20 remaindered CD reissues of fela kuti albums for $6 each.

Some info here: http://www.nysonglines.com/8st.htm#3av

i know the place you're talking about amateurist; that place was impossible to explore. too much shit everywhere!

can someone list all the record stores that were in that area on or a few blocks from st. mark's ca. 1995–2000? b/c i shopped around there probably once a month in that era but couldn't recall the names of all of the stores. there were like 25 stores in a mile radius, with kim's at the center

I bought a lot of records in that area around 1999-2000.

How about these:

A-1
Academy
Dance Trax
DJ Lenny's Music World
Final Vinyl
Footlight
Gimme Gimme
Norman's Sound and Vision
Rainbow Music
Satellite
Smash
The Sound Library
Sounds
Stooz
Throb
Venus
Wowsville

Also.. the painfully expensive Second Hand Rose

I noticed the other day that one record store further west that I almost never went into, Rebel Rebel, is still in business and I actually wondered why.

And then in the West Village you had

Bleecker Bob's
Generation
Rebel Rebel
Revolver
Rockit Scientist
Strider
Vinyl Mania

and on Prince St., Rocks in Your Head

Rebel Rebel just closed, I think

Norman's Sound and Vision

oh yeah, this was the place i was referring to above.

there was one small place i liked, on st. mark's, it was on the 2nd floor of what had been a stone two-flat, i think. and there was another down in the street in a basement, it was (predictably, i guess) very dark in there.

second hand rose and bleecker bob's were always the most expensive places. i never bought anything at BB's, although i overheard some very amusing conversations in there.

bleeker bob's must have been something else in some other era, right? i only knew it in the early 2000s, and it was terrible, just the worst. overpriced, nothing interesting, vermin underfoot.

temple and shrine a bit later

second coming, it's only rock-n-roll a bit earlier

Rebel Rebel just closed, I think

I didn't realize they'd hung around this long. I always wondered what their relationship (if any) was to Record Runner as they were so similar in name, stock, and physical layout/decor. Just decided to Google it and see that it was opened by a former Record Runner employee -- also surprised to see that Record Runner is still open. I never bought much at either store, just a couple of Sisters of Mercy 12"s if I remember correctly.

Somehow missed this article about Rebel Rebel in the Times a couple of weeks ago -- apologies if posted already:

Vinyl Mania Can’t Save the Greenwich Village Record Stores

Anyone remember a record store that I believe was on E 6th right off Taras Shevchenko Place? What was that one called?

Ah, Record Runner is the one on Jones Street, was having trouble remembering the name. Second Coming was on Sullivan, maybe? What was place decades ago on 6th Ave in the low 20s, Pyramid Records?

Don't forget Golden Disc on Bleecker, as immortalized in that one song by The Records.

Bleecker Bob's was never not problematic in my short happy lifetime of record buying, it's golden age has "always been gone," as the saying goes.

I bought bad brains Quickness from Bleecker Bob's in 89, the first week I lived here. and then 10cc Original soundtrack in 2010. That's it… it was unappealing in every way and should not be lamented, frankly…like CBGB's and many shitty Bleecker st. clubs like the Bitter end or Kenny's castaways, it coasted for 20 years on its reputation and mgmt never made any effort to remain seriously competitive. Yet the professional lamenters like EV grieve seem to want the EV and Manhattan to never ever change in any way, and so shake their fists at the sky when any formerly meaningful "institution" closes.

St mark's Sounds has not been mentioned…that was more or less where EVERYONE sold promo CDs. Maybe that the two flat wizz mentions…and venus had a basement. Rebel Rebel had Qs and Mojos before everyone else, and so I spent probly thousands of $$$ there as such over the years. Midnight was the one on 23rd and 8th and was run by this french guy who was WAY into garage and 70s punk.

Subterrenean on Cornelia and Finyl Vinyl (that was the one on Taras S. in the '90s, although it was on 2nd avenue for much longer) were my favorites in the 90s. there was also Etherea, which was on Ave A and then 10th or 11th. Mark Ibold worked there, but it eventually could not compete with Other.

Happy that Downtown is still kicking, although I cannot imagine that Bruce, a great guy, has not been operating at a deficit for years.

(I was just about to post this when I saw the above) I forgot about Etherea (slightly farther away on Avenue A). As I recall, they focused more on electronic stuff, but also did indie rock etc. a bit. It was a cute, no-attitude store in my experience.

Apparently their old owner Richard Kim works for Beats. Slightly odd as 1) Kim's Video started out on Avenue A (Kim is a common name, so no idea if there's a relationship) and 2) Luke Wood (of Sammy, whose other member is part of the Two Boots pizza dynasty on Avenue A) is president of Beats. Basically, record store Avenue A ended up selling expensive headphones.

Etherea seems to have moved a few times. I remember them a bit farther down Avenue A, around 4th Street. I thought Ibold was a waiter.

Let us not forget the tiny but excellent Throb on 14th (rlectronic/techno/house et al) and Temple

Both long gone as well. Satellite, Sonic Groove...

Oops sorry Josefa already mentioned them.

Sounds was so awesome in the 80's. lots of unplayed promos in their dollar bins back then. though their stupid stickers were impossible to get of a record cover.

Bleeker Bob's was okay in the 80's too. though i mostly bought t-shirts there and bootleg tapes.

man, The Sound Library. that was right by my sister-in-law's apartment and they were too rich for my blood. everything i wanted was like 20 dollars more than i wanted to spend.

when i did the EMP conference at NYU i was REALLY impressed by Generation. that's my kinda store. i got all kinds of good stuff for cheap. i was kinda shocked by how good the prices were. got really cool old cherry red records for like 7 bucks apiece.

Sounds/St.Mark's Bookshop/St.Marks comics was all a degenerate kid from Connecticut like me really needed in the 80's.

i liked Second Coming for classic rock in the 80's though.

Etherea replaced Adult Crash, which was my favorite Kim's competitor in the pre-Other Music days. Now it's Mast Books.

people always talk about bleeker bob attitude but they were always nice to me there. the only store that used to intimidate me when i was a kid was Colony. at night it would be bustling and it seemed like there was always some old man employee running around with huge stacks of records in his arms and customers jostling every which way. the fulton fish market of record stores. i was out of my league. my dad always had to stop there for jazz.

there was also free being on 2nd ave off st marks. i got my ramones leave home signed there.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ChOgG1BW4AAWYbn.jpg

this will be a useful document in the decades to come

when i did the EMP conference at NYU i was REALLY impressed by Generation.

during the brief time i lived in nyc, generation was one of the most day-to-day useful record stores i knew of. ugly, horrible vibe, careless employees, but lots of reasonably-priced metal & punk vinyl downstairs.

Now that OM is gone, Generation is the only record store in that area worth going to anymore. Bleecker St. used to be great for bootlegs but it's useless now.

Alex in NYC blogpost: http://vassifer.blogs.com/alexinnyc/2007/03/dont_bother_loo.html
Related thread: Bleecker Bobs is closing.
Alex in NYC thread: NYC'ers: Favorite Long Gone Record Shops

NYT Times roundup from 3 decades ago: http://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/21/arts/music-to-go-a-guide-to-disk-and-tape-shops.html?pagewanted=all

Extensive Ben Sisario list: http://charmicarmicat.blogspot.com/2008/04/death-and-life-of-great-manhattan.html
which links at the top to this article by him: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/arts/music/18reco.html

Amusing memorials and obits for the owner of Discophile, a legendary classical music store that also carried other imports:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/arts/music/franz-jolowicz-86-dies-owned-a-noted-record-store.html
http://thevillager.com/villager_135/franzjolowicz86.html
http://neveryetmelted.com/2005/12/05/franz-of-discophile-dies-at-86/

Still trying to remember the store across the street from Discophile on the northern side 8th Street in the 80s that was below street level and had a very generic name- Record Exchange? Music Exchange? that never seems to show up on these lists, but they had a lot of imports, although all I can clearly remember buying is Seventeen Seconds and Faith.

Ah, must have been the Record Factory, 17 W 8th.

Guy who has been the ringer singer in The Monks/Left Banke/Moby Grape reunions posted about Discophile on Alex's blog.

Tiny bit of very old school West 8th Street nostalgia: http://www.nysun.com/new-york/once-bustling-west-8th-street-slows-down/32670/

8th Street was the spot for Prince boots, latest Melody Maker/Nme and UK mags, imports when I was a teen lad.

last in-store performance today at 5:30: 75 Dollar Bill

And then we take our music to the streets! After the in-store, 75 Dollar Bill and the incredible Matana Roberts will lead us on a march from Other Music, across 4th Street, down the Bowery, to the Bowery Ballroom on Delancey. We want to celebrate 20 years of New York City music and arts culture with all of you, and we hope that whether or not you have tickets to the Bowery show, you will join us for this free event -- let’s show NYC that music still matters! We will start gathering at Other Music at 5:30, and the parade will begin moving at 6:30, with Matana’s crew taking the lead, and 75 Dollar Bill bringing up the rear guard after their in-store performance.

great way to go out, 75 dollar bill are dope.

75 Dollar Bill = the best band

shameless plug, 75 dollar bill are also playing thursday with C Joynes and Metal Mountains (my wife's band) in Brooklyn.

ian, can you get that bill to come out to colorado, klausman and i will pay everyone in beer and records.

thank u in advance

i'll be sure to tell rick & che.

Watched the doc over the long weekend. *sigh*

Any ideas as to why LCD Soundsystem doesn't show up on that list?

I liked Other Music a lot, and bought plenty of albums that were important to me, and even though I didn't live in NY was sad to hear they were going. But I think the doc hit hard as just a story among so many re: loss of shops/community in music. And that was before Covid...

Rewatching the final crawl just noticed that ILX0r Capitaine Jay Vee got a credit under the Archival Materials Courtesy Of rubric.

There were a couple (few?) OM employees posting here at one point, don't want to dox anyone though...

I'm in the credits too. I retouched a few old polaroids (cleaned up dust and scratches) as a favor to Rob.