Aquarius Records

Could be an interesting novelty, I guess. Is the release date listed anywhere?

Funny to hear so much worship of Slint now when long ago the debate was whether they were better than Squirrel Bait. I'm still not sure, and kinda edge toward SB.

slint are a very overrated band.
not a bad band, but just an overrated one.
they're no codeine, fer instance. ;)

Slint's best moments are sublime. But consistency wasn't their strong suit. SB's output, though only great, was relatively uniform.

Closing! Reopening under the new ownership of Superior Viaduct
http://aquariusrecords.org/cat/5025.html

Beloved Customers and Friends:

So, today you would normally be seeing a new New Arrivals list. But instead, we're doing an special in-betweener (the one we skipped last week), because we've got some BIG news.

After a combined 40+ years at the shop, aQuarius OverlOrds Andee and Allan have decided it's getting to be time for us to move on. We'll be in touch again real soon to let you know about all the whys, wherefores, and what-are-they-gonna-be-doings...

For now, we just want to let you know that the shop WILL continue and many exciting changes & improvements are on the way, including a much-expanded vinyl inventory, both new and used!

While our decision wasn't an easy one, we're super happy that we've found the right people to work with the current aQuarius staff to carry on aQ's unique mission and legacy of "getting the music to the people".

Starting next month, our friends at Superior Viaduct will be taking over ownership of aQuarius. You may know Superior Viaduct as a fantastic archival label that is always reissuing really cool music in a variety of interesting genres - including many essential releases we've made Records Of The Week in the past - but they also have a great record store over in Oakland called Stranded.

We really couldn't think of a much better fit than Superior Viaduct / Stranded to whom to pass the torch. At the end of the day, it's all about discovering great music, being enthusiastic about the bands and artists we love, and sharing that passion with others. AQ and SV have similar "tastes" in many ways, and we know they'll do a great job and be worthy successors.

In the coming weeks, you will see the usual faces behind the counter as well as some new ones.

AQ's Valencia St. shop will continue to operate as usual until Monday July 4th. Then, after some renovations & remodeling, the store will re-open under the Stranded banner on Friday July 29th.

The aQuarius website & mail-order will also operate as usual for the time being and orders will be fulfilled by Superior Viaduct. Our usual New Arrivals List, however, will be going on indefinite hiatus as of now, though you'll still be receiving email updates containing more details about all these developments. For one thing, we will definitely be having a party to welcome the new overlords and celebrate the shop's continued survival!

Andee and Allan want to thank all our customers for their support and friendship over the years - aQuarius has been an amazing, hugely important part of our lives and it will continue to be. In fact, we have plans to FINALLY compile, edit and publish the "Big Book of aQ Reviews" that we've always wanted to, so you'll be hearing more about that project soon too!

bummer. i got to go there in person in december after many many years of mail ordering and it was a very nice experience. best record store.

aw, i haven't had time to go through their new arrivals lists in years but i'm bummed by this news

A lot of people are all "ARRRGH" and I'm all "Well...but it's still going to be an esoteric record store!" I mean it's not becoming, I dunno, artisanal ground glass central or something like that. I'm happily going to keep giving it a chance; my one question will be the stated turn towards more vinyl, given my CD purchasing. So we'll see.

yeah i hear you but aQ had such a singular point of view for a long time and that's definitely going to change

Their new arrivals lists were one of the best resources out there. I'm sad to hear this.

xpost -- Granted, but it evolved over time, much as the store moved locations throughout the city. I'm not handwaving -- hell, I live just five, six blocks from it -- but I think it's worth considering the reasons too why the decision was made. Andee and Allan are people who made their own call much like Windy Chien did before them, and you have to allow them that above all else. This is worth reading:

https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2016/06/17/aquarius-records-san-franciscos-oldest-independent-record-store-has-been-sold/

that's a good read, and it's totally fair for those guys to move on. i'll just miss their aesthetic--i found a ton of cool stuff combing through aQ lists.

Once you got past every album being The Best Thing Ever I did enjoy their new arrivals I've been reading them a long time; they've had a tangible effect on my taste in music. I do order from them occasionally still despite being the other side of the Atlantic. Hope this isn't too much of a bad change

the book of reviews sounds cool

the superior viaduct people are awesome, though, so it's in good hands.

I dont really consider this sad news - its not like they're being evicted or going out of business.

For me it's really the loss of the new arrivals. I can't imagine how much time it took to put those not-particularly-short reviews together. The comment about "Best Thing Ever" is completely OTM, but it was pretty easy to read around it. They were by far the best source I found post-internet for info on things that weren't going to get coverage anywhere else, and seemed the closest in tone to the 90s music zines that I used to read. I know I'll be ordering the book when it's available.

They published a nice little fanzine recently collecting a number of them, almost a trial run for the book if you like. They might still have copies, I got mine the other week.

the dudes at aq have way better taste than the sv dude who seems to reissue shit that doesnt even need to be reissued just to say he did it.

Will miss this store quite a lot even if current incarnation can never mean quite as much to me as the cozier Noe St version I lived at from ages 17-20.

the sv dude who seems to reissue shit that doesnt even need to be reissued just to say he did it.

hahaha, I have definitely felt that way about some of his releases. He has recently started a "new label" to release new material, and it has a different name ... I still don't understand why. I think you actually walked up when I was about to ask this "challenging" question!

i don't know, not everything S.V. has reissued is equally worthy, but on the whole it shows good and eclectic taste, which bodes well for a record store (i haven't been to the cleveland store).

frankly there was plenty of trainspotting dubious stuff aquarius championed, but that's fine; it's part of the exploration the store (and others like it) encouraged.

for me it isn't about "trainspotting" or "dubious" stuff -- it's that the record or its contents were widely available already, like the DNA one and the Branca Ascension.

that said, the Inflatable Boy Clams record is great, and I wouldn't have heard it without the S.V. reissue

was the DNA record widely available on vinyl? i'm not a format fetishist, so i don't really care, but if it was just on CD then it would make sense to make it available in a kind of replica of the original issue for people who are into those things.

I dont really consider this sad news - its not like they're being evicted or going out of business.

it is very sad news insofar as the continuity of the business has been a huge deal. there is a family of people connected to & through Aquarius who've been championed by them and turned on to new music by them for many, many years. for me it's the end of a business who was on my side when almost nobody had any idea who I was or what to make of my stuff.

I had a chance to swing by today and chat with Allan and a couple of other folks who were there -- informal talk, won't go into full details. But Allan definitely seemed content that it had worked out as best as possible, while acknowledging that the force of feeling from people was a moving surprise. It sounds like the website itself will live on as a memorial/resource of sorts, and other things were mentioned, so wait on word. Staff folks said they're all keeping their jobs too as indicated so that's nice to hear.

that's nice that they are keeping the website up. when twisted village in cambridge went under, IIRC they took the whole website, album descriptions and all, down with it, which was too bad.

An upscale vinyl reissue store is probably the only way a neighborhood record store can survive. Fuck. Aquarius' new arrivals list was the closest living thing to an old Factsheet Five zine of weirdos who are creatively incompatible from the entire you/yourbrand/social/streaming/online blarghfest. It was never my local record store, but good grief the list has affected my taste and p.o.v. on the world.One of my most favorite albums ever is a recording of undersea events recorded by hydrophones that out DROOOOOONES* anything by Alan Lamb, old Phillips synth-wizards, etc.. I love it, and without Aquarius stuff like that wouldn't exist. The world is an emptier place.

*Drink once whenever the word "DOOOOOOOOOM" is used in a New Arrivals List. Drink twice if a customer asks what it is.

Eternally proud to be #185 on Aquarius' list of Conet Project purchasers.

I will add that there's definitely a little pushback to SV about making it *all* vinyl, which might be their intent. I offered up that the model could be something like Factory Records in Costa Mesa where Dave maintains a couple of cases of CDs that he doesn't add to with new orders, but is happy to sell to folks if they ask, while the occasional further used CDs trickle in. Turns out Allan knows the store and Noise Noise Noise well! Anyway, we'll see what shakes down.

i think ned should take it over. to heck with those other hipster doofuses.

The Shoegeezer Nedporium!

also, can i blame Aquarius for the glut of tedious one man USBM all those years ago? i think i will anyway.

but best of luck to them.

count me among those who found their "Best Thing Ever" reviews kind of charming -- you had to take it w/ several grains of salt, but the enthusiasm was usually refreshing.

I didn't mean to be flippant about Aquarius positive role in the music scene, locally and otherwise, just that I guess I was prepared for this story to be a whole lot worse (which is why I referenced evictions/being forced out of business etc.) and knowing that it's a voluntary decision makes it a little easier to be more philosophical (as opposed to depressed) about the passage of a great thing. They were always good to me and I always liked shopping there.

they sure lasted a lot longer than most record stores! they have a lot to be proud of.

I will add that there's definitely a little pushback to SV about making it *all* vinyl, which might be their intent.

yeah, i'm definitely pushing back ...

A short hail and farewell

http://nedraggett.tumblr.com/post/146907900562/today-aquarius-records-closes-after-a-forty-year

There was a low key celebration of aQ yesterday at the Make Out Room hosted by Andee and Allan -- it was also an impromptu fundraiser for the Ghost Ship fire victims, which was good to see. (Raised almost $400 all told IIRC.) Didn't stay for the full length but was around to be filmed for a documentary that is being put together about the store, which I gather is near completion.

So I've heard rumors there was going to be a new Aquarius store set up by former employees? Heard anything about that, Ned? The guy who told me is kinda... slightly shady. But was apparently involved in the old store at some point.

Hm. I haven't heard anything specifically about that, but I can ask around. Nobody mentioned it yesterday, but I wasn't talking to everybody.

A few days ago, I realized that the zillions of old AQ reviews have vanished from the internet. It was such an amazing resource for reading about lots of music that flew well-under the radar. RIP AQ.

My understanding is that there's going to be an archive of some sort, but I should follow up.

Eight hours of hits from Aquarius: http://www.whydoyoulikeit.com/2016/12/over-eight-hours-of-aq-hits.html

Nice!

So as I said a couple of years ago about a post-closure hail and farewell:

Didn't stay for the full length but was around to be filmed for a documentary that is being put together about the store, which I gather is near completion.

And that is out next year...but enjoy the first seven minutes. Lots of, how you say, familiar names:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_0ab_cI65E

nice!

new store that took its place kinda sucks tbh

Not a fan, no.

And another clip!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6bU7KqYP54