Rainbow Music's choicest vinyl and CD offerings.
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)I don't care how many people get their music online, it'll never replace the joys of perusing CDs and LPs in brick-and-mortar record stores.
My Morning Jacket's Jim James apparently agrees with me. He said recently, "I think the thing that people forget about is the community and the memories that are created when you come to an independent and locally owned record store that you can only get in that town."
That's right. There are other humans there, looking at and buying music. The store, if it's any good, plays great stuff over their speakers. The people who work there love music. Online is a poor substitute.
I stumbled into Rainbow Music (212-505-1774), on 130 First Avenue in New York's East Village last week. It's tiny, but absolutely jam-packed with CDs and LPs. There's rock, blues, jazz, reggae, and not just piles of the usual cast-offs. Prices are good. Your host, The Birdman, is there to answer your questions, and he's a blast.
If you're in the 'hood, check it out.
And tell us about your favorite local indie shops. Spread the word.
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Are record shops worth saving? (Part 1)
(Credit:
Steve Guttenberg)
It's some kind of weird contradiction, but for some reason I really loved Tower Records. I say that because I have a long standing thing about indie record shops, and I never bought much at Virgin or HMV, but when Tower opened its two Manhattan stores I became an even bigger vinyl junkie. I lived just a few blocks away from the uptown one and would spend many nights there just looking at music and talking with music buyers. The social scene was part of the trip.
Tower's two gigantic shops were initially filled with groovy records, and later in the 1980s the CDs started to eat away, aisle by aisle, at the vinyl paradises. It must have taken three or four years before CDs occupied most of the bins. Granted, vinyl's decline was mostly market driven, but remember CDs typically sold for double the price of LPs, so Tower, like most stores figured that even if the vinyl title was still available they'd rather you bought the CD. If the LP wasn't there you'd have to pony up the extra dough for the CD. During that time I'd get my vinyl from indie shops.
One rainy spring day walking through Central Park I was listening to a classical radio station when they played Aaron Copland's "Concerto for Clarinet, Strings, Harp and Piano." It so perfectly framed the misty day and green grass I had to buy the music. I exited Central Park, walked a few blocks over to Broadway and bought the CD. That was twenty years ago and I still have the CD to trigger those memories.
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Michael Emerson is a Future regular.
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)UPDATE: I just heard the sad news that Future Legend will be closing its doors later this month. I have personally bought more than 200 CDs over the years from that little shop, but now I'll have to go elsewhere for my weekly fix. If you're in NYC drop by and pick up bargains, starting today, 2/6/08, Future Legend will begin selling all merchandise at 50% off the sticker price.
I want to tell you about my favorite record store, Future Legend. I drop in every week to see what's new, and talk about music with the New York shop's owners, Paul Ruggiero and Greta Perr, both seasoned veterans of the record biz.
Future reminds me of the neighborhood record shops of my youth, and it's a great place to hang and meet music lovers. When I dropped by Friday I ran into actor Michael Emerson, (Ben), from the TV show "Lost." He was doing some last-minute shopping before going off to Hawaii to start shooting new episodes.
We Future Legend regulars appreciate it, and probably all share a secret dread--this is the end of the line. We know that what we get here is irreplaceable. Every week or two I see one of us thank Paul or Greta just for being there. When was the last time you thanked a store for being there?
Checking out the latest vinyl sides at Future.
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)Future offers a surprisingly deep selection of rock, and a broad range of jazz, blues, R&B, reggae, soundtracks, country and folk--and Future mixes each artist or band's new and used CDs together, so it's easy to find bargains (which are cheaper and way better sounding than iTunes). Paul and Greta are always on hand to answer even your most obscure music question, which sure beats the hell out of staring into the cold glare of a computer screen. Oh, and there's a healthy selection of new and used vinyl treasures. If you don't see a CD you want, Future will special order it and have your music in just a couple of days.
Yeah, the music business is in shambles and they say the only hope, if there is any at all, is downloads. We'll see, but the little shop just celebrated its fourth anniversary, outlasting Tower Records, which closed last year.
So if you're lucky enough to still have a local record store, support it. For midtown New Yorkers, this is it. Future's on 9th Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd streets. Give the store a call at (212) 707-8180. And no, it's not on the Web--Future Legend is for real.
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