sureshot

I took these guys up on their "pay what you want" special offer last year (yes, I did it for free. sue me). I'll be honest, I wasnt impressed with the mag. I'd often flip through it in under 15 minutes, and just found it to be lacking in a whole lot of areas, many of which were mentioned above. I dont like seeing music mags die, but this one dosent seem particularly special, and on a more personal level, their focus (adult/commercial alternative) dosent appeal to me at all. It felt like they were trying to be all things for all people, which is usually a recipe for disaster. And yes, if nothing else their graphic design team needs to be fired.

Fixed it for you.

 

OP went through a phase where it thought it could transform itself into a giant condominum, and that somehow that would be attractive. Turns, the real estate market, uh, tanked, or something...? Who would have guessed? I visited OP for the first time since 2004 this December, and the building where Val's was is still standing. That poor new place looks so sterile - hardly any asbestos in there, I would guess! I loved how rank and gnarly the old place smelled/looked.

 

My favorite thing about OP is how little development it allowed for so long - virtually NO chain stores when I was growing up, and these random Mom and Pop stores like Transformations (for transgendered/transsexual M2F types - and all my female classmates with huge feet looking for prom shoes). When TGI Fridays opened (the first chain I can recall) the waits were an hour+, because it was such a novelty.

 

And now OP is all developdevelopdevelop! Stores like Val's suffer for projects they can't afford and nobody wants. Assholes.

Not to get too far off topic, but the "village" also is in the process of demolishing an entire block of vintage walk-up buildings east of Harlem on Lake...its heartbreaking. Like you said, they got all star crossed during the boom, and now they are going to have an entire once-vibrant urban streetscape converted into surface parking because all the plans for the development have fallen through. Im envisioning this will turn into a suburban "Block 37" boondoggle

http://blogs.pioneerlocal.com/thenewspeg/2..._in_downto.html

I always expected more out of OP, but they've really let me down big time in a lot of their decision as of late

I must admit, I only visited Val's once in my life and while I found a thing or two there, it was wasn't nearly as good as most of the other record stores in the Chicago area. (I only went to the old one and haven't been to the new one...) There is a much nicer, better stocked store next door in Forest Park with lots of nice old and new vinyl and tons of CDs as well as a fun $1 vinyl bin with reasonably good stuff. No one talks about this place much, because Val has been an institution in Oak Park forever.

 

Not to be a broken record (pun intended), but one visit to Lauries in Lincoln Square is worth the time far more than going to Vals.

 

LouieB

The thing about Vals is you're not going to find your latest P4K band, or rap, or hip hip, or electronica/dance...or anything remotely hip. But if you're looking for vintage rock, folk, classical, jazz, and little random gems, theres good stuff to be had. But you do have to dedicate time to sifting through the junk. I found a pristine copy of Steve Reich's "Drumming" (3LP set) for $15 the other day...the same album goes for $60 on ebay. Also picked up a mint re-press of Miles Davis' "In A Silent Way" for $5, and a Velvet Underground/Lou Reed italian import for $8.

Whats the place in Forest Park?

FWIW, you aren't paying $1,550 for 210 sq ft. You are paying $1,550 for 210 sq ft and walking distance to Zabar's, H&H Bagels, Beacon Theatre, Blondie's Wings, Big Nick's Burger Joint, Central Park, the 1 train, Lincoln Center...

 

I can keep going.

Bingo. I think this is the point most people miss when they move to a big city. The apartment is where you eat occasionally, sleep at night, maybe hang out and watch a little tv, and store your stuff. The city is your backyard, living room, etc. If you don't let go of the sprawl mentality (and comparing apples and oranges re: sq footage and prices) you'll always feel cramped and beaten down.

Val had to move from the South Blvd. location to over the Ike on Harrison a few years ago; I moved from OP before I had a chance to see the new place. She was initially very hesitant about the move, and when the village tried to buy her out of her location she was quoted in the Trib as saying she wasn't that interested in moving, she'd probably just take the money, buy a lot of pot and listen to records. Guess she decided Harrison wasn't all that bad.

The new shop is not that bad all thing considered, although of course it dosent have the character of the old joint (what place would?). She definitely has more room to spread out though

The Harrison District is a nice little slice, although I doubt she gets the foot traffic and walk-ins she used to.

Whats even more sad is they pushed her out, and I still dont think the city even followed through on the redevelopment.

There are dicks in every single retail industry out there; why does everyone single out record stores? Personally, I've never had anything but positive experiences with my indie shops.

yeah, but from what I've been told WC has a coke habit. so, that might be the "it" to introduce into your life.

Bullshit; especially after seeing Steven go through his heroin battle I highly doubt he would touch anything like that

In his own words:

Wayne insists on one last question. "Okay," I say, "drugs."

 

Coyne replies, "Heroin, cocaine and crystal meth: Don't bother with them, don't hang around people that do them, because its dangerous to be around people who do them." The answer comes easily for Coyne after so many years of reports liberally tossing around the words drug damaged to describe his career. "They're made of horrible substances and hanging around people who do them will get you killed or get you AIDS some horrible shit." Hard shit aside, the rest of his response rings a bit more true for the long-haired commander of troops of magic rabbits. "I think there's other drugs that are left up to the individual. If you're young and you're seeking some intense experiences, there are things like LSD and ecstasy and peyote and marijuana that let you have a subjective, personal, intense moment, and they let you get a little bit braver or have a different mindset. If you don't want to them, you shouldn't do them, but there's elements of experimenting with yourself that I think are wonderful."

 

I ask whether he's touched the stuff. "I've done LSD a couple of times, and I've done some speedy drugs from time to time because you want to keep awake, but I've found the best option for me is to be healthy and be awake," he says, that yellow bottle of Vitamin Water still propped up on the table in front of him. "But I would never want to restrict anyone."

http://www.popmatters.com/music/interviews...ps-060901.shtml

Maybe I'm a bad person but I don't really care for the small record stores. Every time I go into those places, they're mostly jerks, who give me the attitude that I'm not totally cool because I'm buying some Wilco or Songs: Ohia records. I go where I can get the records I want for the cheapest price, usually the internet now.

I really dont get this perception. I mean, do clerks honestly give you a hard time? I shop at a couple stores;

Vals Halla in Oak Park is one, and Val is one of the most genuinely nice people I've ever met (besides being an encyclopedia of music knowledge and a treasure trove of stories, having worked for Capital Records in the 60s). If anything shes a hair overbearing if all you want to do is browse.

Another shop is Permanent Records on the west side of Chicago, and the owners there too are super friendly, and I almost always get a complimen on some record I've picked out (which if nothing else artificially boosts my ego). Plus they have a store cat, which adds bonus points.

I go to Dusty Groove if Im looking for jazz, hip-hop, and funk...a lot of the stuff they carry is super rare and unavailable elsewhere. You can literally walk into this place blindfolded, pick up 6 records at random, and you will leave happy. The selection is that astounding.

Reckless Records is the "big" indie chain here, and I guess the clerks there fit more the mold of your stereotypical hipster snob, but even then I doubt they care one way or another what I buy, if they even notice considering the amount of orders they are running around to fulfill.

I dunno, I love small independent shops. Its WAY too easy for me to spend more time and money in one than I had planned. Ive never really gotten the attitude that you allude to

Good vinyl is supposed to pop/crack/hiss, yes, and also go, "strange brew/killin' what's inside of you," not, "stra/stra/stra/stra/stra/stra/stra/stra/stra/stra/stra/stra/stra/stra/stra." I don't know anyone that embraces the latter. In my experience, the $5 used bins (the price you quote in your previous post) end up skipping like crazy.

It depends on what record it is. If it something really common, its usually not hard to find for cheap. I just picked up a copy of Born In The USA for $5, and it was mint, You do have to dig around for it though.

Which is awesome, until the second track on the B Side skips to the high heavens.

Well, I think it goes without saying that comes with the territory. If you're looking for a pristine skip/pop/crack/hiss-free recording, then vinyls probably not your thing. I think those who really like the format tend to embrace those imperfections.

Also, at least at the shops I frequent, they usually dont even buy vinyl off people unless its at least in Very Good condition, or something thats rare.

Almost 60% of my record collection is used, and I dont have anything that I would say is unlistenable. the only record I have that is pretty beat up is an original pressing of the Doors' LA Woman...which actually suits it pretty well.

God, I feel like this guy now...

All true, but you would have said the same thing last week in a thread about vinyl. In other words, before Best Buy announced that they would start carrying vinyl.

My point is vinyl is a niche market, and Best Buy is trying to market it as a mass market product, which its not and never will be again.

Maybe it will be good for people who live in non-metro areas away from good record shops (although 8 sq feet of retail is hardly a substitute). But besides the fact that I hate BB with a passion and would never step foot in one, I see zero reason why I would get a new vinyl there as opposed to any of the outstanding independent shops I have at my disposal, run by people who care about the product they're selling and are deeply entrenched in the local music scenes themselves. I mean, isnt that the appeal of shopping for the physical product in the first place?

Somebody here said it before and it bears repeating: imagine if vinyl ended up saving the record industry. Wild.

Dream on. It was and will continue to be an incredibly niche market. Growing, sure, but realize how relative that statement is. There were a little under 2 million vinyl records sold in 2008...a very respectable number for sure, but far from the savior of the recording industry. To put it in perspective, there were over a billion legitimate digital downloads over the same period. Again, I think the "8 square feet" of retail exemplifies exactly how much of an opportunity this will be for a big box retailer (not much, especially considering the diminished profit margin on vinyl).

Further, the appeal of vinyl is not necessarily the new release, but instead the used copy of some long lost gem that you can find for $5 digging through crates at your indie shop. The people fueling the vinyl craze never shopped at refrigerator stores for music in the first place, so its perplexing they think they're going to somehow pull in the hipster set now.

The fact is most major cities can barely keep the few records stores they do have in business, and while vinyl is now seen as "cool", theres still a whole lot of struggling retailers out there living on the brink.

Airiel is pretty good for current stuff. for older stuff, i'd suggest Ride, or Lush.

I could be wrong, but I thought I read somewhere that Airiel has since broken up

oh yea, and sorry for digging up the old thread, but figured this was easier than starting a new one

Really enjoying 93 Million Miles From The Sun. Crappy band name, but some of the best "nu-gaze" I've heard. TONS of Slowdive influences here...but that is certainitly not a bad thing

http://www.myspace.com/93millionmilesfromthesun

Dig it.

They won't be going back to the moon. Mars, now that could be something.

Theres no way in hell the would just plan a mission to mars, without several prior trips to the moon. All the plans I saw under Bush's watch included some sort of "halfway" base to be built on the moon.

In any case, I think any of that is incredibly unlikely in any of our lifetimes.

Yes the Millenium Park calender is shockingly good this year. Black Moth Super Rainbow is playing a show too (!)

Im seeing Isis and Pelican play in June. yea yea, "metal for people who dont like metal"...whatever. its gonna be great.

My stomach hurts again.

Then I would certainly advise not watching this

Who needs glass, you could just pull a Christian Bale ala Dark Knight...

(no it was not done digitally or with a stunt double)

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/17/...in4268568.shtml

Well, the leak is out, and I must say...its pretty fricking amazing.

6 tracks, the shortest of which is 7 minutes. Lots of epic-ness. If possible, its even more "luxriant" sounding than the debut, although not quite as minima. Lots of krautrock influences floating around on it as well. Perfect stuff to play while driving down the expressway on a warm spring evening.

I am going to be deriving a lot of pleasure from this in the months to come...

If Im going to go to a tourist trap, Id rather spend my $15 on an overpriced cocktail at the Hancock bar

A lot of people say "for all intensive purposes"...instead of intents

New single just leaked

http://pitchfork.com/news/35152-premiere-t...i-do-mp3stream/

I've had it on permanent repeat all afternoon...just about everything I had hoped for.

I can already tell Im going to play the hell out of this album. He's also touring with The Juan Maclean in May/June.

Any other fans?

Its weird, even Trek and Schwinn are now selling fixed gear bikes trying to cash in the craze (after years and years of trying to squeeze as many gears onto a frame as possible)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090416/ap_on_...s_redevelopment

 

I can't believe how ridiculous this is! Here we are 8 years later and nothing has been done. Yeah the real estate market sucks now. But what about the previous 7 years? Nothing has been doneQ Why don't they build now and by the time they are finished the market may be better? I figure once they start building it will take a 3-5 years to complete. So now they are not going to build because the economy is uncertian??? I think we need this to help restore NYC and show its strength of the people! Also didn't the WTC's owners get billions in insurance money that I am sure will help them rebuild, where did it all go!? I remember in 2001-2002ish they said they are going to rebuild to show the terrorist we are resiliant and it should be up and runnning in 2008. Hello it is 2009 and nothing has been done.

 

If anything they should have built a more substantial memorial to honor all the people lost on this day...sorry for the rant.

Reminds me of the custerfu*ck that is Block 37 here in Chicago (aka the single most cursed piece of real estate in the country)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/108_North_State_Street