December 20, 2006
Map Your Way to Music
Welsh put together a map showing local record shops, making it easy to find where to get Pitchfork's top 50 albums of the year, or perhaps something less controversial, like the new Norfolk & Western.
It's a pretty neat little app, and Welsh practically read our mind, since DCist really likes Google maps. He also has his own happy hour map, which is also a topic we wrote about.
Photo by Flickr user jason202
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is Smash Records still open?
Smash is closed and there's a new place on 14th (between S & T I think) that's not listed. It was opened by one of the guys from Crooked Beat
Just a few months ago DCist mentioned Strangeland Records, but it is not on that map.
strangelandrecords com (Annandale)
The place on 14th is called SOM and it only sells vinyl. It has a great selection if you are in the market for records. Why can't DC support a good all around music store, like Soundgarden in Baltimore or Plan 9 in Richmond?
I second the call for Strangeland to be added - it's a great store, and they offer tons of local bands and DJs a place to perform.
why can't people support a plan 9 or a soundgarden around here? because 99.99999% of D.C. residents have godawful taste in music and no interest in anything that hasn't been spoonfed to them, that's why. especially the "cool" ones.
Thanks for the comments all. We didn't make the map, but I'll pass on those suggestions to the guy who did. And I definitely agree about Plan 9 - anytime I'm in Harrisonburg I stop there.
Kemp Mill Music is still open downtown by metro center around 13th & F...
The site lists Capital City Records on U Street as still being open. CCR closed this fall.
Wow. DC is really pathetic. (And my hood, Capitol Hill, is really, really pathetic.)
Incidentally, why include Olsson's but not Borders or Barnes and Noble?
Thanks for the feedback.
I just added Strangeland and SOM. Looks like we've got a couple more to here to throw up. Give me a minute and I'll work on it. The original map came from a pretty informal list, so it was bound to be a bit out of date.
"Olsson's is a locally Owned & Operated, Independent chain of six book and recorded music stores in the Washington, DC area, started by John Olsson in 1972."
-Olsson's website
I've now added the Kemp Mills Music at Metro Center. I see there's another one listed on L Street on the Post's City Guide. Their phone isn't answering though. Does anyone if that shop's still around?
I'm a little torn about expanding out to Baltimore and Richmond, but it seems like you guys are up for it. Looking at the Plan 9 Web site, though, it seems like they have a half dozen shops around the state. Should I put them all on there? I'm a bit concerned it could be overwhelming.
Ben - Thanks for the community service. I say the more the merrier, put them all on there. Let the whiners who say, "But it's not *in* DC!" cry a river of salty tears and go suck an egg.
The paucity of hip indie stores isn't so surprising, but perhaps the virtual extinction of such stores in DC is. I can't name another big city without a flagship indie store coming to mind -- Other Music in NYC, Amoeba Records in SF/LA Cal, Reckless in Chi, etc... The market has changed in the past decade, but it hasn't disappeared.
that 19th and l kemp mill has been a potbelly for a few year now.
NOW! was a great store. cool folks and good selection...till the end.
Ben,
Richmond is worth considering. It's no paradise but it has a lot of cool things that DC lacks. The demographics, funky VCU crowd, and lower rents are able support a lot of the kinds of businesses that DCists bemoan the lack of. The I-95 drive is hell, but I always have a nice time there.
[Re: Olsson's inclusion because it is a local chain]
I thought this map was a guide to places to buy music, not a guide to places to buy music that are not national chains.
Just seems strange to me, is all. I would never accuse Borders or, God forbid, B&N, of being good record stores. But they are record stores as much as Olsson's is.
I don't mean to start a kerfuffle, but I have repeatedly TRIED to give Olsson's my business, but they flat-out never have anything I'm looking for, (books, magazines, or music) and I'm not at all exotic in my tastes. There's one near my work, and I always go there first, but end up buying somewhere else because they rarely have what I want. I try to shop local, but I've just sorta given up on Olsson's.
FWIW, I believe that Strangeland is actually looking to open up in DC sometime in 2007 -- they have retained a retail broker and are actively scouting locations. Regardless record shops nationally are sadly fast becoming a relic of the past -- much like good, free radio. In city after city more stores close each year. Frankly, I doubt any city will have anything close to what most of us would consider a decent shop in five years. For proof, check out Boston -- that town used to be a mecca for great music shops -- now, unfortunately, almost all of the good ones are gone. Ironically smaller second tier towns like Baltimore and Richmond may fair better than places like DC and Boston -- simply because they are less expensive and also, more often than not, overlooked by stores like Borders, Barnes and Noble, etc.
Other Music opened in lower Manhatten ~8-9 years ago in a neighborhood with enormously expensive rents, and across the street from the largest music retailer in the US (Tower megastore).
Which one is still standing (and thriving)?
Amoeba Records'shop in the Haight is housed in a massive former bowling alley, which can barely contain its inventory and crowds.
I don't question the presence of a handful of good stores now, what I question is the sustainability of large, good stores in the future. I imagine some decent shops will survive -- though, I think it is far more likely that smaller, niche stores like Crooked Beat will outlive the "good" ones down the road. We'll see. Further, I would guess we will see a marked increase in fusion shops like Pulp and Politics and Prose that sell select, interesting CDs from different musical genres. Time will tell. BTW -- I haven't been to Melody in years -- what's the deal?
Melody survives because:
A. It's in a great location with lots of foot traffic. If they had been saddled with a location like that of Revolution, they'd have died off long ago; and
B. It serves a very niche market: the audiophile.
While Melody has a decent pop and rock selection, its bread-and-butter is classical, jazz and world music, as well as special orders and supplies for audio gearheads (e.g. blank reel-to-reel tape, high-end headphones, etc.).
Likewise, its staff doesn't intimidate the folks who are partial to classical and jazz, and said staffers are well-informed and can help with recommendations. And the staff also knows about the current pop/rock/alt music scene, but they don't flaunt it because it's not the market that brings in most of the store's income.
But DC isn't really a well-defined market for music stores, which is why there's a paucity of anything that's really good. With the demise of Tower (not the best place, but they tended to have a decent overall selection), there isn't any "single-stop-that-can-suit-all-types" brick and mortar store in the DC Beltway area.
It's funny: Richard Branson has built a Virgin Megastore in Salt Lake City (which is doing quite well, at last check), yet has passed on the DC market many a time. So while DC seems to still be on the radar for live gigs (thanks to 9:30, The Birchmere, The Black Cat, Rock & Roll, Jammin' Java, Iota, DAR, and many others), it's still not a town that screams "music store mecca." And I doubt it will ever fit that role, sad as it is to say.
Sorry to keep beating a dead horse BUT Virgin is going the way of Tower. In the past two years they have closed stores in Boston, Miami, Dallas, Columbus, Vancouver and a few other towns I can't remember. Furthermore, Virgin has no plans to expand in the future. Translation -- Virgin is toast. Also, I did a google search on record shops closing and there was an interesting story about LA in the Times from this past fall about the closing of the last store in Westwood and the overall lack of good shops in West LA right now. The point is that DC isn't unique; right now the great record store disappearing act is just a sign of the times.
There's also a new music store just north of the corner of 18th and T Streets NW (on the east side of the street). I think it has "Onion" in the name (Red Onion? Stinky Onion? -I dunno, something like that...)
I actually think Borders has a pretty good selection. But honestly, I buy mostly jazz albums from the 60's, so I've got different, lamer, standards.
The CD Warehouse has a great staff, which is quite a feat considering all the annoying/shoplifting teens they must deal with on M St.
As for browsing for the unusual, I enjoy CD Cellar.
Once I stopped by a pretty cool vinyl store on King St. in Old Town. Is that still around?
I've more or less given up on brick & mortar stores to find and buy music. Not to be too much of a shill, but I belong to eMusic and have been more than happy with it. $20/month for 90 songs and you can download everything you get from them as many times as you want; indie labels only but Dischord, Stones Throw, SST, etc. can all be found there, plus wacky/cool stuff I never would have heard of otherwise.
Smash Records is just taking a hiatus to look for a new location. Check the Smash Records website for updates soon. The new store will open in the spring of 2007.
Spiral, et al:
I put together the original list, and, yes, I put Olsson's on there because it's a local chain. You can find a Border's in just about any city so I didn't put it on the list. I'm glad to see someone doing something with these data.
i have been to this new store on 18th St near Lauriol Plaza, Red Onion Records & Books. it's actually pretty good. they have books, CDs and some nice vinyl. it's kinda small, but there's a good selection. just one tip, get a real sign!