Monthly Archives: August 2010

Cleveland Ohio Record Stores: Record Revolution

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Record Revolution in Cleveland Ohio is in the center of the Cleveland Heights arts-n-culture district. There are music venues, wi-fi coffee shops, art spaces and plenty of other diversion. Located on 1828 Coventry Road, Record Revolution is one of Cleveland’s indie vinyl landmarks if the reviews on Yelp.com and elsewhere mean anything at all.

Those reviews say the store has lost some of its former glory. That’s not for me to say–I’ve never shopped there until this trip, but I can say the shop is a combination of old and new vinyl and if you’re a new vinyl collector looking for soul titles, you could do a hell of a lot worse than starting your journey here.

There are plenty of fun oddball vinyl selections (my favorite finds are the weird ones), plus the ones you know you want if for no other reason than to have bagged another trophy title.

Record Revolution has a pile of grey market DVDs for sale, plus a collection of movie poster reproductions (they seem to be laser or inkjet printed reproductions which I personally stay away from–I can print them myself at home for free, thanks). I have to say, some of the grey market discs are awesome–I purchased one that was a collection of nothing but Turkish action movie excerpts. But some of the others are pretty vile. “Upskirt”? Thanks, but no thanks.

Record Revolution has a downstairs area with a nice collection of bargains on vinyl and CD. A literal “bargain basement”.

The CD piles include a set of ultra-cheapie discs. It’s a trend I’ve been noticing in record stores a lot lately–one that seems to indicated that the shiny disc is going the way of the video tape. I predict that one day compact discs could become actual collector’s items when it comes to releases by bands like Coil and others who might not ever reissue portions of their back catalogs in MP3 form…or will they change their minds later? Still too early to tell.

Record Revolution is a store that could act as a gateway to collecting for the curious–I can see how someone might get a lifelong habit after scooping up some of the vinyl bargains here as an experiment. Diehard collectors should stop in on a just-in-case basis, but if you have a small collection pop in here to fill things out.

And you thought Reader’s Digest was only in the magazine business, right? And look! It’s PLEASURE PROGRAMMED! I feel dirtier already.


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More Random Images from Vinyl Road Rage 2

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I’m still in New York, but taking a day of rest from the vinyl shopping madness to see a few sights, take a pile of photos and eat in some of local places. I’ve got one more record shop to review from Cleveland, then we’ll move on to Akron and Youngstown, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Philadelphia and NYC. Who knows what happens from there? In the meantime, here are some of the images so far:

Yes, the incredibly massive Eide’s in Pittsburgh, PA is still kicking. They have three floors and it’s stuffed to capacity with lots to sift through. Your brain might split in two from the sheer volume of vinyl on hand.

Did this come out AFTER they sold Nirvana to the majors? Could this album be titled without a trace of irony? Sub Pop did get points on that sale, you know…

IndieWax was a fun shop that had a pile of discount records so large I couldn’t possibly have sifted through them all. They also had all the Dwarves 45s you could ever want. Friendly crew and a nice casual browser-friendly atmosphere. A bigger review coming, naturally.

Somebody PLEASE stop letting Ringo design his own album covers. Did you fall off the wagon here or what? You clearly just wiped some Bolivian Marching Powder off your face just before you came up with THIS one. I don’t want to hear any more crap about George Harrison’s Maharishi albums when there’s so much WORSE floating around from ex-Beatles…as you can plainly see.

They are a DIME. BUY THEM ALL! I should have done just that, but I already had a massive pile straining my shoulders. This would have killed me. Besides…I can’t really think of a suitably violent use for some of those titles.

Continue reading More Random Images from Vinyl Road Rage 2 →

Vinyl Road Rage: The Trip So Far

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I’m writing this update from Newark, New Jersey. Vinyl Road Rage 2 has been one hell of a crazy trip. How crazy? Try 17 record stores in five days between Chicago and NYC. And it’s not quite done yet.

I am still writing record store reviews on the Cleveland stop alone–there are many more reviews to come for wonderful indie record stores from Akron, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Philadelphia and Greenwich Village. I have purchased more than 45 titles on this trip and am afraid that the total will be much higher before it’s all said and done.

Highlights of the journey so far: the crew behind the counter at Music Saves in Cleveland telling me about the record shops I didn’t know about there and helping me round out the list somewhat. Ditto for the gentleman working at Allentown’s delicious Double Decker Records, which had some of my favorite finds of the entire trip. Double Decker is a crazy mish-mash of old and new and you’ll find plenty to surprise you there. Do NOT pass by this store. More on that in my full review, complete with lots of pics.

Favorite goofy moments of the trip so far–a guy at Bleeker Bob’s Records in NYC asking me in a seemingly nervous way if the images I was taking were “for publication”. Not to worry, Bleeker Bob, no images I take with my iPhone are being used in a book or magazine. Ditto for the guy behind the counter of Rebel Rebel who confronted me about leaving Turntabling business cards behind. “WHAT are those CARDS?” It was funny to hear his reply to me telling him about Turntabling. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t one of those carpet cleaning guys.” No worries, matey.

I keep seeing the same album covers on the walls of some of the stores. It’s funny to be haunted by Wendy O. Williams, but even funnier was the posters I saw side by side of Madonna and Henry Rollins. For once, Madonna’s nipples were covered, while Henry Rollins’s were exposed. What a reversal!

I’ll have much more on Vinyl Road Rage 2, Chicago to NYC over the remainder of the trip and beyond. Tomorrow is another day of vinyl record shopping and obsessing in New York City.
Continue reading Vinyl Road Rage: The Trip So Far →

Cleveland Ohio Record Stores: The eXchange

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Yes, technically speaking, The eXchange (or however you spell the bloody thing) is NOT an indie record store. But I must say that the selection for blues lovers was pretty damn fine–size notwithstanding. Yes, the selection is limited, but the blues/jazz titles IN that limited selection were pretty decent.

The rest of you will have to sit and spin with a few exceptions–this Cleveland Heights branch DID have a copy of REM’s Chronic Town that is NOT a resissue, but aside from that it’s pretty standard fare here–unless you like blues and jazz. This one is very close to the Cleveland Heights indie record store Record Revolution, so it’s not such a bad diversion if you need to fill in some holes in your collection (see below).

You could do worse, I suppose. I’m not a huge fan of this chain but they DO sell used vinyl so I had to stick my head in there for a second. Not the most shining moment of the trip to be sure, but I do love me some Miles.

–Joe Wallace

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