Monthly Archives: May 2011

Underground Sounds Louisville Kentucky

Record Shops, vinyl road rage, , , , ,

by Joe Wallace

One thing I like about doing Vinyl Road Rage–there are plenty of contrasts out there. Some indie record stores are massive, multi-story affairs that are mind-bendingly tough to sort through.

Then there are the smaller, scrappy indie record stores like Underground Sounds in Louisville Kentucky. They generally don’t take long to shop for a dedicated crate digger, but they do often yield plenty of rewards.

Underground Sounds, like many similarly-sized indie record stores, has an eclectic mix of old and new vinyl, and while

I didn’t find much in the way of soundtracks at all (one of my own obsessions) the jazz and soul lover doesn’t get left out

in the cold while the indie rock kids get all the attention. It’s a diverse collection. There is also a nice case crammed full of boxed sets, so collectors of these should definitely take a look.

Underground Sounds is cozy, well laid out, and easy to browse. I didn’t have a lot of time to spend here but thanks to an intelligent, customer-friendly layout I was able to get the gist of what they had fairly quickly–and that is a real bonus for short attention-span browsers, I’m here to tell you!

Of all the Louisville record stores I found on my trip, Underground Sounds was hands-down the best. Another place of similar size had nothing but grandpa rock and battered Linda Ronstadt albums, and larger spaces–while organized well–didn’t seem as fun to shop. Maybe I just like small, scrappy indies better?

Underground Sounds has my vote for Louisville Kentucky’s best indie record store for the overall experience. Nothing beats selection, organization and atmosphere combined. I’ll be back here.

TD’s Records and CDs, Bloomington Indiana

Record Shops, vinyl road rage, , , , , , ,

This building houses several things including a coffee shop (much needed) and the most excellent TD’s Records and CDs, which celebrated 10 years in its basement location in 2010.

There’s a damn good reason this store has been around for ten years. It’s small, but intelligently stocked and caters to people like me who are in search of Coil on vinyl and related obscurities. I found new fewer than five vinyl LPs by Goblin including the Dawn of the Dead soundtrack and several other lustworthy items.

Many record stores try to offer something to the obscurity-loving crate digger. This store seems to specialize in the great finds rather than offer them as one-offs.

TD’s is a different sort of beast entirely. The store does not promote online, preferring word-of-mouth. And there’s a reason why that word of mouth is good–the shop is efficiently organized, well stocked and you can easily lose a few hours going through all the sections.

I found several titles I’d been searching for to no avail, and there is a great collection of avant-garde, experimental and otherwise left-of-center vinyl. New vinyl enthusiasts will find plenty to look over, too–TD’s strikes a very good balance between the old and the new.

And like all the great record shops I’ve hit on Vinyl Road Rage, TD’s is run by someone with a genuine love for vinyl. This is another one of those shops that makes shopping for records fun and keeps the spirit of record collecting alive. I would definitely drive all the way out from Chicago to visit TD’s again. The store is friendly, crammed full of great titles and a real joy to browse.

Just be careful coming down the steps–the sign does warn you, but know going in that you’re going to need that extra five seconds of caution. Most of the really awesome record stores have some kind of tricky entrance or exit–why is that? Never mind. Don’t break your face on the way in and you’ll have plenty of time to dig.

If you are a vinyl obsessive interested in the obscurities and have to choose between going across the street to Tracks and shopping here, I’d strongly urge you to choose TD’s. I could be remembering wrongly here, but TD’s has little to no grandpa rock (sorry, Mark Farner and Peter Frampton…well, not really sorry at all, actually) and while the shop may seem smaller by comparison, quality is the watchword here, not quantity.

Landlocked Music, Bloomington Indiana

Record Shops, vinyl road rage, , , , ,

by Joe Wallace

There are plain old boring record stores, and then there are indie record stores that simply define the business. Landlocked Music is one of those stores that, for me at least, define what a record store should be all about. Landlocked isn’t too big, it’s not too small. It’s in a space that is absolutely perfect for the volume of records and the variety of merch they carry.

I tend to gush a bit when I find a store I truly love and Bloomington has not one, but TWO great shops. Landlocked is the first.

The store has a great selection of both new and used vinyl, nicely categorized and with price ranges that serve budget-minded crate diggers and collectors who know what their titles should be worth and are willing to pay accordingly.

The thing I was most impressed with is that the store tends to fill out my favorite genres rather well. There is a good selection of electronic, experimental, obscure funk, off-the-beaten-path stuff for slightly jaded record store addicts like me. A good effort has been put into least a decent showing across the genres outside the usual R-n-B, grandpa rock, new indie, and punk sections.

I found an Emo Phillips live performance record here, as well as Sonic Youth and Lydia Lunch, so I’m probably a bit biased in this department. I love obscurity on vinyl, general weirdness, and any of late 80s/early 90s alt/indie/WTF projects so I had a very happy experience with Landlocked Music.

On top of that, the shop is friendly, well-organized, and above all FUN TO BROWSE. There are plenty of record stores where the atmosphere is non-existent, the shopping is clumsy and painful (you only have one set of knees, after all) or the records are jammed in so tightly that you can’t look through them easily.

Landlocked gets major points on all fronts. I will be returning here again all the way from Chicago for another visit or three. I recommend Landlocked to anyone within driving distance as it’s not only a great place to find the vinyl, it’s also situated near plenty of great restaurants and other fun.

Or, to put it more succinctly:

Shop. This. Store.

Tracks, Bloomington Indiana

Record Shops, vinyl road rage, , , , , ,

by Joe Wallace

Bloomington, Indiana has some great record stores. Since it’s a college town it’s not surprising that there’s a cluster of decent shops within a short distance of one another, and the town in general is worth a serious look if you’re on the road–vinyl junkie or not.

Tracks is a shop that wins early bird points as it’s open before any of the other shops I could find. Since that’s the case, a chronic early riser and road warrior will have a bit of fun browsing this shop before the other stores open up.

Tracks has a lot of grandpa rock in the stacks to be sure, but there is also an assortment of new, sealed music and attention to a couple of genres that should attract collectors looking for classic punk and metal releases.

All the Black Flag vinyl you can eat! There is also a nice selection of vintage audio gear, which the shopkeepers definitely seem to love. The selection of used vinyl includes a discount bin, which is a must if you ask me…but in my own case, my obsessions were a bit scarce–good soundtracks were hard to find though I’m told there was a recent record show in the area so it’s possible the selection had been picked over before I arrived.

Tracks hides the records all the way in the back of the shop. Walking in you might think you’ve come into the wrong store as there are rows and rows of college tees, hoodies and Indiana-related merchandise. Just keep moving to the back of the shop and you’ll find the records and stereo gear. All in all, this is a pretty typical selection of new and used vinyl, but punk and metal collectors should take a look as there is a concentration of titles in those genres–at least the day I was there.