Category Archives: vinyl road rage

New York City Record Stores: Rebel Rebel

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We finally move into the New York City record store portion of Vinyl Road Rage 2…there were record stores aplenty in NYC and while there’s no way I could possibly hit them all in the short time I was able to go, I did manage to find a fair number of them. Rebel Rebel was my first stop on the New York leg of the trip. Located in Greenwich Village at 319 Bleecker Street. This is what they call the West Village area…I’m still sorting all that out in my head, not being from there and all…

Inside the shop, it’s a bit of an insane hodgepodge. Records are literally everywhere, as you’ll see. Sorting through the stacks I found Rebel Rebel to be a good place for completists to shop, especially if you’re into bands from the UK and you want to fill gaps in your collection. The store is cramped, but the rabid collector of certain UK imports is probably going to want brave the size restrictions to snag the sounds.

Somebody in this shop has a big crush on Madonna. It seems everything she ever did (literally? Probably not, but you get the message) was stuck to any available wall space in Rebel Rebel.

Yes, children, that IS a vinyl copy of the Ministry album With Sympathy. And yes, that is a $24.95 price tag you see on it.

It’s a jungle in here, but amid the boxes and the tottering piles of vinyl stacked everywhere willy-nilly, the dedicated crate digger is bound to find stuff to bring a smile.

It was very funny listening to the guy behind the counter explain for the benefit of the clueless ladies shopping for party music the differences between ambient, chill-out music, trip-hop and other genres. He seemed to be transmitting his message to a far-off galaxy that doesn’t understand this earth thing called dancing. The lady was very impressed. The patrons were very amused.

Final verdict? If you don’t own a turntable with a preamp in it and don’t know what VAT stands for, chances are Rebel Rebel isn’t for you. But the rabid collector will have a field day here. Bring deep pockets though–titles are pricey.


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Even More Vinyl Road Rage Random Images

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Vinyl Road Rage posts have gone from Cleveland to Philly and we’re not done yet! I’ve got a lot of New York City record stores to get through and there are a few posts that haven’t gone up yet from Ohio and Pittsburgh yet to come. New York comes first though–I’ve been posting these in chronological order. In the meantime, here is another collection of Vinyl Road Rage images collected from the trip. There were 1500 photos in all! Not that you’ll see all those here, but I have picked some of the best….

Continue reading Even More Vinyl Road Rage Random Images →

Philadelphia Pennsylvania Record Stores: Digital Ferret

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I’ve known about the mailorder/online shop Isolation Tank for many years, but I have to confess I don’t know the back story of their bricks-n-mortar version at 732 S. 4th street in Philly called Digital Ferret CDs.

Multiple names aside, I found Digital Ferret to be an excellent specialty shop–like the mailorder operation, this Philadelphia record store focuses on gothic, industrial and related genres. Looking for a record shop that specializes in the dark side? This is the one.

There is just enough vinyl to make it worth the trip for a collector, and the CDs  on sale here include some rarities that I couldn’t resist. I scored two Coil discs and even found a compilation featuring Coil in the track listing–anything to do with Coil on vinyl has my undivided attention. The vinyl selections here overall were tempting and I do plan on returning to score more of them.

I’ve got a soft spot for the old goth/industrial scene, so I was naturally inclined to browse…and contrary to at least one report I read on Yelp, the person running the shop was friendly and talkative. Of course, I know when people are busy and don’t waste precious time yammering away–perhaps someone with few social skills would find someone actually trying to do their job a bit bothersome. But I digress.

Apparently this shop is the “new” location, extracted from an older and more cramped version elsewhere in Philly. I found this shop to be quite easy to navigate and the layout was customer friendly, especially since I had a backpack stuffed with vinyl from other conquests…it was easy to navigate which I greatly appreciate.

Digital Ferret carries DVDs, some books and clothes, but the music is the main attraction here. It’s hard to believe that a goth/industrial shop can survive as a bricks-n-mortar store these days, but Digital Ferret has carved out a pretty good niche from what I could see—kudos for staying true to their chosen musical obsessions and making it work.


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Philadelphia Record Stores: Philadelphia Record Exchange

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Philadelphia has its share of record stores, but when it comes to jazz albums, you really should make Philadelphia Record Exchange the very first stop. Located at 618 South 5th Street, this store is a three-story wonder, crammed from top to bottom with jazz, R&B, blues, and yes, there is a rock/modern rock section in the basement.

From the moment you spot the sign on the street, you’ve got stuff to sift through as on good weather days there are crates of dirt cheap vinyl waiting for you outside the store.

Once you get inside, you’ll go down the Philadelphia record store rabbit hole for a long, long time. Since I’m not a jazz collector per se, there was a lot of browsing, but when I hit the soul section the stacks were much harder to resist.

Deco Disco does look pretty cool…regretting that I didn’t pick that one up now. Ahh well, can’t buy them all! The Philadelphia Record Exchange is crammed full of opportunities like these…it all depends on how much cash you can afford to part with on any given day. They really don’t make it easy. One thing I did notice about this shop–there was a constant stream of people coming in and out–the reputation of this store is rock solid in Philly, and with good reason.

It’s your choice. The lady or the tiger? It has to be said, there is a LOT of crap in the basement rock section, but the hidden gems are waiting there for you. I scored the DBs 12 inch single Spy In The House of Love and a lovely copy of the Peter Murphy post-Bauhaus project Dali’s Car with a bit of dilligent digging. Yes, you have to get past Dan Fogelberg first…but it was worth it.

Yes, the Philadelphia Record Exchange is far more slanted towards jazz, soul and non-rock genres…but it’s a refreshing change of pace…and the rock section does have some gold nuggets hidden in there. Don’t miss it.


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