Category Archives: vinyl road rage

Third Man Records Rolling Record Store

Record Shops, , , ,

Earlier we posted about Third Man Records, the Nashville record store dedicated to artists on Jack White’s eclectic boutique label. Then it was brought to our attention that Jack White’s titles of high profile performing artist, record label mogul and record shop owner must now also include “innovator”. Take a look at this trailer for the Third Man Records Rolling Record Store, which makes Turntabling green with envy:


And if that’s not enough, get a look at this other official Rolling Record Store clip from the road at SXSW 2011. We’re suitably impressed round here.

Jack White’s Record Store: Third Man Records, Nashville Tennessee

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

When Vinyl Road Rage 4 pulled into Nashville, it wasn’t just to gawk at a music scene overwhelmed by southern hospitality. It was also to get a nice, close look at Third Man Records, the ultra-boutiquey record store owned by Jack White and basically the storefront for his label of the same name.

An out-of-towner will have a bit of difficulty locating Third Man Records, and the shop is in a vaguely (to an outsider, anyway) sketchy part of town–as are most wonderful subculture destinations. But the trip is definitely worth sorting out the directions for, even if you’re not a massive White Stripes fan.

From the moment you roll up on Third Man Records at 623 7th Avenue South, Nashville, it’s obvious that this record shop is different. It’s a very small, cozy space indeed, and as you can tell just from the outside, oozing with style.

In fact, it’s got as much style as a Mario Bava film, with the same attention to detail in every corner from the listening station record player to the short little hallway off to the side of the counter, lit only in red, leading to a private doorway where one assumes Jack White’s musical Wonkaland begins.

Third Man Records only sells music and merch by its artists, so this is the very definition of a boutique record shop. Limited edition 45s, hard-to-find vinyl by the 5,6,7,8s and all the Third Man roster you could want are here (and online at the official Third Man Records site).

The shop is friendly, but feels slightly crowded with more than three people in it…but even if you have to wait a bit to get your hands on some ultra-limited or just plain lustworthy Third Man vinyl, it’s well worth it. I spent quite a lot of time (comparatively) in Third Man just soaking up the atmosphere…if more record stores fussed over their approach like this, vinyl collecting would probably double just out of sheer enjoyment alone.

It’s obvious that Third Man and Jack White love vinyl. The respect they have for the medium is all over the shop. For me personally, the prize find was the 5,6,7,8s album, but major fans of The White Stripes like my friend Lisa Sumner over at the Rare Vinyl and Just Cool Records blog should consider a pilgrimage here–there’s much to take home! Sure, you could likely get all the same titles online, but seeing Third Man in person is definitely one to add to your to-do list.

–Joe Wallace

P.S. I regularly update the collection of bad, misguided and insane album covers on Facebook. “Like” the WTF Records page and see the latest awfulness.

Nashville Record Stores: Lawrence Record Shop

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

Nashville has no shortage of record stores, for obvious reasons, and when you hit turn down Broadway you will find more vinyl than you can shake a record needle at.

Lawrence Record Shop at 409 Broadway in Nashville is so large that you might actually stop and stare with your mouth open for a moment–it’s 180 feet of wall-to-wall LPs and 45s. It’s an impressive collection of vinyl, and it seems to stretch on to infinity when you’re standing in the front of the store for the first time.

As you might guess, this store is overwhelmingly country-oriented. Just look at this row of vinyl records stretching all the way to the back of the shop, and yes–they’re ALL country:


Turntabling isn’t realllly interested in country music. In fact you might say that thanks to a childhood filled with mandatory AM radio listening crammed wall-to-wall with Ray Stevens, Ronnie Milsap, and the cringe-making ever-present Oak Ridge Boys, there’s a definite ALLERGY to country round the old Turntabling office.

But since WTF album covers are a passion round here, country records must not be overlooked–and with so many twangy LPs on hand it’s damn near impossible NOT to find a good variety of laugh-inducing album art.

Lawrence Record Shop is not only a great place for country vinyl collectors to fill the gaps in their collections, it’s also a Mecca of mind-numbing WTF album covers.

In the midst of all this, there was a decently sized soundtrack section which featured some eyebrow-raising titles including The Dark Crystal, the soundtrack for the Irwin Allen laugh-fest The Swarm, and even a copy of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century.

This store is definitely worth a look in, even if you’re just a curiosity seeker who hates the sound of a twangy guitar. It’s right next door to the legendary Ernest Tubb Record Shop, so chances are you were headed to that part of town anyway if you’re not from Nashville.

While it’s true that some would say that the t-shirt message, “Nash Vegas” is precisely what’s WRONG with Nashville, you can’t deny that the southern-friend veneer of Broadway in general is pretty fun–at least as a mere country music tourist, more than amused at the down-home quality of the genre. Sorry folks, give me technology, city noise and scary movies with subtitles.

I shudder to think what the locals make of the Nash Vegas notion, but who knows? Maybe everyone in town is all about the cowboy boots and a ten-gallon hat. I somehow doubt it, if Jack White’s Nashville-based Third Man Records is any indication. White might have allied himself with one of country music’s darlings, but I view their work together more like southern gothic, for some reason.

There’s definitely much more to Nashville than Ernest Tubb…but as my first stop on the Nashville leg of Vinyl Road Rage it was pretty fun to enter the honky tonk heart of darkness–briefly.

–Joe Wallace

Join me on Facebook

Moneytree Book and Music Exchange, Owensboro Kentucky

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

Our Vinyl Road Rage 4 record store reviews continue with a look at Moneytree Book and Music Exchange, located at 1421 Triplett St Owensboro, Kentucky.

I had blown through Bloomington, Indiana fairly quickly with a mind to making Nashville in the same night (day one of Vinyl Road Rage is always super-ambitious for some reason). Along the way I phoned home to get some map support from my girlfriend, Jen and together we found this record store in Owensboro, Kentucky.

It’s good to see people buying and selling vinyl in out-of-the-way places, and Owensboro, Kentucky was a bit off the beaten path. But a quest to find weirdness on vinyl and rare titles means taking the side journeys when you can.

Moneytree (which is an odd name for a book and record vendor, I have to say) has a strange way of displaying a great deal of its vinyl titles–the best albums are mounted on the wall.

That’s not so unusual for the rare ones and hard-to-find records, but they’re usually not quite so high up! It was definitely a challenge to look at them in some cases, and every section of the shop had vinyl along the walls.

And yes, you’re seeing that correctly, those records are right near the ceiling.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of weird, rare or hard to find vinyl there. If you like classic rock, funk, singer-songwriter LPs or other 70s and early 80s-era vinyl this shop would be worth a stop, but for a prog, new wave, or obscurities collector, chances are good you’ve already got what you need, no surprises here.

A new collector might do well at Moneytree as long as they are looking for the previously mentioned titles. The store was friendly, well-lit, but a challenge to browse for all those near-the-ceiling albums. Naturally they did have a regular record bin, but the really good looking copies seemed to be reserved for the wall space.

I can’t say it was bad to stop here, as you’re just about ready to pull over on a trek from Chicago to Nashville…but my vinyl finds on Day Two of Vinyl Road Rage Four would prove to be much more exciting.

There’s much more Vinyl Road Rage record store reviewing to come..this is only the beginning! Up next, record stores and flea markets in the Nashville area…and some outrageously cool shops in Memphis, Tennessee that cannot be missed.

–Joe Wallace

Join me on Facebook