Category Archives: Record Shops

Ernest Tubb Record Shop, Nashville Texas

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

Some landmarks are as much about preserving the mystique and furthering the legend of a place or person as they are about anything else. Nashville’s Ernest Tubb Record Shop is definitely tops in both of those departments.

You might not know a damn thing about Ernest Tubb, but by the time you leave the record store you’ll have gotten a quick education about the man and his work in the era when the music industry supported “both kinds”, country AND western.

For those new to Nashville, it becomes clear that Broadway is the street where a good chunk of country tourist attractions are located, including the Ernest Tubb store. It’s kind of hard to miss once you get near 417 Broadway:

Once you get inside, you enter a world of 100% pure country music, nostalgia for “the good old days” of AM radio, those huge microphones, and ten gallon hats. It may be Ernest Tubb’s record shop, but it’s hard not to think of the other crooners when you see the decor. Gene Autry springs instantly to mind; the ghosts of Dale Evans and Roy Rogers are hard to shake in here.

Almost as if store organizers know this is happening, there are constant reminders all over the store about Tubb and his work.

You wouldn’t be wrong in thinking of this place as a sort-of museum for music as enjoyed in the pre-internet, AM radio era. It’s fascinating to think about what these recording artists would make of today’s totally decentralized music landscape as compared to the “only game in town” type environment they worked in so long ago.

One interesting sign of the times–the Ernest Tubb Record Shop doesn’t have a staggering collection of records.

Compact discs far outnumber the vinyl, or at least that’s the impression you get looking around the shop. There’s only one section of vinyl records to browse through, and the official site pushes the CD format very hard. No vinyl at all mentioned on the front page. For vinyl junkies this is practically sacrilege, but perhaps it’s more about what the tourists want.

And what they likely want is some souvenir of Ernest Tubb without having to lug around 12 inches of vinyl all day.

So the Ernest Tubb Record Shop might have a bit of a misleading name for vinyl purists and collectors, but really the store isn’t set up for the vinyl junkie. It’s all about the Cult of Tubb.

If you’re into the mystique, the myth making and the ghost of a music genre that doesn’t really exist like that any more, this shop is definitely a must-see. You won’t need a TARDIS to go back in time here.

–Joe Wallace

PS: I regularly update the WTF Records Facebook page with bad records and news of progress on the WTF book. Why not join me there? You can also get snark and vinyl obsessiveness by friending me on my personal FB page. which doubles as the Turntabling FB presence.

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