Cleveland Ohio Record Stores: Music Saves

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Music Saves, at 15801 Waterloo Road in Cleveland is a great place for new vinyl. I was also pleased to find a used remix album for Depeche Mode’s Policy of Truth (I’m a sucker for DM remixes ever since the Eno and Helmet mixes I heard back in 1993) and actually purchased some CDs (for play in the Dreadmobile) by Stereolab and Spiritualized. The used section–as I’ll describe in a moment, isn’t nearly as large as the new vinyl but I had some good finds regardless.

There is plenty to sift through at Music Saves–I spotted a new vinyl copy of God’s Money by Gang Gang Dance–something that would sound SPECTACULAR on a turntable. At the time of my visit, there was a generous vinyl sale bin–the NEW stuff, that is…very nice.

The staff is very friendly and happy to point out money-saving sale items. I brought my CD copy of a Stereolab album and was quickly steered to the sealed sale vinyl titles–but sadly that one was sold before I arrived. Yeah–this is a store that knows its customers aren’t made of money and doesn’t mind pointing out a bargain. My definition of cool.

Music Saves embodies my favorite kind of vinyl shopping experience when it comes to indie record stores specializing in new releases. They are big enough to carry all your current obsessions while being cozy and friendly and fun to shop in.

The CDs–obviously not my primary interest by any stretch–are diverse and I was happy to find plenty of old school favorites like Stereolab alongside The Arcade Fire, Dangermouse and plenty of other comparatively new kids on the block. True that the used vinyl selection is dwarfed by new titles–but I suspect that the presence of an equally cool record store just half a block a way (which specializes in awesome used titles) could have something to do with that. But Music Saves has carved out a GREAT niche with the new stuff.

Music saves has been celebrating its six year anniversary at the time of this post–I hope they go a LOT longer. This is a shop that deserves to succeed. I will DEFINITELY be coming back here.

Continue reading Cleveland Ohio Record Stores: Music Saves →

Mishawaka, Indiana Record Stores: Michiana Used Music and Media

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Mishawaka, Indiana is a good place to stop on the way out of Chicago. Just two hours out of the city, you can stretch your legs, top off, buy an Indiana lottery ticket and keep your fingers crossed.

But don’t cross your fingers over finding gigantic piles of rare vinyl at Michiana Used Music and Media. Sadly, the picture below shows the sum total of all the vinyl you can sift through here–two bins with some above and some below.

It wouldn’t be so disappointing for a hardcore vinyl junkie–or even a newbie collector–except there was not much here except for the usual pile of vinyl cast offs from every collection in the world. The requisite AC/DC albums, all the Joe Walsh records you didn’t want alongside the couple you already have. Show tunes nobody listens to. And isn’t there ALWAYS a Fleetwood Mac record in there?

I really wasn’t expecting too much from this first stop on the vinyl road rage trip as the shop doesn’t present itself very well online–an afterthought really, but I WAS amused by a couple of things here. You may not be able to locate that copy of Danny Elfman’s Nightbreed soundtrack here, but if Barry Manilow makes you shriek in ecstasy, you have DEFINITELY found your new home away from home:

And I WAS amused/horrified to find this reissue of the Blind Faith album with one of the most crass and possibly illegal covers in recorded music history. At least tone-deaf Satan Metal bands like Witchfinder General have the decency to put topless women of LEGAL AGE on their covers. Not so with Clapton and company. Those at work should probably NOT click “read more” now. Continue reading Mishawaka, Indiana Record Stores: Michiana Used Music and Media →

Vinyl Road Rage 2: The Journey Begins

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The road rage begins! The Turntabling quest to find cool indie record shops, interesting vinyl, and eye-grabbing album covers good and bad.

The trip started out saying ta-ta to Chicago and getting right over to Indiana for a visit to Michiana Used Music and Media–I’ll be posting reviews of each stop along the way so each individual record shop can get its own 15 minutes in the spotlight. The good, the bad and the ugly will all be here…

The first day ends in Cleveland, with Day 2 headed to Akron, Youngstown and Pittsburgh. Stay tuned for record shop reviews on Michiana Used Music and Media, Blue Arrow Records in Cleveland, Music Saves in Cleveland, and points east.

Vinyl Road Rage 2 Begins Thursday August 12 2010

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I’ve been writing about this for ages, it seems, but the time is FINALLY here. Vinyl Road Rage 2: Chicago to NYC begins on Thursday. The road trip starts with the steeplechase that is getting out of Chicago itself, and the first stop of the journey is Michiana Used Music and Media, which promises used vinyl as well as DVDs and compact discs.

That first stop is only an hour or so outside the city of Chicago, and then a few more hours of driving on the first day to the next stop. I’ll be blogging the entire trip and while the entries may show up at odd hours, rest assured you’ll be taking the trip with me. There will be tons of photos, posts, even some podcasting from the road–a first for Turntabling.

Vinyl Road Rage Two goes all the way to Manhattan, provided there’s no alien abductions or zombie attacks along the way. If you’re digging the posts, please do us a favor and pass them along to your other favorite vinyl bloggers–we’d love to spread the word far and wide about the 12-day trip.

My journey includes a stop at the Andy Warhol museum in Pittsburg in hopes of catching some images of Warhol’s contribution to vinyl. Keeping my fingers crossed on that one.

And in case you’re interested, here’s a map of the journey. It’s not QUITE complete–there are a couple of vinyl destinations in NYC I haven’t added yet to the itinerary, but it’s more or less the whole thing:



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