Showing posts with label That's Entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label That's Entertainment. Show all posts

Saturday, 2 March 2013

Record Day In York

Quite a surprisingly successful day today in York with the discovery of three sort independent record shops. HMV is still lurching along and I  believe there is a That's Entertainment within the city environs. I'm also writing this on the iPad and the performance is completely atrocious. Keys don't act as they should so I may wait until I can get to a PC before I finish it properly.

Anyway these shops are not places to visit if you want the latest number one or X-Factor product.

Anyway got a laptop to finish this . The Attic is the smallest almost entirely vinyl , up two flights of stairs and run by the owner as a hobby. They have a facebook page here. The address is 1 Patrick Pool and it's next to a camera shop. Directions are here and it's worth a visit.

Next on the list is a sort of retro shop , with books, vinyl, 78s , comics and a number of record players. The ower is a really friendly hip-hop loving guy extremely knowledgeable about his stuff and  currently getting to know David Bowie's back catalogue.It's called The Inkwell and it's on Gillygate in York. Their web site is here. Well worth a visit if you are into anything retro. Oh abnd they serve tea and coffee. Oh and their very interesting blog is here.



Lastly , also on Gillygate is Rebound Records. A great selection of CDs and vinyl , well laid out and a welcoming chatty proprietor. Lots of jazz , Americana, 50s , 60s , folk and I picked up a Terry Reid retrospective and 5 CDs of music banned by the BBC. There is a facebook link here but I don't think they have a website.

Here's another guide to York's record shops worth following up if you are in York. Link here.

So York has small selection of excellent record shops still , which has really mead my day.

Saturday, 19 January 2013

The Weekend's Getting Better



I was thinking that this weekend wasnt going to be any good. I came to the conclusion on a snowy Darlington station yesterday with a one our wait for the next train , knowing that the was work to be done and needing my annualy eye test with my opticians. Well we have proper Christmassy snow , the work was resolved remarkably smoothly and C4 Sightcare did my eye test  and everything is hunky dory in that department.

It's funny how when you are feeling a little down , it's easy to find other things to moan and complain about , but instead I picked up a couple of CDs by Bentley Rhythm Ace and Apollo Four Forty from Thats Entertainment  and then had an excellent meal at Dabbawal.

Tonight I watched an installment of Arrow , which I enjoy as there's some good one liners and the bad guys always get their come uppance although some people refer to it , a trice unfairly I think , as a "Primark Batman".

Friday, 30 November 2012

Ironic



Although Alanis Morrisette got it completely wrong, I'm here in Cromford reading a book about reggae called Bass Culture by Lloyd Bradley and I'm unable to actually go to a record shop and browse for reggae because there are no record shops within 20 miles of here.I know this thatnks to an excellent app called The Vinyl District

Scarthin Books Amazing Shop Sign
Well you could say Scarthin Books has a selection , but it's Naxos Classical and there is a clue in the name of the shop that tells you that it specialises in books. Bakewell has a musical instrument shop that has a few CDs and there's a few charity shops which have second hand CD sections.

The thing is economics and the fact that people's habits mean that record shops have to try harder , and the good ones are still very good.And there's always online if you dont have physical access.

I used to go to record fairs but todays digital age means that I can track down most things on line , and at my age I actually have virtually everything I want musically , but still look forward to new bands and new albums.

I stll love going into RPM or Reflex in Newcastle and hearing something new that I immediately buy. That's how all record shops should be. That's Entertainment I find more relevant than HMV.  HMV don't seem to know what they are selling , giving most of their floor space over to iPod docks.

Anyway this post has wandered a bit but I'm going to read more of Bass Culture and enjoy the rest of my holiday!!

Thursday, 19 April 2012

Not Dead .... You Just Have To Look

With National Record Shop Day approaching I wandered down Northumberland to check out HMV, until recently your only source of music on the high street unless theres a Tesco , or you go for the rack in the Pound Shops that are proliferating in in our relatively affluent society.  Time was when WH Smith and Boots has a sizeable music section but that's no more . HMV themselves are losing their identity with football shirts , Apple Product displays and DVDs and games taking a huge part of the display despite the fact that streaming media is negating the need for recorded films. How man do you watch more than once.

I Shrewsbury I found an HMV buried deep in a shopping centre. The shop was quite big , but the only new music was the new Madonna album and the metal section consisted of multiple copes of Black Sabbath Volume IV , Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and something by Avenged Sevenfold. Newcastle store is over three floors but the music side seems to be contracting by the second,


A surprise and welcome addition to the high street is the Thats Entertainment shops , outlets for Music Magpie. Their music is arranged by price and I picked up several limited editions (Crowded House Recurring Dream and Annie Lennox Medusa) for a couple of quid each. Second hand but excellent condition and the staff are helpful. I was suuprised to see a fair few Shirehorses albums which I thought were hard to get , well Fat Harry White is , so you you can pick up some decent stuff and they have more new stock than the Shrewsbury HMV!!

The Independents are doing well , there'll be queues outside from midnight on Friday but it's good to see there is now a choice of music on the high street.

Though of course you can always go to your local independent record shop !!