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I'm in the mood to appreciate the few remaining bricks-and-mortar record stores that still exist in Hampton Roads. I stopped by DJ's Music & Video this week because I happened to notice a big "store closing" banner hanging outside the Tidewater Drive location. DJs is a grocery-store-sized music emporium filled with a deep selection of gospel, reggae, soul, jazz and hip-hop discs. But it won't be that for long. The store's owner told me this week that he's looking for a smaller, cheaper location for his store. DJ's has been in the same building since 1990, but the store has been operating since 1977. At one time, DJ's had at least a half-dozen locations spread throughout the region. Now, it's down to one. And the owner is downsizing that.
"We have too many CDs and people aren't buying enough CDs -- it's that simple," the owner said.
If you like funk, gospel and soul, keep an eye on DJ's. It's likely to discount its stock before it moves to the new location.
Here's a partial list of the discs I bought there on my recent visit:
"Look-Ka Py Py" The Meters
"Nnenna Freelon" Nnenna Freelon
"Look How Me Sexy" Yellowman
"Chet Baker Plays and Sings the Great Ballads" Chet Baker
"The Very Best of Joe Tex" Joe Tex
"Okayplayer. True Notes Vol. 1" Various Artists
2 comments:
man sad news. i wish i could afford to buy some cd's. i'm sure i could find something. i remember buying 12"s there back when i thought i could dj. what about poonie's (i think thats the name) at five points? are they still open?
I'll have to check on Poonie's ... I know there's a place in downtown Newport News called Bottom Beat that's still hanging on ... but just barely.
On another subject -- I'm still looking forward to that Deerhunter show! I keep talking to people who are interested. I'm thinking it might actually sell out.
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