To celebrate Record Store Day, I headed down to Birdland Records in Virginia Beach to spend some money and bag some CDs. Barry Friedman's store has moved a couple of doors down. It's in the same shopping center (Providence Square) but in a smaller space. Barry tells me that his landlord wanted to put an ABC store in his old location. So I suppose I shouldn't be depressed that yet another record store is shrinking. Plan 9 in Williamsburg moved across the street to a smaller location a year or so ago. I know that D.J.'s Music and Video in Norfolk is planning to move into more compact quarters.
The upside is that Plan 9, Birdland and D.J.'s -- along with Skinnies in Norfolk and Fantasy in Newport News -- are still alive in 2009. This time last year, I would have bet that one of those four would be gone. Instead, it's Volume in Virginia Beach that was the victim. I saw the marvelous Sarah Carter there for the first time last year at an in-store performance. I'll miss Volume.
When I walked up to the counter at Birdland on Saturday and set down my selections, the guy at the register (not Barry) wondered why I was buying so much. "Is it your birthday?" he asked.
Here's what I bought:
The Stooges "Funhouse" (double disc special edition)
The Beatles "Love" (for my wife, Patty)
Jill Sobule "California Years"
Buddy and Julie Miller "Written in Chalk"
Animal Collective "Merriweather Post Pavilion"
As a bonus, I got a "Record Store Day" compilation LP including tracks by Glasvegas, Raphael Saadiq, Black Kids and Q-Tip.
2 comments:
Nice! Looks like you got some good stuff. I had to work all day Saturday and yesterday, so no Record Store Day celebration for me. However, I made it into Plan 9 in Richmond the previous weekend and got the new Bat for Lashes album.
Funny you should mention Bat For Lashes -- I was wondering if you were into them ... Joe like's 'em too. I'll have to investigate. I've only heard one song.
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