Sounds of St. Mark's Place

It’s both predated and outlived the other music shops on St. Mark’s Place like Venus Records, Smash CDs (which later became Rockit Scientist), Mondo Kim’s and even its own cassette and compact disc annex in the early 90’s (which I loved -– now a bong retailer), to say nothing of the other East Village disc shops who’ve fallen, like Stooz Records on East 7th, Gimme Gimme Records on East 5th, Norman’s Sound + Vision on Cooper Square, Etherea on Avenue A and Wowsville and Free Being on Second Avenue. Apart from Kim’s on First Avenue and Rainbow Music (that entirely unwieldy and uninviting hoarder’s hive disguised as a shop just a few storefronts to the north of Kim’s), if you’re looking for tactile, playable artifacts of recorded music, Sounds is one of the last outposts still operating.

Unlike so many of those other cramped shops, St. Mark's Sounds always had a regal, almost church-like feel. Up a sweeping stoop of stairs you entered through a heavy, vault-worthy door into a high-ceilinged chamber stuffed to the rafters with LPs and, later on, compact discs. From floor to ceiling, every square inch of the place is covered in music. Where not obscured by racks of CD’s, the walls are covered with multiple layers of stapled on promo posters. I vividly recall one afternoon in 1987 when I asked if I could buy the large poster for the then-newly-released Murphy’s Law debut. “Kid, this is a record shop,” said the guy behind the counter, “not a poster shop.” To this day, that poster -- and many others – still hangs on that wall.

With the endearingly grotty Grassroots Tavern in its “garden level,” Sounds almost feels like the anchor of St. Marks Place … a stubborn holdover from a vanishing age. Normally, when I post entries like this here, there’s usually some dire news appended at the tail end, invariably disclosing the details of a lost lease or a spiraling rent problem. For the moment, however, that’s not the case with Sounds. As far as I’m aware, they’re staying put, although how they manage to meet the demands of their presumably stratospheric rent remains a mystery. I’d imagine the lion’s share of their sales are in used CD’s. How much longer will they be able to stick it out?

There have been record and disc shops that closed that I practically wept over (Rocks in Your Head in SoHo being foremost among them). If I’m being honest, I can’t recall the last time I purchased anything at Sounds. I’m really glad it’s still there, as it holds many fond memories for me, but rarely do they have what I’m looking for by this stage of the proceedings.

Another notable reason to pop into St. Marks Sounds, though, is the incredibly rare Plasmatics poster they have right inside the door that’s evidently been there since about 1979 and that -– even as a slavish Plasmatics fanboy – I have *never* seen anywhere else. Much like that Murphy’s Law poster, the folks at Sounds aren’t parting with it or listening to any offers, although I’d wager it might be one of the most valuable things left in the place (despite the fact that it’s covered in an oily patina of decades of dust). Check it out now while ya can.

You can catch a nice video glimpse of the old St. Mark’s Place (circa 1990) on this post, featuring Robyn Hitchcock busking on Sounds’ stoop.

Comments

[Karateboogaloo]

Do they even keep regular hours these days? It seems every time I go down that block they're closed.

[Sebastian]

The store owner owns the building too. He lives in one of the upstairs apartments, rents out the other ones, and rents out the bar too. No fear of being pushed out by a sudden rent increase for him. Good deal.

[Barry]

You nailed the vibe of that store. Found a lot of great promo CDs there in the '90s for only 88 cents! 88 cents!

[Vinny Marino]

I worked at Sounds in 1984 and '85. It was just vinyl back then, and for a music junkie, working there was heaven. I spent my days in the back slapping those pink and black price stickers on a never ending pile of LPs and 12-inch singles. Sounds was the place to be. You'd meet before a date, go to a concert, then come back to Sounds to hang out. That street has changed so much since I worked there. At one time, there was a Sounds video outlet around the corner too. Great memories.