
Since I spend so much time lamenting the vanishing of of music shops, I thought I'd take a moment to pay tribute to the ones that are still hanging on. Then again, you may remember, I posted an entry about Sounds on St. Marks (above, behind my inexplicably-entirely-orange-clad son, Oliver) a while back under similar circumstances, and in due course it was disclosed that they, too, are up for rent. Hopefully, that won't befall these remaining locales.
Anyway, in no rank or order,...

Other Music
15 East 4th Street
Now my first destination any time I'm searching for something. While, yes, Other Music may be a roiling hotbed of hip, indie esoterica, the staff are actually very friendly and not-at-all snobbish (at least not in my experience). I tend to spend more time in the "THEN" (i.e. old bands, box sets, re-issues, re-masters, etc.) section, but then I'm old and in need of a re-mastering myself. If/when Other Music closes, I may have to leave Manhattan for good.

Generation Records
210 Thompson Street
Not quite as high-brow and exotic as Other Music, Generation is a long-standing hive of punk, hardcore, metal CD's and vinyl of both the new and used variety. The surprises are few and far between, but they have a solid, dependable stock and know their stuff. Generation is also one of tne of the last vestiges of the old neighborhood spirit of Greenwich Village, now that Bleecker Bob's, Second Coming, Route 66 and 99 Records are all distant memories.

Record Runner
5 Jones Street
Despite appearances in this photograph, I assure you that Record Runner is still in business, but they're open for walk-in traffic on a very select basis (they do most of their trade online nowadays). I happened to catch them open last weekend, and walking in there was like stepping back two decades in time. Their go-to artists remain vintage Duran Duran, Culture Club and Madonna, but the shelves are still full of 90's Brit indie acts like Gene, Senseless Things and World of Twist. I'm not quite sure how they survive.

Rebel Rebel
319 Bleecker Street
Another long-timer, Rebel Rebel is still in suitably fighting form, albeit crammed to the rafters with stock (and, thus, somewhat hard to navigate). "French Dave" (as the Robs and I referred to him, despite the fact that he's not actually French, and never was) is still running the place, and still wicked plugged in. The emphasis shifted from European/indie rock imports to, well, club music, but that was more of a survival tactic, given the shop's placement in a particular spot of the West Village. I procured vast swathes of my disc collection at this shop, and I will be crushed if it ever closes. Keep'em flyin', Dave.

Bleecker Street Records
186 West 4th Street
Recently deposed from their perch on Bleecker Street (one formerly occupied by Golden Disc Records), Bleecker Street Records has re-located, ironically, to a space formerly occupied by another music shop, Disc-O-Rama (formerly managed by a Lenbanese gentleman called Simon, who now operates the Toum Lebanese cuisine food truck in midtown). Bleecker Street Records runs a wide gamut of stock, and has most of the essentials (and some lovely rare vinyl). I hope it stays put.

Kim's Video & Music
124 1st Avenue
My little son Oliver took this pic. :) In any case, while a shadow of its former incarnation as the multi-tiered Mondo Kim's on St. Marks (to say nothing of their other outlets), this final Kim's on 1st avenue boasts enough exotic stock to rival Other Music.
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