washington dc record stores?

And yes, PB, the guy at Orpheus has really, really gross fingernails. I was going to say that I wasn't the only one who noticed, but as I think about it, I can't imagine anyone not noticing them. I myself bought a Colin Blunstone CD there once.

If you hate NoVA, PB, you should try and move into DC. The record store situation isn't great beyond the ones mentioned, but there's loads more happening than in Alexandria. I live just off 18th Street, and aside from the infiltration of the Bridge and Tunnel crowds on the weekends, it's a certified good time.

I came across it last night in the George Pelecanos book I'm reading, Soul Circus. (Wonder if he knows about the store I mentioned above...)

Joe's is closer to Rockville now, but not far from it's old location. and they have a second store in Baltimore.

There used to be a store called New Wax Unlimited at 407 Rhode Island Ave. NE that had old soul vinyl. I think the owner died and the place closed up.

"Record Time"

by Troy Holland

Tampa, Fla., 1971. The girl next door (Theresa, I think) leads me into her room. She's 6, and I'm a 7-year-old yard ape whose main interests are catching lizards, playing with matches and banging on trees with ball-peen hammers.

She lifts the red plastic lid on the tiny phonograph and puts on the small 45 rpm single. With no older siblings to initiate me, music up to this point of my life is my mother's bliss during Steve and Edie duets on "Carol Burnett," and my father's mysterious yearning during the Sons of the Pioneers' "Cool Water." The Beatles might've broken up the year before, but I've never heard of them.

So I'm immediately grabbed by the beat that comes blaring out of the little speaker. When Elvis Presley begins to sing, he sounds good to me, though I don't know enough to realize how great he is. Then Scotty Moore's stacatto guitar riff enters the chorus of "Jailhouse Rock," and the song lights up my nervous system like a Christmas tree. I'm transported completely.

I've never recovered. Over the years my requirements have changed, but such moments are what I seek every time I listen to music. Which is pretty frequent, because I'm what Freud might've called aurally fixated.

If your fixation -- like mine -- manifests itself in a lust for 7-, 10- and 12-inch vinyl records, then the D.C. area is a good place to regress. Though roughly a decade has passed since the compact disc dethroned the LP, Washington boasts a number of new and used vinyl stores, stocking everything from vintage jazz sides to homemade rock to the latest European dance music. And, interestingly, vinyl sales have been rising. Comparing 1993 and 1995, yearly record sales nearly doubled, growing by 1 million to 2.2 million, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Some credit the rise to huge bands like Pearl Jam who release albums on vinyl prior to CD versions. Even so, vinyl has maintained stealthy strongholds in the worlds of jazz, classical, indie-rock and dance music, and has lately received a boost from the Internet. Though not yet a revolt of audio Luddites, it's not bad for a format that seemed headed for obscurity.

To which you might say: "So what? CDs sound a lot better."

Looking back though, it wasn't so much sound, as it was ease that made the CD predominant. Compact discs didn't liberate music lovers from bad sound, they liberated music lovers from involvement. If the listener was a cook whose attentive flipping provided sustenance, CDs were TV dinners. You simply "popped them in" and soon they were done.

But if you were a lacquerhead with a decent stereo who took care of his records, if your removal of the outer and inner sleeves, then gentle placement of vinyl on the turntable was a kind of stereophonic foreplay, then your music was usually free of the flaws that CDs claimed to conquer. "Records didn't sound bad," says Fluffy Centner of Orpheus Records in Georgetown. "It was records that were treated badly that sounded bad, and that was the owner's fault, not the record's."

Though it's easy to find music lovers who question digital sound's superiority, CDs clearly have some advantages. They're harder to scratch or warp, they take up less room, their track-cueing capability is helpful in making tapes and they possess the rarely utilized ability to hold more than 80 minutes of music per disc. Still, do these strengths add up to a $ 16.98 list price? Especially in light of recent press reports estimating that CDs may last only 15 to 20 years? "I'm not sure it's the medium it's cracked up to be," says Centner. "Records have shown they'll stand the test of time."

Outta Sight...

Visual appeal was another test that records aced over CDs. There was something about the oversize presence of LPs -- the elaborate art and typography, the double and triple gatefold sleeves, the posters and booklets -- that had a cool synergy. Adds Centner, "Not just fancy covers either, simple ones like 'Yellow Submarine' just looked bigger big."

Like the Rolling Stones' 1968 LP "Sticky Fingers," with its suggestive cover photo of Mick Jagger's fly. But since that risque zipper has been ridiculously shrunk on CD, Mick probably feels a little...little.

He isn't alone. Consider Reid Miles's classic designs for the Blue Note jazz label. Or the loopy liner-note riddles of Bob Dylan's early records or the storybook of the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour."

But one vinyl refuge -- indie-rock -- has mixed the old aesthetic with a do-it-yourself energy, resulting in bands who customize their records in some way. "Being involved in all the steps of the process...where you have to sit down and make 2,000 'somethings,' just shows that people really do care about their records," says Kristin Thomson of the band Tsunami -- and the Arlington based indie-label Simple Machines.

The personal touch of an indie release is a natural extension of a scene that answers more to individual creativity than to the call of the mass market. And that can mean anything from recycling and altering old LP sleeves found at Goodwill, to engraving jokes and Zen parables where only stock numbers used to exist, near the out-grooves of a record.

Such efforts aren't easy. "Grenadine's first single was probably the most complicated package we've had," says Thomson. "It had a strip of cloth wallpaper about two inches wide that was closed by a huge gold medallion sticker. And that was sealed with an embosser that notary publics use. Then we put sticky stars on each one. It took forever to put it all together."

Currently Thomson is considering home-printing the sleeve of Tsunami's next single by using the antiquated but very distinct letterpress technique. "I really like seeing hand-decorated or homemade things. Most of the time they're really beautiful."

For the the old 45's hip descendant -- the 7-inch single -- unusual art is the norm. As with LPs, many bands go the colored vinyl route, with nifty clear or marbled variations. And often there's a clever gamesmanship present. "Split-singles" feature different bands on the opposite sides of the same record, sometimes covering each other's songs. Other singles mimic the sequencing of albums, only in a compressed way. On "Tommy in 7 Minutes," the musicians on the Vital Music label do indeed do the Who's rock opera "Tommy" in 7 minutes, even throwing in a Beatles cover on the B-side. Or Coat-Tail Records's "Sixty Second" compilation, where 10 widely varied bands are each given one minute.

Many collector "zines" come with singles as well -- often splits -- showcasing artists in that particular issue. Most are as limited as the circulation of the magazines they appear in.

And it's not uncommon for singles to have bonus tracks tacked on the end of a B-side. Pavement's recent 7-inchers -- "Pacific Trim" and "Stereo" -- each came with a bonus tune available on vinyl only.

Though some records end up more appealing as artifacts than music, 7-inch singles can be especially anthropological. Since production costs can be kept under one dollar per single, many bands who might never make a record get heard. For three or four bucks you can gain access to music scenes of distant places, as with "If the Blizzards Don't Get You the Mosquitos Will," which captures nine Finnish bands in action.

The Price Is Right

One plus for analog loyalists is that new music is cheaper. Imports can be $ 20, jazz audiophile vinyl can run $ 14 and chain-stores with token quantities are usually higher than elsewhere. But generally, new vinyl at independent shops averages $ 8 to $ 9 for single LP domestic releases. Many American indie labels -- Dischord, TeenBeat, Matador, Drag City, Skin-Graft, Touch and Go, Emperor Jones, Thrill Jockey, Quarterstick and others -- do mail order.

Hot Wax...

Though new wax is relatively cheap, the collector's desire for rarity does amazing things to the price of some vinyl. The mark-up involves first- and limited-edition pressings, in good shape of course. Packaging also plays a part, as with the Beatles' rare and coveted "Butcher Block" LPs: "I found [mine] for $ 120," says Orpheus's Centner. "It was originally priced at $ 150, but I got him down to $ 120."

Being as famous as the Beatles is helpful, but since this type of collecting is a subculture comprised of aficionados, often the "stars" whom collectors spend lots of cash on are not hugely famous, as George Gelestino, owner of the Silver Spring record store Vinyl Ink, explains. "My booth at a record convention in New York was next to [Sonic Youth guitarist] Thurston Moore. He had a box of 30 to 40 original Sun Ra sides...in beautiful shape, all hand-decorated, all dating from the 1940s, the cheapest being like $ 30 and going on up to $ 200...They were all gone within an hour."

Yet when a smaller band -- with a multiple, but limited back catalogue -- suddenly appears on the brink of larger fame, prices can skyrocket. Take, for example, Guided by Voices. In the early '90s the Dayton, Ohio, rock group's self-released records languished in the cutout bins of its hometown stores. But then the band was signed to a label and began to gather a sizable fan base consisting of just the type of collectors willing to pay for what they love. Suddenly, an EP the band literally couldn't give away was being sold for a cool $ 100, and certain 7-inch singles were going for $ 30 apiece.

But it was the GBV album "Propeller" that was the real savings bond. Limited to 500 original copies, hand-numbered and decorated by the band members prior to their success, it's long since been snatched up and isn't changing hands too often. All of this real-estate-like activity comes at a point when Guided by Voices is still relatively small but growing. Should they fulfill the expectations of wider fame, that cutout copy that cost $ 3 in 1993 could acquire a couple of extra zeros.

Is That a Record or a Doormat?

While scratchy records are cool as sampled backgrounds for some music, they're not what the used-vinyl buyer is looking for. Most stores that carry vinyl have used vinyl as well. Usually, apart from normal wear, the condition of the records is good. In many cases people have sold their whole collections to stores, and some excellent copies can be found. Just recently, I was blissed to discover a cache of hard to find John Fahey records in excellent condition at a great price. But there is some used vinyl that -- as you tilt it to the light -- seems to have been chiseled on by over-caffeinated Neanderthals. Which leads to this scenario: The vinyl fiend sees the old Ventures LP, sleeve in great condition. It's "Walk, Don't Run, Vol. 2," the one with the uber-cheesy photo of the band sprawled in the wake of the beehive babe in chartreuse tights...His pulse quickens...It's pressed in the thick, seemingly extra-tough vinyl common to the '60s. He tilts, and the surface refracts in a spider-web of abuse. Aaargh!

It's smart to visually inspect before buying. Most prices reflect condition as well, so watch out for those $ 2 ones.

Two Turntables and a Microphone...

Though the CD is today's most popular format, it's in the world of electronic dance music that -- thanks to the DJ -- things get truly ironic. English dance artists like Goldie, Photek and the Aphex Twin create music largely on computer, building rhythmic patterns of drum machines, sequencers and synthesizers. This high-tech music's main avenues of dispersal are dance clubs where DJs who mix the tracks have attained performer-like status. "They take the best part of the record, and just work it," explains Sam the Man Brown of Washington's Twelve Inches Dance Music. "Working" or "mixing" however, can't be done on CDs. So this particularly futuristic sounding music is released on -- that's right -- good old analog vinyl. "This is stuff that's recorded almost exclusively digital," muses Mark Sullivan, a frequent music history teacher for the Smithsonian's Resident Associates program. "And a lot of it is available as vinyl only...which is the strangest concept in the world."

Typically such artists press up small runs of 12-inch singles, hoping to generate enough of a buzz to be picked by one of the European labels that often compile the tracks on CD to sell domestically or abroad. But many of the singles are imported to D.C. stores like Twelve Inches in Dupont Circle, or Music Now in Georgetown, where they fuel the dance scene here. "But it's not just imports," explains David Javate, Music Now sales manager. "There's a growing dance market in the States...it's always been there, but it's getting even bigger."

That's partly due to stores like Music Now and Twelve Inches, that release vinyl by local and regional DJs on their own in-house labels.

Hardcore UFOs...

There's a pop maxim that says you can learn a lot just by looking at someone's record collection. But one mark of the die-hard collector is the schizophrenic air his collection can have. These are people -- myself included -- whose appetites for sound have them grooving to the dense feedback of the Dead C or the shrieking electron streams of Merzbow. While most people would flee the room, it's precisely this openness to all forms that makes the collector just as happy to hear Patsy Cline.

Mark Sullivan is like that. With him talk may shift from current styles -- "Atari Teenage Riot is one of the hardest things out there right now" -- to bizarre '60s kitsch. "Have you heard of Mrs. Miller?...She was this big Italian mother who put out an album of incredibly awful covers: 'Downtown,' 'Catch a Falling Star,' 'A Hard Day's Night,' [all] horrendous, operatic versions of pop tunes."

Though many enjoy such anti-entertainment thrills, collectors often take it to another level. "It all started with Nancy Sinatra," Sullivan says. "My friends started teasing me about 'These Boots Are Made for Walkin.' Now when they run into a new version, they send it to me. I've got 35 or 36 different ones...and only two or three are any good at all....I've got a ska version, a Trombones Unlimited version...Megadeth doing a metal version...Loretta Lynn, the Carter Family and Mrs. Miller."

Don't Drop It, Be-Bop It

Given the abstract complexity of the best of it, jazz is a music that requires serious listening. Anyone who'll follow John Coltrane through the 13 intense minutes of musical origami that link the opening and closing phrases of "Impressions" isn't looking to hear any Kenny G. But a big part of it, apart from the music itself, is the acoustical space that it was recorded, and exists, in. Many of the Blue Note albums of the hard bop era -- recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in a home studio in Hackensack, N.J. -- had a warmth of tone and sense of space that set Blue Note apart from other labels.

This happened because the old technology captured a performance by transferring its continuous sound waves -- or "analogs" -- onto the grooves of a record. But digital sound captured music by rapidly "sampling" it. Every second in a piece of music was sliced into thousands of pieces that a computer would later reassemble. And since space existed between these sampled musical fragments, the computer would fill in. This -- according to some jazz buffs -- exchanged the original warmth of the music for a cold, shrill sound.

Though many claimed to hear no difference, some of the first artists who recorded completely digitally -- like the high-tech pop singer Peter Gabriel -- returned to analog recording with those very complaints. "[There was] an improvement period for CDs," says Joe Lee, owner of Joe's Record Paradise in Aspen Hill. "[And] a pretty bad reaction in the industry...[they] had to go back and say, 'What are we doing wrong?'"

Fortunately for jazz fans, the answer to that question was the reissuing of many of the era's albums on vinyl. In some cases, 180-gram audiophile vinyl.

The Holy Grail

And did you ever wonder how stores get all that vintage vinyl in the first place? Sure, some people bring crates of the stuff in, but it's not always that easy, as Lee explains:

"A friend of mine calls me from Fort Worth and says, 'Get down here! There's 80,000 LPs that look great!' So I immediately fly down and the seller is the son of a collector who had never missed a sale or a close-out, from 1958 onward. It's unbelievable. There's everything... the Freedom Travelers...flawless Mingus Dynasty records...tons of good blues, semi-obscure soul groups...Most of the records are in racks, but the real treasures are in boxes that haven't been opened in 15 years...I open one and find 50 copies of the Isley Brothers 'It's Your Thing,' their best album ever, sealed."

Lee's reverence is shared by collectors everywhere who know music as something more than a pleasant diversion. And while commercial radio reduces expression to a formula, vinyl collecting can be an entry into the authentic art of sound. Once you've heard the similarities between Mississippi Delta blues and the music of the Tuken people of Kenya, or noted the likeness of a techno track to Balinese gamelan music, then you see music as more than entertainment. It's a fundamental human need worth exploring in all its varieties.

But hey, don't take me too seriously. Anyone who pontificates about a dated technology must be stuck like a record. You probably should switch to CDs now. Go ahead, sell off that vinyl! It's too fragile. It doesn't sound as good. It's the past, Jeeves...Now is the time! Especially if you have an original Velvets and Nico with the peel-able banana!...Or a mono copy of "Blonde on Blonde"!...Or a scratch-free Ventures LP!...Or...

THEY TAKE PLASTIC

These area stores stock serious vinyl.

THE DISTRICT

MUSIC NOW -- House, Eurotechno, jungle, trance and acid jazz. 3209 M St. NW, 202/338-5638.

NEW WAX UNLIMITED -- All genres. 407 Rhode Island Ave. NE, 202/635-3507.

ORPHEUS RECORDS -- All genres. 3249 M St. NW, 202/337-7970.

PHANTASMAGORIA -- All genres. 1619 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202/462-8886.

SAM "K" RECORDS -- R&B, jazz and gospel. 1839 Seventh St. NW, 202/234-6540.

TWELVE INCHES DANCE RECORDS -- 12-inch dance singles and remixes. 2010 P St. NW, 202/659-2010.

MARYLAND

FERNDALE OLDIES RECORDS -- All genres. 7176 Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd., Baltimore, 410/760-1205.

JOE'S RECORD PARADISE -- All genres, with a good selection of jazz and blues. 13822 Georgia Ave., Aspen Hill, 301/460-8394.

MEMORY LANE MUSIC -- Oldies from 1903 to the present. 2817 Walters Lane, Forestville, 301/568-5044.

MODERN MUSIC -- All forms of electronic dance music: ambient, acid jazz, techno, drum 'n' bass and more. 2905 O'Donnell St., Baltimore, 410/675-2172.

MUSIC LIBERATED -- Rock, calypso, reggae, gospel, 12-inches. 201 W. Saratoga St., Baltimore, 410/837-1000.

PHANTASMAGORIA -- All genres. 11308 Grandview Ave., Wheaton, 301/949-8886.

RECORD AND TAPE EXCHANGE -- All genres. 8147-D Baltimore Blvd., College Park, 301/345-9338. Also at 901 Bayridge Rd., Annapolis, 410/267-0462.

RECORD COLLECTIONS INC. -- Classical, jazz, rock. 523 N. Charles St., Baltimore, 410/528-1616.

REPTILIAN RECORDS AND COMICS -- Indie and alternative. 403 South Broadway, Baltimore, 410/327-6853.

ROADHOUSE OLDIES -- R&B, soul, doo-wop. 958 Thayer Ave., Silver Spring, 301/587-1858.

VINYL INK -- Alternative, indie, punk, experimental, techno LPs and 7-inch singles, and a used section featuring jazz and other genres. 955 Bonifant St., Silver Spring, 301/588-4695.

YESTERDAY AND TODAY RECORDS -- All genres. 1327-J Rockville Pike, Rockville, 301/279-7007.

VIRGINIA

RECORD CONVERGENCE -- Classic and vintage rock, progressive and alternative, jazz. 4005 Chestnut St., Fairfax, 703/385-1234.

RECORD MART -- All genres. 217 King St., Alexandria, 703/683-4583.

RECORD AND TAPE EXCHANGE -- All genres. 9448 Main St., Fairfax, 703/425-4256.

MAIL ORDER

METRO MUSIC -- Classic and indie rock from a Silver Spring company. 301/622-2473.

OUT OF PRINT RECORD LOCATOR -- Specializes in all genres of LPs -- except hard rock and classical -- from 1970 and before. Baltimore, 410/358-3033.

QUALITY VINYL & CD OUTLET -- A Chantilly-based non-retail, mail-order only business. All genres. 60-page catalogue. 703/327-4809.

nah, there's some good stuff at cd/game exchange, crooked beat, and ethio sound in adams morgan. joe's record paradise in rockville, too. cdepot in college park. but yeah, overall you'd be better advised just to hoof it up to bmore if that's an option.

http://www.dailycandy.com/article.jsp?ArticleId=26182&city=11

oh and smash in gtown if yr in the market for olde punk stuff and don't mind paying for it at gtown-appropriate rates.

and it sure seemed pretty expensive to me when i was buyin alien sex fiend imports there ~ 10 yrs ago!

Has anyone been to this new place yet?

revive

Here I am. Is there anything left here? Yesterday & Today? Georgetown? Mostly looking for used vinyl.

No vinyl in Georgetown--try Crooked Beat in Adams Morgan or Orpheus Records outside the city in Arlington.

If you can do without vinyl, visit me at CD Warehouse on 30th and M in Georgetown!

haha I love how this eventually became the "baltimore record stores" thread. i've been going to shows in D.C. for 10 years but have never found a record store that i've liked or felt the need to remember or go back to. maybe if I was jonesing for some Go-Go CD's.

There are a few new places that have opened in the past year or two.

Som Records is at 14th and T, all used vinyl (maybe a few new things, but not many.) Good selection of jazz, decent pop/rock selection, and he also tries to find good reggae and international stuff. I think he goes to Brazil here and there to dig for stuff to bring back. Has a fair amount of 45s, too. Som can be a bit pricey, if you're used to finding stuff for $3 or less. Most records run from $6 to $20, depending on what it is of course.

Red Onion Records and Books is another fairly new place, located at 18th street around that giant yuppie-paradise Mexican place, Lauriol Plaza (a little past 18th and U, maybe 18th and T or something?) Not as good a selection as Som, at least the few times I've been there, though I've had some excellent finds. Also a bit pricey if you're used to really cheap places. The owner is an incredibly nice guy, chat with him a bit if you go. He also sells used cds for decent prices, and I've found some great stuff in his cd shelves. I haven't really looked at his book selection but people have said it's pretty good, small, but good.

Smash moved from Georgetown to 18th in Adams Morgan, same selection of mostly punk/some indie/some classic rock/some metal, used/new cds and vinyl.

Crooked Beat has been around for a few years, also located on 18th in Adams Morgan. The guy keeps a very well-curated store if you're looking for indie, there really isn't a better place as far as I know for indie rock in DC. Has a few experimental records that cross over into the indie nexus. Really good selection of new cds, some new vinyl. Again, used vinyl is pricey and he doesn't miss a mark in terms of pricing - so there won't be many cheap finds that he underprices b/c he's not familiar with it. I like going here though b/c he really makes an effort to keep his store well-stocked and well-organized.

Then there are the CD/Game Exchanges, located at various points in the city. I always find at least something interesting (mostly used cds), but good vinyl is hard to find here because they take any and all crap. If you do find something good here, though, it's usually not any more expensive than $4 or so.

I haven't ventured outside of the district except for library surplus or thrift stores. Joe's Record Paradise (I think that's what it's called?) is in Rockville, I think, but I don't know if it's any good.

Joe's Record Paradise up in ROCKville is GREAT if you have a car.

oh yea, the CD Warehouse mentioned a couple minutes ago is okay, too, but no vinyl. they try to keep up with electronic cd releases (e.g. kompakt, mego, etc) and some indie.

I love ILM. Thanks, folks.

i think joe's is still open, at least in rockville.

anyone know if one drop still exists?

One Drop Records & Variety
514 Florida Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001

or this one?

West Indian Record Mart
7505 New Hampshire Ave, Hyattsville, MD 20783

Forgot about Melody Records in Dupont (no vinyl, sorry sleeve) - what do you all think of that place? There's something about it that I don't really like... I don't know. Too generalist, maybe? Like they have tiny, tiny amounts of a bunch of genres to the extent that they don't even scratch the surface of stuff? I kind of like the specialist shops more. Melody seems kind of like a completely generic indepedent record store, I don't know. I think only once or twice have I found exactly what I was looking for in Melody in the 6 years I've been in DC.

Though they do seem to have a lot of classical and some global stuff. Electronic section is pretty horrible, though, unless you're looking for Ultimate Trance Chill Out Vol. 26 or something.

I used to like Melody better than any other place here except CD Warehouse - it was always better than DCCD or some of the other indie shops that have come and gone. They've gone downhill some but they're still above average. Their electronic section is GREAT if you're into gay club music.

Just to add to Mark's excellent post: Orpheus Records is still around and kicking and worth your time for vinyl. Much larger stock than any of the DC shops and with comparable prices. It's in Virginia, but it's super-easy to get to via Metro- just take the Orange line to the Clarendon stop. It's practically right outside the Metro exit.

I'll also rep for the new-ish Red Onion on 18th. I haven't been there in a while (broke, sadly), but I've found some nice stuff there for decent prices (e.g. <i>Beach Boys Love You</i> and Phil Manzanera's <i>Diamondhead</i> on vinyl, <i>Neu 2!</i> on CD).

Som Records is larger and well managed, but in more cases than not, the albums that strike my fancy are too expensive (by my cheapo standards anyway). Still, deals can be had (found a Michael Rother solo album for five bucks for instance), so it's worth your time. The owner is a cool guy too.

Whoops, I see lou already mention Orpheus. Also, whoops on the botched italics.

i'm pretty sure one drop is still open; i walk by it but usually only during post-business hours.

haha I love how this eventually became the "baltimore record stores" thread.

dc's better for record stores these days, with the little red onion/crooked beat/nu-smash axis. i can usually go looking for stuff and come out with at least one or two things i'm interested in.

still, bmore is just leagues and leagues above.

the little red onion/crooked beat/nu-smash axis.

i add to that som and the 18th cd/game, and if i've got time and some money to spend, that's a great saturday afternoon for me - a decent walk, 5 record stores, amsterdam falafel at the end...

oh dude you gotta get on board the old city falafel wagon! amsterdam's gone kinda downhill lately, and their orig. chef left and took his toppings bar recipes over there. it's on columbia right by the ritmo latino.

oooh nice. i'll check it out.

DC falafel thread

i would trade b-more's record stores for d.c.'s food options in a heartbeat

or this one?

West Indian Record Mart
7505 New Hampshire Ave, Hyattsville, MD 20783

-- am0n, Tuesday, November 27, 2007 4:48 PM (6 hours ago)

I used to go there and to the nearby Simba Music, 1333 Holton Lane, Langley Park (near a Post Office), but work and family has kept me from making the trip over from Virginia lately. When I just called West Indian Record Mart the phone number was disconnected. West Indian Record Mart was always expensive except for dancehall mixtapes. Simba is still open--they sell mostly African music but also sell some Caribbean stuff. African videos and dvds are big there. The owner used to travel to Paris periodically and bring back cds and videos from there. I've heard from two folks who worked for distributors in NY peeved allegations that Simba sells pirated copies of legit African import cds, but everything I bought there did not appear to include 3rd generation photocopy sleeves or whatever.

That part of Maryland is also close enough (if you have a car) to go to P.A. Palace, a go-go and hiphop store that I think still exists in PG Plaza strip mall.

wow. just got back from Joe's and I am stunned with disbelief about the stuff I found there. unbelievably underpriced O Yuki Conjugate LP, Linton Kwesi Johnson LPs I'd been searching for for years, the freakin' Second Layer EP on Cherry Red in the rare section... wow. One of the best vinyl stores I've been to in years.

Crooked Beat was cool, the guy was super nice, but I couldn't find anything I really wanted. Then I went next door to Smash and found a bunch of drastically underpriced stuff lke Danielle Dax vinyl and an awesome old Some Bizarre comp. Also picked up this super Link Wray LP on Polydor. The Ethio Sounds store was closed, unfortunately.

we would have gone to Orpheus also but we missed it coming in on the highway and didn't have time to backtrack. maybe next time.

Thanks again for the advice folks, I am a happy record collector today.

I'm still trying to figure out if West I. RM has shut down, or just changed their phone #.

i really need to hit up joe's record paradise

thanx for the one drop/west indian info. i'm gonna try to make the rounds in the area late december. probably joe's too.

made it to old city cafe last night -- yes, very very good, might be better than amsterdam. the basket helps a lot - i was able to fit in a whole lot more toppings than i've ever been able to at amsterdam, and they actually give you forks!! no tiny toothpick things! there's more seating too, not as crammed. i'd like to try the other things they offer on the menu, too.

oh yea, went to crooked beat, picked up a few nice things. shellac's 'action park', angels of light "sing other people, "gybe's 'levez vos skinny fists' which was pricy but i've been meaning to have that on vinyl for the past 6 years.

he had all 3 om albums in, which i already have on cd. seeing all that lovely vinyl really made me want them though. i was able to resist.

falafel + records, always fun.

That does sound good.

I still have not made it over to Langley Park to see if the West Indian Record Mart is still open. I used to see it listed on some dancehall and other reggae flyers, but I did not see it on some recent flyers/postcards I saw online at a dc dancehall website. The phone number is still disconnected. Google only shows references to their 30th anniversary from several years back.

Lots of folks were at the Black Cat Garage sale. It was not the best atmosphere for flipping through vinyl and cds--too crowded and dark if you ask me. SOM and others had tables.

i didn't even know that was going no, though i don't always keep track of DC happenings. sounds cool though. how were the prices? i'd imagine places would jack them up a little for something like that.

going *on, not going "no" obv.

West Indian Record Mart in Takoma Park/or is it Langley Park is definately closed. I went to Simba Records, on Holton Lane off of New Hampshire Ave, near University earlier this afternoon, and after I purchased something there, asked about it and the Simba clerk said they've been clsoed for awhile. AmOn, Simba has some reggae but not nearly as much as WIRM once had, and it sadly has none of the dancehall mixes WIRM used to have. Simba sells lots of cds for $16---For some African imports from France that's not bad, for soca or reggae from NYC area labels that's not so good. Simba now has a website-- simbamusic.net

Found postcards at Simba for events I did not know about---Zouk singer Nichols with local Haitian band Rafrechi at Cafe Peju/Juste Loung in Bethesda December 24th, Congolese gospel (!) in Silver Spring, December 24th and January 5th dancehall djs at Settings...

mavado's at crossroads tonight and last night they had some weird line-up of shop boyz and stone love sound!?

i couldn't make it out to any of those stores but i did go to joe's yesterday. their vinyl section is still killer, just as big as it ever was, if not bigger. i even bought a couple of old dancehall disco 12" 45s and i don't even have anything to play them on.