San Francisco and what to do in it

don't have much to add to this but I'll advocate for the following record stores in Oakland/Berkeley: 1234Go on 40th; Dave's on San Pablo; obv both Amoeba and Rasputin's in Berkeley (Rasputin's still has the better vinyl selection since owner hoarded vinyl for years and years then opened a vinyl only store that he then closed; now it seems to be getting doled out bit by bit).

The Rasputins in San Lorenzo and Pleasant Hill always have better selections fwiw

the Rasputins in San Lorenzo is where the person who broke into and ripped off my friends' record store tried to sell back their stock a few years back

That reminds of of the time a guy robbed my place sold my records to Amoeba Berkeley. Long story short: I called Amoeba, they had his ID from earlier in the day when he made the sale, he got arrested, and I got paid back in jail labor checks.

Stranded Records is massively overpriced but they sell a lot of good stuff. SF or Oakland.

I'd recommend Down Home in El Cerrito if you just want a dusty ol record store that's been around a while.

Stranded sucks because of Flyergate ... omg I kinda miss the innocent pre-Trump, pre-Ghost Ship days where Flyergate happened.

yeah fuck Stranded, I hate that store

selection is shit, aesthetic is awful (I hate those stores that have multiple display racks of a single record), pricing is eh, and the flyer thing

wow, thanks for all this !

also now i have to know what flyergate is

in SF Stranded took over the spot previously occupied by Aquarius Records, which was v much a local music-community hub - they held in-store shows, they had a well-maintained website with copious reviews, they displayed posters/flyers, had a zine/local publication rack, they were v connected to what was going on in the city. Stranded's approach is the exact opposite.

* would love to know good DUMPLINGS!! spots myself

I've heard Kingdom of Dumpling in Parkside is good, but it's not really a sit-down place. I've not tried it myself yet.

yeah I'm no fan of Stranded either; and I'm fine with SV as a label but when there was some kerfuffle over their Spacemen 3 reissues rather than answer my question about them the owner blocked me on social media, so fuck them.

wait what S3 kerfuffle

xp - a very nice earnest SF musician posted about going into Stranded and wanting to put up a flyer for her experimental indie pop show and the record store guy was a dick to her and wouldn't let her put up a flyer because they think flyers look messy (or something like that), and then it escalated ... the Stranded guy unfriended me on FB because I was part of the pro-flyer faction even though I was pretty respectful about it

yeah they have a NO FLYERS policy cuz that would violate their all-beige-no-humans aesthetic

this other dude who has/had a record store in Oakland that is mostly hip-hop posted in support of Stranded dude saying that the people who just want to put out flyers don't actually buy stuff from his store, and then at least one friend of mine was like, "nah dude, me and my homie would totally buy from your store when we dropped off flyers for our gigs" ...

i think the hip-hop store guy sometimes post(ed) here

all record stores should be completely wallpapered in xeroxed fliers and ancient promo posters

almost makes me nostalgic for treehouse. and yet

haha fuck that abusive creep now and forever

If we're avoiding places based on politics, definitely don't shop at Rasputins. Ken is awful.

he was a dick about that vacant lot across from Amoeba Berkeley, right?

yes let's cancel all the record stores, good

bookmark dump 4U:

oysters:
http://swanoysterdepot.us/

DUMPLINGS!! -
https://www.dumplingtimesf.com/
https://dragonbeaux.com/
(or if you want to spend a little more:
https://www.yanksing.com/
https://harborviewsf.com/ )

cheap beer -
http://www.toronado.com/
https://www.zeitgeistsf.com/
Lucky 13 - 2140 Market St

good movie theatres (all purpose film snobbery encouraged) -
http://castrotheatre.com/
https://www.roxie.com/
https://www.cinemasf.com/balboa/
mixed feelings on this place but ymmv: https://drafthouse.com/sf

mexican food / burritos
http://tommysmexican.com/

burmese food
http://www.mandalaysf.com/

rock (mostly) shows:
http://www.foopee.com/punk/the-list/

The List started in June 1990! Amazing that it's still going.

https://www.kqed.org/arts/13830408/going-strong-since-1990-this-low-budget-newsletter-is-a-punk-institution

Aye, endurance is a common theme with most of my recs in case that wasn't apparent.

Ken is fucking awful, but Rasputin's still has a lot of good 70's psych and prog and canterbury stuff in amazing condition so meh.

S3 kerfuffle: when they announced the reissues, Pete Bain (Pete Bassman) very loudly pronounced that they were being done without band approval; he wrote a long ass thing on his webpage about it, it kept showing up in social media, etc. When asked, SV just blocked people rather than explaining that the reissues had the rest of the band's approval and due to some kind of agreement they had with Pete his input wasn't needed, or something; basically, he was the only person that found it problematic. It was easy enough to explain but SV didn't seem to want to which made it look shady.

Tommys is alright but does anyone really go there for the food? I thought it was all about the tequila bar

xps

"the Stranded guy unfriended me on FB because I was part of the pro-flyer faction even though I was pretty respectful about it" Steve Viaduct, right?

Here's some random SF things I think are awesome/perhaps of interest:

- the pelmenyi (and everything else I've ever had) at Cinderella bakery: http://cinderellabakery.com/
- SF Botanical Garden https://www.sfbg.org/
- the Indian pizza at Zante's (I think they invented it tbh): http://zantepizza.com/
- Borderlands Books (sf/fantasy/horror) https://borderlands-books.com/
- Mission Comics https://www.missioncomicsandart.com/about
- the Academy of Sciences (possibly my favorite building design in the city) https://www.calacademy.org/
- Musee Mecanique at the otherwise execrable Fisherman's Wharf: https://museemecanique.com/
- Murals at Balmy Alley http://www.balmyalley.org/ and Clarion Alley https://clarionalleymuralproject.org/
- Urban Putt: https://www.urbanputt.com/

Re: Tommy's

We always get the whole fried fish, poc chuc, pollo pibil & (depending on how hungry we are) ceviche. I'm so stoked it flies under the radar, we never have to wait, they love us, we love them, etc. Great people.

But... it's a real sit down restaurant with table service so if you prefer taquerias & taco trucks like you recommended upthread, it's quite a bit different obvs. Also as you point out, they have perhaps the best tequila/agave/anejo selection north of the border.

yeah I don't have anything against it, it's a great old-school cozy sit-down Mexican restaurant (the only sit-down Mexican restaurant I listed was Roosevelt's, which is considerably smaller and a different menu)

oh and lol speaking of Tommy's I forgot this local bizarro place, which I love is still around. The food is generally the cheapest crap imaginable but it's fun to hang out in if you wanna day-drink for an hour or two: https://tommysjoynt.com

Forgot about Lucky 13! Yeah definitely go there.

Adding to the Stranded complaints -- they kept a good chunk of the aQ staff when they took over in SF, which I approved of. Except then a friend on the staff told me they all got canned soon thereafter. So, no.

tommys joynt used to be a hang before GAMH shows when I was in my 20's. alas I don't think I've been there since!

it is essentially unchanged

bless u albert, thanks also ned and shakey and sarahell and all the other great recs, boy am i STOKED

What are the best bookstores in the Bay Area for pop culture and critical theory?

https://sfpl.org/

yeah, the library rules.

Alley Cat Books on 24th Street is the most recent place I've bought music/films/crit books from.

green apple forever

I think Cody's probably has theory books, but if you're in that area, raiding other campus bookstores makes just as much sense.

That area meaning Berkeley.

Cody's is long gone

Green Apple is great. I don't know specifically about pop culture and critical theory, but I really like the SF Public Library bookstore in Building C at Fort Mason

i'm planning a work trip to the bay area (mostly berkeley but i'll be moving around) not till june but i am buying flights soon -- how important is it that i include a weekend night on my trip if i want to go dancing in the city one night? i have no context for a scene in a bigger city; where i live there are only a handful of options and p much nothing on a weeknight.

and what's a good positive & fun place to dance to house or techno in SF?

I have no idea but would love to FAP if circumstances permit!

whoo yes

marcos they don't seem to plan their event calendar much in advance, but check this closer to the date: https://housepitalitysf.com/

i would also FAP

lets do this! Would love to meet marcos in meatspace

thank you lukas!

yes yes