Wrecka Stows – 7th Level Music

Wrecka Stow: Sub Pop Records – Seattle-Tacoma International Aiport

If you find yourself near Concourse C at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and need some time to kill, what better place to do it than the Sub Pop Records store?

The place has a little bit of everything, and all of it is related to Sub Pop artists. The book collection is impressive, and I love how it contained stuff for young readers, too.

I was surprised to see the large number of cassettes they had for sale, it seemed to be larger than the number of CDs.

The cassettes wrap around three sides of this pillar.

As you can tell, there’s plenty of vinyl, and they had “travel friendly” 7″ vinyl, too.

They have a lot of “Loser edition” records here, which are limited edition colored vinyl versions of these albums. They also have cool stuff like this in some bins at the bottom of shelves.

Well, I need this in my life…Not to mention that Sleater-Kinney album.

There’s plenty of Sub Pop gear to buy as well. You can even buy a replica of Kurt Cobain’s famous flannel shirt.

But this was my favorite shirt there.

I can’t put it any better than that.

Keep your mind open.

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Wrecka Stow: Philadelphia Record Exchange – Philadelphia, PA

Located at 1524 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia Record Exchange is a crate-diggers dream and a great place for music lovers. I knew I was in the right place when I overheard the owner and a customer having a fun discussion about a rare Taco record.

My friend, Jessica, and I walked in and immediately saw this on the left…

…and this on the right.

Once you get back the initial barrage of sights upon entering the place, you see the back 2/3 of the store has so much vinyl that you could spend days digging through it and not see it all.

These boxes reminded me of being in a comic book store full of back issues. Those are full of 45s. See that white crate on top of the middle stack? This was the record at the front of it…

The place is a gold mine for stuff like this. Need more rarities? How about…?

That was on a wall in the back of the store, which looks like this…

Jessica and I spent close to an hour here and barely touched a handful of things when you consider how much they have. I mean, they even have cool Indian mediation music.

And boxes like this you can’t resist…

They also have two of the best clocks I’ve seen in a while.

I’m not sure if I need that one more in my life, or this one…

Then again, I might need this album in my life more than either of those clocks…

I didn’t walk out with that piece of vinyl, but I did score three cool CDs.

I don’t know how I haven’t owned physical copies of those debut albums by The Damned and The Psychedelic Furs before now, but that copy of the Sitting Target score was a great find and a steal at that price. There are many great bargains here, so bring your wallet.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jessica for taking me there!]

Wrecka Stow: Repo Records – Philadelphia, PA

Located at 506 South Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Repo Records is a hip place with a ton of hip stuff for you to peruse and discover. I mean, the front door and windows alone display posters for The National, Danny Brown, Mannequin Pussy, Joy Division, and Led Zeppelin, so you know they’ll have something for you.

They have plenty of music, of course, but the first thing that grabbed my eyes when I walked in were two big bookcases of books, zines, and other freaky publications.

And yes, there’s plenty of music for you to gawk over and buy. This is just a small section of the vinyl available here. Here’s the back of the store…

Check that out. The Monkees, The Allman Brothers, De La Soul, and Gang Green all on the same wall.

A whole crate of 80s – 90s goth, post-punk, and industrial stuff. I could’ve dropped a lot of money here, and I almost snagged this MF DOOM record.

I opted for seven CDs and a couple patches instead…

Yes, that’s seven CDs because that Jesus and Mary Chain set is all five of their original albums. I already own a digital copy of Candy, but buying all five at that price was a steal. I’d wanted to pick up Viagra Boys‘ Welfare Jazz for a little while, and that Green Velvet disc was a surprise find. Also, the patches were too fun to pass up – especially the MF DOOM one since I didn’t snag the record.

Be sure to swing by Repo Records if you’re in town, but be warned…

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jessica for taking me there!]

Wrecka Stow: Reckless Records – London, England

Located at 30 Berwick Street in London, Reckless Records packs a lot of cool stuff into a small space. The place had a lot of customers while I was there, most of them flipping through the extensive racks of vinyl in the building.

As you can see, they had nearly an entire wall of rare “white label” pressings, and I love that they have a section called “Cheaps.” Don’t worry, fellow CD lovers, they have those, too.

I wasn’t sure where to begin, but I ended up scoring a Julian Cope EP I’d never seen before, so that was a win. I was short on time, too, so I didn’t get to spend as much time in there as I’d like to have spent. This was probably better for my wallet, too, but I’d be happy to go back there. Be sure to check it out if you’re in London.

Keep your mind open.

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Wrecka Stow: Sister Ray Records – Soho, London, England

It’s a good thing I don’t live in London, because I would be perpetually broke from spending so much money at Sister Ray Records at 75 Berwick Street in Soho.

Not only is their collection extensive and widely varied, but the bargains to be had there are second to none.

This is a tiny sample of what they had to offer. They had any genre you wanted, and a lot of great collections for dirt cheap prices. I scored a three-disc house music collection for not even eight bucks, an Ian Dury three-CD anthology, a Jam collection, a live Julian Cope album, a remastered version of Psychedelic Furs‘ Talk Talk Talk album, a Viagra Boys album, and a live album by The Damned. The Julian Cope disc was the most expensive thing I bought, and that was barely twelve dollars after the price conversion from British pounds. They had a staggering number of multi-disc collections for under ten pounds each.

There was a lot more I wanted, and I barely even looked in their basement.

CDs upstairs, vinyl downstairs. Both floors have enough in the racks to keep you busy for hours. I could’ve stayed there until they closed the doors, and, again, the prices are stunning.

Do not miss this place if you’re ever in London. It’s a must-stop for music lovers and collectors.

Keep your mind open.

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Wrecka Stow: Fopp – Edinburgh, Scotland

Conveniently located next to a bus stop in downtown Edinburgh, Scotland, Fopp is a chain of record stores around the UK, and this one had a lot of cool stuff in it – half of which I didn’t get to see because I got there about 20 minutes before they closed.

So, yes, first off – books, T-shirts, DVDs, and new music as soon as you walk in the door.

Vinyl? Of course there’s vinyl, as well as turntables and speakers.

Check out that Batman record between Nina Simone and Florence and The Machine!

There’s a wing of CDs as well, where I was tempted to grab about half a dozen things, but vinyl is king here.

Looking back, I should’ve grabbed that Radiohead shirt.

I did find a great CD score, however, settling for just one purchase since they were in the process of closing by the time I was sorting through many shelves of discs.

I’d been looking for stuff from The Limiñanas for a while, and here was a two-disc collection with 35 tracks. It was like finding a golden ticket in a Wonka bar.

There was an entire bottom floor full of DVDs and books that I didn’t get to see because of the short time I had there, but I’d happily go back. Don’t skip this place if you’re in Edinburgh.

Keep your mind open.

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Wrecka Stow: The Secret Book and Record Store / Freebird Records – Dublin, Ireland.

Dublin’s The Secret Book and Record Store, also known as Freebird Records, is a little bit hard to find. You have to go 300 meters from Grafton Street on Wicklow Street and look for this sign.

Then, go down this hall.

And, at the end of this hall, find this treasure trove.

That’s just some of the books, mind you. Most of those unopened boxes are full of books they haven’t yet shelved. Then, there’s the music…

Good grief, they pack in a lot of stuff into a reasonably small space. The place doesn’t feel cramped, however. It’s far enough off the busy street to be quiet and let you relax as you browse. My mother was with me on this trip, and she found a couple books she would’ve bought if she’d had more room in her carry-on bag. I had to limit myself to a small purchase, so I went with these.

I’ve been looking for that Faithless album for years, and that three-disc Slowdive collection was less than eighteen bucks. Yes, please.

It’s worth walking away from the beaten path to find this place. You won’t regret it.

Keep your mind open.

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Wrecka Stow: Music & Video Exchange – Greenwich, London

Located on one of the main streets in London’s Greenwich district, Music & Video Exchange is another place you can get lost in for hours, but go on a cool day. It was a hot day in London when I was there, and this store has no air conditioning (like most places in London, really).

Don’t let that keep you from visiting this place, though, as they have a ton of cool stuff there. I mean, look at this.

I love how they have a section of vinyl called “NOISE NOISE NOISE.”

They had a lot of cool, collectible vinyl there, and this wall of rare 45s was neat to see.

The Motörhead and Au Pairs discs alone are worth a look.

As if all this weren’t enough, there’s an entire basement full of CDs.

You can also see shelves of DVDs in that photo. There was a lot I wanted to dig through there, but the basement was so humid that I couldn’t stay long. I did find a cool score upstairs, however.

Ten pounds for ten Tangerine Dream albums? Uh, yeah. That’s a steal.

I’ll be sure to go back here if I’m ever in Greenwich again. I have a lot of bins to search there.

Keep your mind open.

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Wrecka Stow: Casbah Records – Greenwich, London.

Located in the lovely Greenwich borough of London, England, Casbah Records is a cool shop full of great stuff. You could easily spend a couple of hours there. They make a good use of the limited space and have a lot of different genres to choose from among the records, CDs, and DVDs.

They had a lot of good box sets, both for CDs and LPs. The sheer amount of neat collections they had for sale was impressive. You can see a great Neu! there on that shelf among other neat sets.

Choosing just a few things was difficult, but I went for these.

That Studio One Space-Age Dub Special looked too cool to pass up, as did DJ Format‘s Psych Out. I haven’t heard either, but they’re bound to be wild.

As is Casbah Records. Don’t pass it up if you’re in Greenwich.

Keep your mind open.

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Wrecka Stow: The Rhythm Section – Gatlinburg, TN

Located in the Mountain Mall at 611 Parkway in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, The Rhythm Section is one of the smallest stores in the entire mall, yet it makes the most of its size by jam-packing the shelves and bins with a lot of browse.

That’s just one wall of this place. There’s another wall full of CDs just like this. There’s also a lot of vinyl and DVDs, and an especially large collection of horror, cult, and sci-fi movies.

There’s plenty of fun stuff there, and a lot of fun gems if you take the time to dig through the shelves, crates, and boxes. I mean, who wouldn’t be tempted by stuff like this?

I snagged a CD copy of Acid King‘s Live at Roadburn album there. I probably would’ve bought a lot more (especially from those shelves of cult movie DVDs) if I’d had more time there.

Keep your mind open.

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