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Records coming back to downtown Chicago

Terry_ClubbupTerry_Clubbup 833 Posts
edited February 2007 in Strut Central
It seems insane to be in a large, dense and intense city and have nowhere to buy records downtown. Downtown in the Loop here wouldbe where folks used to go to get records, back when department storesand drug stores still sold records. Jazz Record Mart is about allwe got, and that seems to be a case of manipulating back stock as opposed to good fresh streams of New Arrivals coming in the door.Anyway, Reckless is opening up a 3rd location right in the heartof the Loop. This is exciting because Reckless is known for theirreckless buying and pricing. Maybe I wouldn't care if I didn't work downtown, then it would seem like "why?". But right now I amhaving some dollarbin dreams about the Home Of The Reasonable Wall.Wall pieces always a bargain there, maybe I can finally get thatHeart picture-disc I've always wanted. Also I predict rapp raersappearing out of nowhere down there.If you live in a big-ass city, don't you think there should be a record service station downtown?Now if there was only a place to get a fucking set of guitar stringsdowntown, seriously. And I'm not talking about a 13 dollar set ofD'Addarios from the sheet music store. No, no guitar strings downtown.
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  Comments

  • eliseelise 3,252 Posts
    Yes is it slightly depressin.

    Ive had som good luck at some hot spots in the Downtown...
  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts
    whoa where is the new place opening?
  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
    Barra-Barra-Barra-Coooooo-dah

  • eliseelise 3,252 Posts
    Barra-Barra-Barra-Coooooo-dah

  • meatyogremeatyogre 2,080 Posts
    Theres always that pharmacy in the south loop that has records. Ever been there Terry? This is good news though, for sure.
  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    That pharmacy on De*rborn, in Printer's Row?
  • meatyogremeatyogre 2,080 Posts
    dont think its on Dearborn, but I havent been there in a few years. Its right near Columbia College
  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    Hmmmmm. I stay in the South Loop. I might have to take this up with my alchemist.
  • meatyogremeatyogre 2,080 Posts
    Its nothing to write home about. Im sure it was cool in the 80s though. I was startled when I walked in there randomly and saw a bunch of records though.
  • Terry_ClubbupTerry_Clubbup 833 Posts

    Man I checked that pharmacy twice and both times it was just a buncha
    Nelson Riddle Arthur Fiedler Sing Along With Mitch type of style of records.
    Perhaps this phenomenon can be explained by my arrival at said crates
    well after the arrival and departure of the Chicago Rekkid Huzzlas.
    Such as Meaty. All it takes is one tip-off phone call and Huzzlas will
    be bumping heads at strange crates within the hour.

    The new reckless is to be at Monroe and State. www.reckless.com
  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    One of those couple-crappy-crates-in-the-corners things, I'm sure. Probably picked over by all the lazy Columbia kids after they stumbled upon them looking for tampons.
  • meatyogremeatyogre 2,080 Posts
    One of those couple-crappy-crates-in-the-corners things, I'm sure. Probably picked over by all the lazy Columbia kids after they stumbled upon them looking for tampons.

  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts



    The new reckless is to be at Monroe and State. www.reckless.com

    Awesome. In other news, Yoko Ono's catalog has been reworked in the "electro clash realm." Thanks for the recommendation, Reckless, but I think I'll pass. That's the good thing about that store: Most of the customers are wannabee hipsters, so they overlook a lot of stuff.
  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    One of those couple-crappy-crates-in-the-corners things, I'm sure. Probably picked over by all the lazy Columbia kids after they stumbled upon them looking for tampons.


    Hey, I went to that school too.
  • Terry_ClubbupTerry_Clubbup 833 Posts
    Barra-Barra-Barra-Coooooo-dah



    Actually, this is the one I was thinking of:






    THANX A LOT YOU JUST MADE MY WANT-LIST ONE DEEPER LOLZERS
  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts



    The new reckless is to be at Monroe and State. www.reckless.com

    Awesome. In other news, Yoko Ono's catalog has been reworked in the "electro clash realm." Thanks for the recommendation, Reckless, but I think I'll pass. That's the good thing about that store: Most of the customers are wannabee hipsters, so they overlook a lot of stuff.


    some of those blurbs are kind of hilarious

    VARIOUS ARTISTS
    HIP HOP ESSENTIALS VOL. 1 1979--1991 TOMMY BOY PRESENTS
    Tommy Boy
    If this compilation proves anything its how far hip-hop has come in nearly 30 years, but also just how far we've come from the fundamentals of it all. Every single artist in this collection was starving for their art, and never considered commerical appeal when they made these cuts. [/b]There is no chronological order, just all hits and classics and for this one you get: ERIC B & RAKIM, EPMD, TONE LOC, TRIBE CALLED QUEST, NWA, DIGITAL UNDERGROUND, BIG DADDY KANE, AMG, and MORE. A perfect set for the entry level fan or for those looking to keep a solid batch of hits in arms reach. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    Are they just making stuff up as they go along? I can't say what EPMD ate for dinner but my guess is that they didn't go to bed hungry.
  • CousinLarryCousinLarry 4,618 Posts
    I am coming to Chicago at the end of March for a business trip and will have to check this spot out.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts

    Now if there was only a place to get a fucking set of guitar strings
    downtown, seriously. And I'm not talking about a 13 dollar set of
    D'Addarios from the sheet music store. No, no guitar strings downtown.

    Wish there was a good instrument shop around these parts PERIOD. On a couple of occasions I went straight from work to band practice when I found out one of my harmonicas had a crapped-out reed. Lyon & Healy...DePaul Music Mart...where ya at when I need ya!!
  • sloppywhitesloppywhite 230 Posts
    I use to work at the B'way Reckless in the mid-late 90s. They had talked about opening a store downtown back then. I think the idea was that it would just be mostly CDs as they didn't expect too many loop folks interested in vinyl. So I don't know if that's going to be the case now but I wouldn't expect much (if any) good vinyl.
  • meatyogremeatyogre 2,080 Posts
    Yeah, downtown isn't exactly seller-friendly as far as vinyl goes. Unless they have a parking lot, there will be few crazy enough to bring boxes of records and try and park around there. If you have a shitload of records to sell, its not fun to try and tote em by train just to bring em downtown either.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    I use to work at the B'way Reckless in the mid-late 90s. They had talked about opening a store downtown back then. I think the idea was that it would just be mostly CDs as they didn't expect too many loop folks interested in vinyl.

    And not only that, but considering their indie-rock bent, are they gonna stock enough Celine Dion and John Mayer to keep Joe and Jane Yuppie happy?



    "YOU WANT 'ROD STEWART SINGS THE BEST OF NAT 'KING' COLE?? HA, HA, HA! WHY DON'T YOU GET SOMETHING MEANINGFUL LIKE THE NEW TOM VERLAINE BOX SET!!"[/b]

    jus' kiddin'
  • Terry_ClubbupTerry_Clubbup 833 Posts

    I just saw the latest New City (how that thing keeps getting printed,
    I have no idea, I pick it up for the Free Will Astrology).

    In the "411" section, page 3:

    RECKLESS AND READY[/b]

    "Vinyl is not dead, despite what you may read every year," says Dylan Posa, manager of the soon-to-be opened third Reckless Records location, at 26 East Madison. Explains Posa, "We looked at a lot of locations and that one had the most potential for five, ten or fifteen years down the road." Posa and crew also feel that, as far as culture and nightlife are concerned, this part of the Loop is rapidly growing. "We are very interested in the notion of going to the store, looking through the racks, being surprised and seeing something you have to have - and the sound quality is far superior to MP3 players," Posa says. The Madison location - which complements the Reckless spots in Lakeview and Wicker Park - should be open in a "matter of weeks." "This is a burgeoning market and culture," Posa says. "We think it's going to explode."
  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    I like the fact that Reckless doesn't want to be pinned to an opening date. Let's just say it's going to open pretty soon. Maybe March. Maybe April. Maybe sometime this summer.
  • akoako https://soundcloud.com/a-ko 3,413 Posts
    im coming to chicago march 9th

    yeehaw
  • ExtraExtraExtraExtra 209 Posts
    Even if a store opened up downtown there would still be the parking and traffic, and the fact that there aren't any other stores to go to after that.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Even if a store opened up downtown there would still be the parking and traffic, and the fact that there aren't any other stores to go to after that.

    Y'all are forgetting, there IS a Coconuts over there on Randolph between State and Wabash, but that's more for Ashlee Simpson's fans, it's hardly in a class with Tower or Reckless.
  • yuichiyuichi Urban sprawl 11,332 Posts
    Damnit, about half a year late. I remember asking people at the Chicago Jazz Festival if there were record stores in downtown. They all said no, and I was pretty disappointed.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Damnit, about half a year late. I remember asking people at the Chicago Jazz Festival if there were record stores in downtown. They all said no, and I was pretty disappointed.

    Since (a) Tower was still around then (albeit on its' last legs), and (b) there's a whole shop right on the border of the Loop/Gold Coast devoted to that kind of music (Jazz Record Mart), I seriously don't see why they lied to you like that.

    Unless you meant all-vinyl, and even then, JRM's got a few "pieces" (as y'all say) lying around...
  • Dj_Coma_ToastDj_Coma_Toast 874 Posts
    Sweet. This is less than a block from where I work.

    Yo Pickwick, You work around this area? we should do lunch.
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