Old Rare New: The Independent Record Shop [Paperback]

Emma Pettit (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 24, 2008

There is nothing quite like the feeling of thumbing through LP after LP in a dusty old record shop, only to stumble upon some hidden treasure, new obsession or forgotten love. Old Rare New: The Independent Record Shop is a homage to the holy places of music collecting, complete with their particular anecdotes, peculiar characters, and unique environments.

Emma Pettit, formerly of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, has travelled across the UK and America into these eclectic spaces of musical exchange, interviewing record shop owners, collectors and musicians to provide a rich account of the increasingly rare independent record shop. Featured shops include Other Music (New York), Aquarius Records (San Francisco), Amoeba Records (California) and Jazz Record Mart (Chicago). The first comprehensive look at these important institutions, Old Rare New: The Independent Record Shop is an essential read for the musically inclined.

Featuring contributions by Byron Coley (Ecstatic Yod), James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers), Simon Reynolds, Devendra Banhart, Billy Childish, Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne), Sean Bidder (Vinyl Factory), Rob Da Bank (Bestival) and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

'There is nothing quite like walking into a strange little record store in a town far from home and finding a record you've been after for so long, you didnt even remember you wanted it until you flipped through the bin and saw it. There is no similar charge available online, and it can't be gotten from a CD. It is something unique to vinyl and little stores and the people who live to breathe their air.'
Byron Coley from Ecstatic Yod

Product Details

• Paperback: 143 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog Publishing (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1906155321
• ISBN-13: 978-1906155322
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,124,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Disappearing world, February 12, 2009

By 

Luigi Facotti (Chicago Il) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Old Rare New: The Independent Record Shop (Paperback)

Emma Petit's book has been described by the NYT as a "love poem" to the record shops epitomized in Nick Hornby's "High Fidelity". To the record (vinyl or CD) collector - part of the joy of a business trip was to browse the bins of the local record store - and in many instances local did include the various branches of Tower - in Bellevue, San Francisco, Cambridge, New Orleans and Chicago, where before the Internet those long sought after items could be found. And after a business dinner paying full price didn't seem so bad especially when there might be a soulmate to talk to - either another customer or sales clerk - who would insist that if you were interested in A, then surely B,C and D had to be heard. These stores are now gone together with the ritual of "flipping the bins". Emma Petit captures some of this history in her book together with the fanatical - sometimes lovable - but always eccentric - proprietors and the equally bizarre collectors. However, despite a comprehensive listing at the end of the book, she and her travel companions appear not to have visited the world's best soul/latin store - Dusty Groove in Chicago - available on the Net for those who are interested.

This book would've received 5 stars except for the now typically sloppy copyediting from Black Dog Publishing - the book group that confused the legendary Rick(y) Nelson with a Ricky Wilson in their atrocious history of the UK Ace label. In the present book there are several examples of mangled grammar (and there is not a lot of text) and, on page 86, the first album cover picture does not support the caption (Mike Westbrook is not Kim Fowley)