Whatever Happened To Yellow Pages? Whatever Happened to Burning Books?

In a fascinating article ("Record Stores: Out of Sight, Not Obsolete") in today's New York Times about NYC record stores that went bust, but whose owners are still somewhat in business, selling their deep stock out of their apartments to collectors who have taken the time to track them down--comes some news about Jammyland, the much beloved Manhattan reggae shop that closed last year:

Ira Heaps ran the tiny East Village reggae shop Jammyland from 1992 until last year, and now sells his leftovers in his even tinier apartment nearby. Boxes of albums and singles fill up the space beneath a loft bed, and the walls are lined with yet more boxes. Mr. Heaps said old customers sought him out after the store closed.

“It started with D.J. friends of mine,” he said. “ ‘Come on, what happened to your stuff?’ I said mainly it’s in my apartment. They said, ‘Can we come over?’ I said sure.” Mr. Heaps, 45, still sounds bitter about the demise of his store. “Jammyland ruined me,” he said. “I gave it 16 years of my life. It ruined two marriages. I have nothing to show for it.”

Actually, what he has to show for it is encyclopedic knowledge — he rhapsodized for 15 minutes about “Bam Bam,” a 1982 hit by Sister Nancy, and would not let a reporter leave without buying a dozen carefully chosen singles — and a central position in a network of collectors who, he said, found him even during a period when he had disconnected his phone.

And Mr. Heaps said he simply liked hanging out with fellow music lovers, a sentiment echoed by many former store owners.

The sad thing is that I've been to all of the shuttered record stores mentioned in this piece--and I miss them all.

I Love Vinyl

I was at J&R Music World in Lower Manhattan yesterday--I haven't had the chance to stop by there in months--and was surprised by how much their new vinyl section has expanded (if you have the time, they also have dozens of crates with used and cut-out LPs). The new LP bins are so tightly packed that you can barely flip through the records. While rummaging through the stacks, I discovered that Capitol/EMI has just reissued the debut Specials record on 180 gram vinyl (for $19.99...a little steep, if you ask me--most LPs there cost $14.99-$16.99). Nitpickers take note, the sleeve features the UK artwork, but the US track listing (i.e.: "Gangsters" is included here). I didn't buy it, since I already have a few copies of this LP (US and UK versions from way back), but then again, if I spot it for less somewhere else...

J&R also has a great selection of reggae and ska CDs upstairs--I spotted the new Laurel Aitken reissues of Says Fire and Ska with Laurel, both of which I am going to review soon, and picked up a copy of RiceRokit's Hang Loose for $9.99 as a gift for my son's piano teacher, since he likes Sublime. I also saw Prince Buster's King of Ska and Sings His Hit Song Ten Commandments and they carry all of the Pressure Sounds, Blood and Fire, and Megalith releases. Their reggae LP selection is minimal, though. You'll do much, much better at Jammyland, where ever it ends up (I just found out that their 3rd Street shop closed last year--thanks, Jon--their website states that they will reopen somewhere else soon).

BTW, J&R is the last large record store left in Manhattan (the Union Square Virgin Records just closed last week) and it is independently owned, to boot!