While it is not without some regret we mark the closing of yet another shuttered record shop–albeit in this case, just one outlet of a behemoth chain–this thread is not for maudlin memories, but for Losanjealenos to post updates on the current percent of markdowns and the state of the remaining product as the Sunset Megastore approaches it’s February closure.

We may or may not admit it, but the %-off n influences what we may or may not take home on a sliding scale: i.e., The higher the markdown = the lower our standards = increased willingness to take home some dubious product to plug some gaps in our collections. Of course complicating this is the variable that the longer you hold out on pulling the trigger on a buy, waiting for a higher markdown, the more likely your product is going to be snapped up by others.

The below handy table can help guide your purchases, with an aim to help you snap up what you’re after before the shelves are bare.

Sea Level Villanelle

When music calls to lift you from the dark
The sun shines on a place that many laud
At Sea Level in the shade of Echo Park

Brimming with suggestions for a lark
Of weekly shows, conventional and odd,
When music calls to lift you from the dark

Its emailed updates, anything but stark,
Had links and new releases to be sought
At Sea Level in the shade of Echo Park

With a selection broad as story arcs,
The kind that makes collectors awed,
When music calls to lift you from the dark

A smiling crew, with nary a grouse nor bark,
Welcome all the punks, folkies, goths, and mods,
At Sea Level in the shade of Echo Park

With this villanelle its passing we will mark
And on to new adventures goes its Todd
When music called to lift you from the dark
At Sea Level in the shade of Echo Park

Lester Williams did the honors. With a simple snip, he marked the end of the Age of the Record Shop Dinosaurs at 10:30 am, November 17th, 2001. Herbivore Wax Recordiocus stood no chance. Not even Jason Bentley’s hourly plugging could save him. He withered and died a quiet death in the middle of 2004: Unwept, unloved, unsung. Years later, paleontologists turn to the fossil record to help piece together the past.

Fossils are the mineralized or otherwise preserved remains — or other traces (such as footprints) — of animals, plants, and other organisms. The totality of fossils and their placement in fossiliferous (fossil-containing) rock formations and sedimentary layers (strata) is known as the fossil record. The study of fossils is called paleontology. (source: wikipedia)

The word fossil is derived from the Latin word fossus, which means “having been dug up”.

Fossils usually consist of traces of the remains of the organism itself. However, fossils may also consist of the marks left behind by the organism while it was alive, such as the footprint or feces of a dinosaur or reptile, or random concrete taggings from the fingers of excitable djs. These types of fossil are called trace fossils, as opposed to body fossils.

Trace fossils are the remains of trackways, burrows, footprints, eggs and egg-shells, nests, and droppings (among other types of impressions). Fossilized droppings, called coprolites, can give insight into the feeding behavior of animals and can therefore be of great importance. Fossilized reclaimed sidewalk, also known as vandalism, can often give insight into who loved who, who wuz once here, and which nearby overhyped and overpriced record store went out of business.
»continue reading Paleontologists Discover Fossilized Remains of Wax Records, Melrose

Penny Lane Records of Westwood Village, R.I.P. You served the UCLA population admirably and will be missed, but truth be told, you hadn’t resembled your true self in years. Since moving from that traincar space on Gayley to a larger storefront on a less-trafficked east-west street, you hung on to retail life in an undignified coma, reduced to peddling porn rentals in a back room to maintain a pulse at the till. But before dwelling on the sad later years, let me look back to your glory days.

In the early 90’s, there were 3 record stores in Westwood Village for the student shopper: Tower Records, in a 3-story space on Westwood Blvd; The Wherehouse, first housed at the landmark Janss’ dome building (now Eurochow), then over at the space that is now Urban Outfitters; and finally, there you were, Penny Lane, in a plum spot on Gayley alongside Village institiutions Lamonica’s and Mongol’s. Out of this trio of options, it was easy for you to stand out as the student friendly alternative choice. After all, you had the novelty of a vinyl LP section and, more importantly, you bought and sold used CDs.

Your used bin became a favorite recycling depot for the local industry and new releases turned up early, often and discounted. Your used inventory was pared down to the essentials, an assortment not as vast as Aron’s, not as haphazard as Rhino’s–just the right size for a quick regular check in. Lazy Friday afternoons without classes were dawdled away there. We placed our meager offerings upon your alter of used CD buyback for the valued store credit. You usually rejected 90% of anything we brought in and shamefully we took back the rejects of our uncool high school tastes. In consolation, you regularly let us have some free promo posters to take back to the drab dorms.

»continue reading Penny Lane Records, Westwood - A Rememberance