Metro Detroit Spins

The recording industry is in a state of disarray. Kids and grownups alike are grabbing mp3 records off BitTorrent trackers. Bands are foregoing standard distribution methods, selling CDs and downloads direct to fans. CD sales are – with the exception of the odd blockbuster and, seemingly, every Disney-related tween outfit – in the crapper.

All true enough. But according to reluctantly-released sales figures, there's one odd bright spot on the record sales horizon: Vinyl. That's right, good old-fashioned vinyl sales were up in 2007 by 36 percent according to the Recording Industry Association of America (while CD sales saw double-digit decreases in sales). There's just something about the appeal of vinyl that, despite numerous pronouncements to the contrary, refuses to die. From handmade small-run indie records by local artists and new vinyl from majors to virgin vinyl re-issues of classic records, the selection of sounds has rarely been better in recent years. In fact, the pincer maneuver of a reborn affinity for vinyl on one flank and the near-ubiquity of online wares on the other seems like it might just be the final death knell for the relatively charmless and inconvenient CD.

It's not all sunshine and roses for wax-peddlers, to be sure. But music consumers are still awake to the joys of dropping a needle and sitting back with a 12-inch piece of tangible art and listening in. The metro Detroit area has a wealth of record emporiums to quench the thirst, too. From boutique joints like Dearborn’s Stormy Records and Record Collector in Ferndale to larger spots like Record Graveyard in Hamtramck and beyond. There are a handful of standby places where music shoppers can count on a few hours well-spent digging through crates to find the latest new and best used platters. We decided to take a look at a few of the beacons of vinylphilia across the region to see what helps 'em stay afloat in an ever trickier marketplace of noise.

Encore Recordings
417 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor
734-662-6776

Likely to score: Handmade releases from local indies; rare grooves from most genres; engaging conversation about music from local artists who know their stuff.

If it's possible to be both compact and labyrinthine, then Encore proves it. Occupying what appears to be little more than a well-worn stall-sized storefront on Liberty in downtown Tree Town, Encore nevertheless invites both the novice and the sonic gourmand in with its deceptively vast stacks and racks of used CD and new and used vinyl. The spot has been a music store since the 1930s (previously known as Liberty Street Music), but since 1994, owner Peter Dale has kept the place bustling by focusing on stocking the best used rock, R&B, hip-hop, pop, classical and jazz records and choice new releases from an engaged customer (and employee) base of active local musicians.

"I see this store as being part of a larger culture and socially I think it’s important to encourage the arts," says Dale. "We don't make money off the local stuff, but it’s important. We’re one of the few stores that buy it outright."

In fact, one of the unique hallmarks of Encore is Dale’s policy of employing local musicians with the promise that they can take open-ended time off for touring. In recent years you’d be likely to find recording artists such as Afrobeat-futurist outfit Nomo's mainman Elliot Bergman, unpredictable pop band frontman Fred Thomas and pop-music savant Mike Dykehouse manning the counters between road stints. One of the joys of shopping vinyl at any of the stores featured in this story is the chance to engage in or eavesdrop on friendly, unpretentious and informed conversations, debates and arguments over the merit of music you may love or that you may not have ever thought to hear in your life. And this especially true of the vocal crew at Encore.

Street Corner Music
7620 W 13 Mile Rd,
Beverly Hills, MI.48025
(248) 644-4777

Likely to score: Virgin vinyl Blue Note re-issues; fresh new Detroit hip-hop; dusty ‘70s funk grooves.

If you're looking for an unsung hero on the Detroit records store front, then Street Corner’s your dude (or dudette, depending). Tucked into an anonymous strip mall of brown brick anonymity on a bustling mile road full of other strip malls common to Oakland County, you gotta look for the place to be sure. But damned if the joint doesn’t open up a world of jams once you step inside its doors. For the last 25 years, owner Chris Flanagan (who also plays in the multi-genre tackling combo of gents going under the names the Volcanos, the Hellbenders, the 3-D Invisibles and others) has been buying and selling choice finds from record swaps and others’ collections.

Like Encore's Dale, Flanagan balances his stock with desirable used product and new local releases. But his focus is firmly on the R&B and jazz end of the spectrum. The joint's deceptive, too. If you weren't coming in looking to get lost in the rare, dusty, funky and edgy, then you won't. All the new and used CDs are right up front for easy perusal and purchase. But the joint's got a largish square footage (think the size of your average Harmony House, er, Barnes & Noble music section). Once you're in the back half, you're in vinyl country. You'll know by the 6-foot Rolling Stones 45 hanging on the back wall and the rows and rows of mostly used awesomeness that flows over the counter at Street Corner. The pace for good stuff is brisk, according to Flanagan (who, it should be said, prefers "wax" over the "insulting" term "vinyl," and "records" or "LPs" to either).

"As far as used records, anything that's good, fairly unusual and decent sells within a week," he says. But it's not just the used stuff that's moving at Street Corner, either.

"I do have some data as in sales reports to show that new releases on vinyl have been doing pretty well when you consider the price, which is high relatively speaking."

Street Corner’s philosophy is, says Flanagan, "to make it not like a completely soulless thing where you take it and buy it and sell it on the Internet. It's better to turn the stuff over at a halfway decent price and that keeps people looking."

They also do a good deal of business in special orders and will bend over backwards to find that rare gem.

Record Time
27360 Gratiot Ave.
Roseville
586-775-1550

Likely to score: The latest and greatest electronic music from Detroit and beyond; records to make your beats all the more fresh; 12" singles and LPs that will flood the dancefloor at your next house party.

If Encore is a tiny labyrinth and Street Corner's an unsung hero, then Record Time is a community hub. It's the Portobello Road of jams. Naw, it’s the Eastern Market of jams. Open under the watchful eye of owner Mike Himes since 1983, it's also a cultural landmark.

Well worth the trip to the East Side if you're of the west of Woodward personage, Record Time is a safe haven to shop and shout and argue and test wares and take free sample spins on the in-store turntables, like so many apple slices and orange quarters at a sonic farmer's market. It's also a place where stalwart and leading edge Detroit electronic music and classic Detroit Techno and can count on a launch pad, home and resting grounds. It is both conspiratorial and curatorial. Retail and artful. But mostly (and mostly on weekends) it's a bustling marketplace of sonic ideas being exchanged among both customers and creators alike. It's been the favored spot over the years to pick up new cuts by (and sometimes to spot in person) artists as diverse as Derrick May and Kid Rock, Richie Hawtin and Insane Clown Posse. Many artists have celebrated the release of new records or otherwise just celebrated their music by playing in-stores among Record Times aisles of finds. You'll still find a good selection of the latest indie rock, dance music and electronic sounds from around town on offer alongside international and critically-acclaimed artists.

Until last spring, Record Time had two locations to serve listeners. Unfortunately, the pinch of online access and the area economy forced 'em to close the Ferndale location after 8 years. It was a blow to Ferndale's funky downtown, but it meant that the mothership store could continue in solvency and service.

Like Street Corner, Record Time does a good trade in special orders and can score most records in shipping distance quicker than their clerks will promise.