And to mark Record Store Day ich bin vinyl Berliner.
And I warn you you’ll be seeing a lot more of these lame Teuton rib-ticklers in the next few days’ odyssey of east Germany.
There will be much to fit in during my whistlestop transit through Berlin en route to Chemnitz, next year’s European Capital of Culture.
Wax lyrical
But one stop-off we’ve been recommended is the Hard Wax Berlin record store at 44A Paul-Lincke-Ufer.
No David Hasselhoff here… Hard Wax Berlin is known as a dance destination.
Situated in an old factory building behind the canal in Kreuzberg it keeps the theme going with a metal counter.
Where DJ Hell, Modeselektor and Marcel Dettmann have all polished their acts over the years.
Of course music and musicians played a key role over the Fall of the Berlin Wall despite The Hoff’s interruption.
And we’ll also delve into the part heavy metal played and the Leipzig protests 35 years ago… stay tuned.
Jammin’ in Jamaica
But getting back to those beats.
And today’s celebration of record stores allows us to take a spin around other cool vinyl shops across the world.
Now if you’ve been watching One Love, the Bob Marley biopic, and if not why not?
Then you’ll be familiar with the Jamaican record store scene.
And particularly Orange Street, Kingston, where everyone from Sir Coxswane Dodd to Bob flicked through the records.
Known to locals as Beat Street, Prince Buster was even born here.
Rockers International and Randy’s keep the tradition alive.
The vinyl Trade
Now we all know the rich crossover between reggae and punk.
And indy label royalty Rough Trade started life in Notting Hill, London as a reggae record store.
If timing is what music is all about, and it is, then Geoff Travis had it in spades when he bought his shop in 1978.
And he was open to the fusion of reggae and punk… today Rough Trade spans the whole range of indy music.
Bigger in LA
Of course when it comes to size the US of Eh tries to do everything bigger and better.
And few could argue with the credentials of Amoeba Records in Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
Where I’ll take time to frequent when I’m in La La Land next month.
The hangar-sized emporium occupies an entire city block and is across two huge floors.
We’ve been pointed to the Jazz room, the Out of Print section, the Punk aisle by the excellent guide The Vinyl Factory.
But whatever your thang is you’ll find it there.
LA though is for next month… Germany is my appetiser this week.
Where I’ll be happy to say Ich bin vinyl Berliner.
