![]() He stays in touch with staff and goes to employees’ shows. Weinstein also shuffles between the stores every week or two. And those records he brings back are “some of the best stuff that hits our shelves”. He flocks to collectors and especially estate sales, because an estate that includes a large record collection often means, he says, somebody took the time to assemble it with care over a number of years. One reason the selection at Amoeba’s stores seems to change from one visit to the next is because Weinstein is constantly on the road, scouring the country for rare, valuable and interesting finds. A CD never quite afforded you that feeling. “When things were made with quality and people used to sit around and listen to a record that’s curated the way the artist intended – it’s a whole different experience. “I really think there’s a whole generation of people fascinated with a mechanical age that they totally missed out on,” Weinstein says. That’s one reason Weinstein thinks vinyl is seeing a resurgence among some music fans, something also helped by the yearly international Record Store Day event, happening in America this year on 18 April. You read the thank yous and the album credits, look at the photos in the booklet and you experience the record the way they wanted you to.” “I think it’s important that if you love a band and you want to support them, you go to your local record store and buy a physical copy of their album. ![]() “They also employ a lot of musicians that were in touring bands and decided to get off the road, so you’re basically always in the presence of people that know what they’re talking about when it comes to music. “Amoeba is unlike any other record store, not only in the sense that yes, they support musicians, but also it’s got that really huge record store vibe while keeping a very independent, small, hometown record store vibe very much alive,” she says. Weinstein said the store is thinking about possibly opening the series up even more, eventually filming regular customers who come in and putting the “What’s in my bag?” question to them, too.īethany Cosentino, singer with Best Coast, says this is the kind of thing that makes Amoeba special. For a few minutes, in front of the camera, they explain – as only a genuine music lover can – why they picked this CD, why this album is in their bag, why this cover art is so cool and what this song means to them. Weinstein credits Amoeba’s survival to a mix of hyper-knowledgeable employees, creative thinking and the adventurousness to try new things.Ĭonsider, for example, Amoeba’s Webby Award-winning online video series, What’s In My Bag? It consists of filmed interviews available at the store’s website and on YouTube featuring musicians and celebrities who come through the door, everyone from bands like Best Coast and MSMR to Johnny Marr, Fred Armisen and Bob Odenkirk. ![]() Also, starting with A put us at the beginning of the phone book.”īrowsing the racks: ‘There’s a generation of people who feel that they missed out on albums.’ Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian “Which was good, because we were by a university, so we wanted something that sounded smart but was also kind of psychedelic. “We were looking to alliterate with ‘music’, so we just sort of jammed on the name and serendipitously came up with Amoeba,” Weinstein says. The closest you can get is to come to a place like Amoeba.”īack when Weinstein and his colleagues were finalising the details needed to open the shop, the name they chose to go with was a result of wanting something that rolled off the tongue. And people don’t really have anywhere to go, outside of a show, to cultivate that. ![]() Music is something a lot more people are literate to. “But people definitely know how to talk about music. “It’s interesting – a lot of people don’t know how to look at art or talk about art,” he continues. “In a lot of ways, we’re kind of like an art museum – for music,” says Weinstein, who just got back from a trip to Toledo, Ohio, where he scooped up thousands of records from a music shop that had closed there. Photograph: Tommaso Boddi/WireImageĪll of which is to underscore that running a business like Amoeba, whose bright neon sign beckons music fans to pay a premium for music you hold in your hands, is not the kind of thing that happens by chance. Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie performs at Amoeba Music.
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