In 2009, the traditional practice of exchanging physical copies of records for money is a trade that might best be called quixotic. But New Yorkers are stubborn people, and the record store is not dead. Below, the top ten records that sold in the last week at a store near you.
Gimme Gimme Records is only open Thursdays through Sundays. The rest of the time, the space is occupied by a piano teacher (two pianos sit among the record shelves). “It’s kind of a weird thing,” says employee Rich Grebanier, a longtime Gimme Gimme shopper who began working at the store three years ago. The store is located within a block or two of fellow used record shops Good Records, A-1 Records, and Tropicalia In Furs, and houses everything from rock to hip-hop to new wave. “You’ll find a really obscure hip-hop twelve inch, and then David Bowie records,” says Grebanier. The store provides a few listening stations, including the obscure circular 8-track/vinyl player the Weltron 2005. “It looks like a UFO,” Grebanier says. “[The store] has part of the flavor of New York that’s not as strong in the East Village that it used to be. It’s the way it was 10 or 15 years ago.”
“Since we are a used record store and don’t necessarily sell more than one copy of a title a week,” adds Grebanier, the store elected to select a sampling instead.
The Top 10 Records Sold at Gimme Gimme Records for the week ending Aug 4:
So What’cha Want
Death Chants, Breakdowns, and Military Waltzes
Bitches Brew
77
Easter Everywhere
Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Real Folk Blues
Grievous Angel
Funky Nite
Expensive Shit
Gimme Gimme Records is located at 325 E. 5th St, between 1st and 2nd Avenues. It is open Friday and Saturday 1pm-10pm, Sun 1pm-7pm, and closed the rest of the week.
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