Amoeba Music may be the dopest record store on the planet. I used to raid the one in Berkeley every summer when I would go to California to visit my homeland. And I’ve been to the ones in San Francisco and L.A. a few times too. They are the best! I wish they had a location in New York. Well, I stumbled upon a little web series thing they’ve been doing called “What’s In My Bag?”, where they catch different musicians and celebrities shopping in their stores and see what they’re buying. Check the episode above featuring Alchemist (one of my favorite hip hop producers of all time) and his rapping buddy Evidence to peep what they copped. And below, take a listen to a really dope song off Alchemist’s last project The Cookbook EP featuring Evidence, Blu, and Kid Cudi on the hook. It’s called “Therapy”…
And here’s a nice LA themed video for an Alchemist and Evidence duet called “So Fresh”, off Ev’s latest EP The Layover…
Alchemist has a new album on the way, so keep your eyes open for that. And if you want to see what was in my shopping cart recently from amazon.com, CLICK HERE. Amoeba please come to New York so I don’t have to shop online all the time!!!!!
I got two other favorite record stores that I’ve been to recently outside the New York area. Westchester County has no cool record stores, and it never really has other than big chains (don’t get me wrong I heart Borders but it’s not exactly a COOL RECORD STORE). I grew up going into the Bronx to buy mixtapes and vinyl, but the rise of the internet made those types of trips basically unnecessary. But I still appreciate going to a great hometown spot to buy music, probably more than any other activity on the planet. Check these two out…
Jack’s Music Shoppe is in Red Bank, New Jersey, near where some friends of mine live. The town and general area surrounding it is the backdrop for all those Kevin Smith movies like Chasing Amy (a scene in the movie takes place there and the famous Secret Stash comic book store is across the street). My boy told me Jersey locals like Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi have been known to pop in, and they’ve got a great selection of stuff in there. Stop by if you’re ever in the area.
Sound Spectrum (above) is a tiny but super cool music store in Laguna Beach, California. I was there a couple months ago, and struck up a conversation with the owner Jim Otto after noticing how sick his reggae section was. Turns out he was a total reggae enthusiast, and put me on to some great stuff that I wasn’t up on. He also gave me a tour of his back office which was filled with vinyl and collector’s items and pictures from old tours and movies and album promotions. Great guy, and awesome store. Definitely visit if you are in the area.
BRING AMOEBA TO NEW YORK!!!!!
Westcheddar 
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