Where else in Dublin but Tower Records would you see a bunch of lads lepping about like this to applause?
Hey it’s not all about MP3 files, Youtube videos and Spotify streams! Physical product is the best way to keep your record collection from getting deleted (though it can be susceptible to tea spills). We all know what bother Road Records and many other record stores are in these days. Many people aren’t aware that Tower can be added to that list of independent Irish record shops. Yes, Tower is 100% independent and 100% Irish so it needs your wallet support it too.
To remind you to drop in to the Wicklow St. shop (they have a wicked Vinyl section) more often, I’m giving away a CD copy of Grizzly Bear’s super smash indie amazo-gram album Veckatimest thanks to the guys in Tower. All you gotta do is tell us in the comments – the most surprisingly pleasant purchase you’ve ever made in a record shop? For example, I bought a copy of Joy Zipper‘s debut in Tower based on the cover and it turned out to be amazing.
For all the latest Tower gigs, offers and news visit www.facebook.com/towerrecords or www.towerrecords.ie.
Speaking of Grizzle Bizzle, here’s a link to Lil Wayne/Veckatimest mashup EP.
Photo courtesy of Ricardo Retardo.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.
clouddead’s ten.
Y’know those albums that just completely change the direction of your taste? Albums like Ill Commuication and Kid A,
Well its 9 years later and I’m still picking up every release coming out of anticon. Its been a pretty good policy so far. Really looking forward to the new Why? album after yesterdays teaser.
wow I got my dates wrong ….
A Problems At The Pancake House compilation in Rollercoaster Records in Kilkenny. a white “nothing-but-the-essential” cardboard case; a picture of a red lollipop with a blurred Kilkenny street behind it. The sleeve note tells us that Jesus lives in 10 Oakley Grove,Graiguecullen,carlow and that he’s lonely,handwritten on a yellow post-it. when you fold it over,you have 2 more post-it’s. the first is a cartoon of three men making a moon shape,and there’s a poem accompanying it,with the track-listing on the other side. the cd has a white label with PATPH stamped on it and Volume 1 handwritten. Score.
In my early teens I was into really cheesy dance music. Stuff like Scooter and so on. For one of my birthdays I got a voucher for the local music shop and spent the majority of it on the aforemention cheesy rubbish. I had a little bit of money left on the voucher that I was determined to spend but the only CD I had enough for was Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison from the bargain bin. Changed my life forever.
‘Organic Sampler’ by RSAG in Road Records.
Top notch album.
Funnily enough, the most important purchase I’ve ever made was in Tower! (No, seriously. Stop I’m serious.)
Back when I was 15/16 and still confused listening to Linkin Park and whatever else my angst told me was cool I read a praising article somewhere of four uber cool boys from New York. A while later I found myself in tower in easons with some money i’d earner or maybe stolen off an old lady dithering over what to buy when my hand slipped onto one of those little plastic dividers simply titled “Interpol”. I remembered the article vaguely and thought “what the hell, go for it”. Now the decision was which to buy. At the time it made no difference to me but some logic insisted i should go for the most recent album and so I skipped merrily down the escalators and out onto O’Connell Street with Antics in a nice yellow bag.
Now for me, the best part of new music is getting home and sticking the cd straight on, pouring through the cover notes and generally enjoying your money’s worth. However this was one of those special moments. The cd case was enclosed in a white cardboard sleeve – white. Remove this however and it was just pure black. Nothing but the words “INTERPOLANTICS” to reassure you weren’t holding a miniature vortex into another dimension in your hands. The cd was similarly bleak, not willing to give you a clue as to what it might contain. But from the minute the cd starts playing, it opens up another world as it seemed to promise. Slow, shifting melodies laced over the most delightful twinkling soaring guitars you’re likely to hear. All undercut by the most sinister basslines and drumming imaginable. Every word Paul Banks tones out sounds like he’s shouting thema t you through the darkness and the mist of a winter’s night. It’s a velvety sort of despair that cuts right through you combining despair and elation in one fantastic moment. For me it was an introduction to my now favourite band. When I got my hands on Turn On The Bright Lights I was mesmerised, it was like Antics but just better. Regardless, it gave me two albums I turn to again and again whenever I need some peace.
Woah that went on and on
Remember seeing Boards of Canada – Music has the Right to Children years ago on that specials rack they have at the front of Tower. I’d heard about it on the radio and was thinking about checking it out. I picked it up and straight away some random bloke beside me said “thats an amazing album mate”. So I figured that was a sign and followed his advice.
It was pretty much the first time I listened to electronic music and I haven’t looked back since. Think its still my favourite album. There’s no beating Telephasic Workshop.
So thank you random man in Tower! Actually, come to think of it he probabaly works there and just goes around saying that to everyone haha!
I have noticed a huge increase in stranger LPs in tower, not so well known stuff from great labels like “Not Not Fun” and “troubleman unlimited”. I picked up Zola Jesus, Night Jewel and Tickley Feather, to name a few all of which I thought I would never find in any record store in ireland. Yup someone is ordering some great stuff if only they would start stocking tapes I would be a very happy camper.
Anyways “urprisingly pleasant purchase” tale happened back in 2003. I missed the 78a to college, figuring I was already late I decided to go ditch that class and dilly dally for an hour. I ended up in tower as I browsed around, on the tannoy was this most amazing voice singin over an understated guitar. I ended up missing my next class since I stayed listening to all the album and after the dude changed it for something else I went up asked him what was it I had been listening to for the last half an hour or so, he retrieved from the wall behind him a cardboard cd case. On cover was a rather hippyish woodland photo and in mutlicoloured the words “You Are Cat Power Free” plastered on top. He kindly enformed me that it only came out today and it has Dave Grohl and Eddy Vedder making guest apperances on it. Knowing that I would be considerably cutting into my “Cheesey Beans” fund for that week I still picked it anyway and for the next month or so spread the word about this amazing album by the band strangley called “You Are Cat Power Free”.
http://www.towerrecords.ie/product/Cat_Power_You_Are_Free/72753
For me the hidden gem joy comes from compilation records. My nicest surprise came appropriately enough on the last Record Store Day. Having popped into Plugd here in Cork and bought, amongst other things the Sonic Youth/Beck split 7 inch I had a spare fiver left and noticed a discounted Domino Records sampler. Why not?
I agree 100% with Pádraic – the joy of owning a physical copy of your music goes beyond having something to stick a needle on or bang into a CD player. It’s in the scouring of the cover notes for names you might recognise, seeing where the stuff was made, who produced, indulging in the minute detail of the cover art.
When it comes to samplers this takes on a new dimension – who are the artists? What does the notes tell you about them? It’s also fun how a name can make a first impression of an act that can defy their actual sound.
And so it was on ‘All The Rage’ that a band with a twee name like ‘Sons and Daughters’ turned my expectations of acoustic folk (should have known I was wrong thinking that with the label being Domino) completely on its head by banging out a stomping indie pop number like The Nest.
They’re not a band that changed my life, but for those four minutes or so I was surpirsed, found a new song I love and the sampler served its purpose – I checked them out, kicked myself for missing them at EP and it reinforced my belief that despite the internet, random purchases at a record store can still be the best place to discover new tunes. It is this, and the obsessive need with music fans to physically own their music that will see records continue in some format for some time.
The Dwarves Must Die – The Dwarves, in Tower Wicklow St.
Pretty awful & not my bag of tricks at all, bought cause it was going cheap & I was listening to too much twee at the time, but that cover always gives me a laugh. Actually, not much of a pleasant purchase when I think about it… should of stuck to twee.
One that comes to mind for me also took place at a Tower store (which no longer exists). I bought the Supergrass debut on a bit of a whim, not really knowing much about them (not much airplay in Canada). Turned out to be a great buy, and it ended up forming the basis of a friendship with someone who recognized my good taste in music.
You’re right about having the actual physical product. Just like DVDs, I won’t buy cd/vinolium now UNLESS I’ve actually had a good proper listen to it before purchase though. Some stuff just isn’t available widely in any other format from what I’ve seen anyways (I do tend to collect local). Have bought waaaaaay too many turkeys over the years & especially when younger to have to develop this tactic to weed out the crud and prevent that “oh no,thats elmur thud, why did i waste my hard-earned mollahs on that” feeling.
As I think I said to you, I really love the Slow Loris label. Got what I could from Road, & ended up scouring the interwebs for other releases.. Made me think though, when irish physical releases like theirs go out of print, where can they then be acquired, even digitally? I have to say I really love the care and attention to detail some of the smaller irish labels out there put into their stuff, dudes like No Dancing, Furious Tradesmen, STA, Only Gone, We Collect Records, Kinnego etc. in the North; Slow Loris, Derserted Village, Casino Gravity, Osaka, OOAL, Alphabetset, Skinny Wolves & Richter etc. in the South. There’s been a steady run of really collectible 7″s from them too.
Count me out of yer competition, “most suprising purchase” well.. just too many to name (I’m really worried I’m turning into me da as I’m beginning to really like modern jazz this weather – gasp!), so perhaps “most embarrassing purchase” would be more revealing! 😉 … think worst of 80s and that would be mine!!
Right I’ve got a music mart to go to soon. Adios.
Walking through Tower about 5-6 years ago i heard a fantastic heavily reverbed instumental guitar piece with a chilled High Llamas-esque sound. Had to find out what it was and it turned out to be the first track off Cosmosphere by none other than the wonderful Jape. Bought it on the spot and have loved his stuff ever since.
Being from belfast and relatievly skint, i never really get to dublin enough and when I do, never for a classic record shop hunt so dont even know many of the shops apart from Tower. After a wedding outside Dublin about 5 years ago, we had a hour for light shopping on the way home and i had 25 or 30 euro to blow. Sometimes thats the worst as the decisions are hard to make. I picked up
love: forever changes – had a cassette copy of this for years, felt i should but the original
Paul Simon: paul simon – never really liked that album sadly
Lou Reed: Berlin – again had a cassette copy of this album for years and loved it, a perfect drinking / breakup album.
But the surprise for me was the reaction to the love album in the car on the way back, i knew 2 of the 4 people had conservative tastes but they ended up loving it and we listened to it twice on the way back to Belfast!