Vinyl Lives: Generation Records – New York, New York (RECORD STORE DAY 2015 EDITION)

In Vinyl Lives we spotlight and profile record stores around the country who offer music lovers an experience that goes beyond an iTunes purchase or a Spotify playlist. Vinyl has found a new resurgence and the good folks behind independent record stores are on the front line, directly responsible for curating a unique collection of music. Here at Glide Magazine we feel that record stores are a valuable part of the community and to music as a whole, and are therefore worth celebrating.

With Record Store Day taking place this Saturday, April 18, we decided to put together a special edition of Vinyl Lives and turn the spotlight to a legendary record store in the Big Apple: Generation Records. We’re proud to say that our very own columnist Metal Deviant – as depraved as he is beloved – happens to be the record buyer at Generation. In the world of vinyl the record buyer is a gatekeeper of sorts, one who can shatter the hopes and dreams of an eager seller in a second. But, despite his love for the most gruesome of metal, the Deviant keeps things fair at Generation. We are delighted to have him share an inside look at one of the coolest record stores around. Happy Record Store Day! –Neil Ferguson (Glide Associate Editor)

Generation’s been operating at this same Greenwich Village location for about 25 years. Up until more recently, when some really cool stores started popping up in Brooklyn, we’ve enjoyed the premier tag of the punk, metal, industrial, etc… store of NYC. The staff have always been a spectacle, some real characters have come through here, you’d have to come in and eavesdrop. They’re always pushing the macabre; maybe a bit too much but it’s New York, so nothing should be extreme or surprising.

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As far as our record stock, we try to keep a healthy balance of both new and used, though it’s not always easy. The demand for good titles and authentic pressings is ridiculous and people who want to sell their high-ticket gems are savvy enough to list them online as opposed to selling them to a brick and mortar spot for a small fraction of what they are actually worth. So in turn, we have less and less mindblowing used records as the market heads in this direction. Never the less though, we always find a way to acquire records. We’ve actually been raiding the basement of our sister store Bleecker Street Records over the last handful of weeks and found some sick shit!

On the other end of the market are new releases and reissues. The guy we have to doing the ordering is spot on with what’s new and relevant and he has the great taste and insight to order all the right reissues. You want to get your Loop and Massacre reissues from the same spot? We’re the Manhattan outlet for that. The problem is that people are animals and will buy ANYTHING. It’s hard to keep up.

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Top sellers of the past couple weeks:

Napalm Death – Apex Predator: Easy Meat