Vinyl has undoubtedly received the most attention in the last year more than any year in the last decade. Though record stores aren't what they used to be, they offer a unique experience that is hard to describe. They give the listener the ability to touch, bond, understand and connect to the music they are listening to. With this new resurgence of vinyl, a few shops in Boston have kicked up their feet to provide people with vinyl.
One of these stores is Deep Thoughts In Jamaica Plain. Deep Thoughts is the kind of place that you walk into and you feel dirtier than when you walked in, but in a good way. You enter through a discreet door and instantly the smell of old vinyl, plywood and lost music hits your nose. From first glance the place looks a mess, and it is. But it isnt trying to be anything else. This record shop isn't organized, you'll have to really claw through the vinyl to find what you want. This is a little bit daunting at first but if you know what you are looking for this record shop provides. Im a techno fan, so even seeing 3 records in a shop in Boston is pretty unreal. But the store has a great combination of new and old. You like weird modern jazz? You can find it. You want a billy joel record, they have it. Ive walked into shops where they said they could order something for me, honestly 90% of the time I just want to find a gem, and Deep Thoughts has many gems. I personally picked up a Theo Parrish Album for super cheap and it was worth every penny.
I have a few complaints about the place. The staff does come off as a bit hyperintelligent and intimidating, if you don't know what you're asking for they'll probably tell you they can't help you. But ive experienced this in record shops before, and maybe its just part of the culture. Next, every record shop I hit in Berlin had a technics turntable, and even just one. I mean theyre not crazy expensive and you can even get a second hand shit record player for 100 bucks.
Deep Thoughts doesn't even have a listening station. That to me is a little bit ludicrous. Maybe its the lack of intelligence people have with analog gear that worries record shop owners, but honestly if you have a record shop you should probably have a record player to test the records. Sure, maybe a few new records or rare ones don't get put on the platters, but part of the experience is the listening.The reaction people give when listening to vinyl for the first time is pretty unreal. At first most people are skeptical but slowly you see them figure it out. I think if there was just one record player in the place it would be a major improvement.
There is something that screams, don't come in here about Deep Thoughts, but I loved that. There was quiet conversation, the sound of shuffling records and the slow steps on plywood. It all added up to a unique, quirky, intimate experience that I enjoyed. If you want something fun to do on a rainy day, want to listen to a record out of your comfort zone, want to experience a piece of music on vinyl for the first time, definitely check out Deep Thoughts! Big props.
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