We think it’s a pretty cool list of stuff, and we are really proud of (and thankful to) our great customers for buying such quality art from their local hoods.  Like the Top-selling CDs of 2011 List, this one is loaded with a diverse group of titles (I love to see the differences and similarities between the two configurations).  If you are a fan of the art, there’s probably something on here you need to add to your collection.

As you can see from the numbers, CD still outsells vinyl… but we are still selling more vinyl all the time (especially as more titles hit the market).

Note: RSD means the title is from Record Store Day or Indie Black Friday.

Hoodlums Top 99 Vinyl Titles of 2011

1. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
2. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
3. Bruce Springsteen – Gotta Get That Feeling (RSD)
4. Black Keys – El Camino (one of the only stores in the US to get a bunch)
5. White Stripes – Let’s Shake Hands (RSD)
6. Beatles – Abbey Road (amazingly, the only Beatles LP available)
7. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
8. Roger Clyne & Peacemakers – Unida Cantina (in-store performance)
9. Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar/Bitch (RSD)
10. Mumford and Sons – Dharohar Project  (RSD)
11. White Stripes – LaFayette Blues (RSD)
12. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
13. Foo Fighters – Medium Rare (RSD)
14. Wilco – Whole Love
15. Ryan Adams – Ashes and Fire
16. Bob Dylan – Bob Dylan in Concert
17. Doors – Riders on the Storm (RSD)
18. Kings of Leon – Holy Roller Novocaine (RSD)
19. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Havana Affair (RSD)
20. Tom Waits – Bad As Me
21. Tom Petty – Kiss My Amps
22. Black Keys – Brothers
23. Decemberists – King is Dead
24. Clash – London Calling
25. Florence & The Machine – Lungs
26. Radiohead – OK Computer
27. Black Keys – Lonely Boy (RSD)
28. Beatles – Singles (RSD)
29. Ray LaMontagne – Live Fall (RSD)
30. Iron & Wine – Kiss Each Other
31. Bon Iver – For Emma
32. Radiohead – King of Limbs
33. Radiohead – In Rainbows
34. Adele – 21
35. Wu-Tang Clan – Enter Wu-Tang
36. Black Angels – Another Nice Pair (RSD)
37. Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
38. Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning
39. Pixies – Doolittle
40. Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over The Sea
41. What Laura Says – Talk
42. Regina Spektor – Four from Far (RSD)
43. Sharon Jones & Dapkings – Soul Time (RSD)
44. Social Distortion – Hard Times & Nursery Rhymes
45. Black Keys – Magic Potion
46. Strokes – Is This It?
47. Godspeed You Black Emperor – F#A# (infinity)
48. Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step
49. Strokes – Angles
50. Jimi Hendrix – Are You Experienced?
51. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
52. John Coltrane – Love Supreme
53. Built to Spill – Ripple
54. Rush – Caravan Blues (RSD)
55. Shins – Oh! Inverted World
56. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
57. Amy Winehouse – Back to Black
58. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
59. Tool – Opiate
60. Pixies – Surfer Rosa
61. She & Him – Volume one
62. Elliot Smith – Either/Or
63. Pearl Jam – Vs.
64. Nas – Illmatic
65. Black Angels – Phosgene Nightmare
66. Mayall/Clapton – Lonely Years (RSD)
67. Beach Boys – Good Vibrations (RSD)
68. Sonic Youth – Oz Tour 1993 (RSD)
69. Lady Gaga – Born This Way (RSD)
70. Velvet Underground – Loaded
71. Black Keys – Thickfreakness
72. Ryan Adams – Gold
73. Tool – Undertow
74. Flaming Lips – In a Priest-Driven Ambulance
75. Cursive – Ugly Organ
76. Arcade Fire – Suburbs
77. Guns N’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction
78. Radiohead – Kid A
79. Radiohead – Bends
80. Jason Isbell & 400 Unit – Here We Rest
81. Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker
82. Johnny Cash – American VI: Ain’t No Grave
83. Junior Kimbrough – All Night Long
84. O’ Brother Where Art Thou? Soundtrack
85. Bad Brains – Pay to Cum
86. John Lennon – Imagine 40th Anniversary box (RSD)
87. Soundgarden – Before the Doors Live (RSD)
88. Phish – Party Time? (RSD)
89. Dream Theater – Metropolis 2 (RSD)
90. Gil Scott-Heron – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
91. Air – Moon Safari
92. Tom Waits – Swordfishtrombones
93. Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
94. Tom Waits  – Heart of Saturday Night
95. White Stripes – White Blood Cells
96. Iron & Wine – Creek Drank the Cradle
97. Shins – Chutes Too Narrow
98. Beach Boys – Smile Session
99. Whiskeytown – Stranger’s Almanac (8 copies!)

(RSD) = Record Store Day or Indie Black Friday

Wanna take a look at what you bought? Let’s do it. As a store owner, I’m pretty proud of you guys. That’s a solid list of quality music (as is the Top-selling Vinyl List) and you should be proud of your taste and diversity.

What influences the chart? In addition to noted in-store performances, I’ve included a little “legend” of a few of the notable influences, namely the opinions of the hoodlums at Hoodlums (click here for our Top 10 of 2011 lists), at the bottom.

Hoodlums Top 99 CDs of 2011

1. Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers – Unida Cantina (in-store performance)
2. Adele – 21
3. Decemberists – King is Dead (S, K)
4. Black Keys – El Camino (S)
5. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
6. Abigail Washburn – City of Refuge (in-store performance, K)
7. Ryan Adams – Ashes and Fire (A, K)
8. Tom Waits – Bad As Me
9. Black Keys – Brothers
10. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
11. Wilco – Whole Love
12. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
13. Danger Mouse/Daniele Luppi – Rome (S)
14. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
15. Jason Isbell and 400 Unit – Here We Rest (A, S, K)
16. Gillian Welch – Harrow and the Harvest (K)
17. Social Distortion – Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes (A)
18. Radiohead – King of Limbs
19. Florence & the Machine – Lungs
20. Dawes – Nothing Is Wrong (A)
21. Cake – Showroom of Compassion
22. Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What
23. Sarah Jarosz – Follow Me Down (K)
24. Ma/Duncan/Meyer/Thile – Goat Rodeo Sessions (K)
25. Iron & Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean
26. My Morning Jacket – Circuital
27. Tedeschi/Trucks – Revelator
28. Fitz & The Tantrums – Pickin’ Up the Pieces
29. Amos Lee – Mission Bell
30. Florence & The Machine – Ceremonials
31. Foster the People – Torches
32. Civil Wars – Barton Hollow
33. Chris Isaak – Beyond the Sun
34. REM – Collapse Into Now
35. M83 – Hurry Up We’re Dreaming
36. Adele – 19
37. Small Leaks Sink Ships – Oak Street Basement (in-store performance)
38. Gregg Allman – Low Country Blues
39. Charles Bradley – No Time for Dreaming (S)
40. Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys
41. Neil Young – Treasure
42. Flogging Molly – Speed of Darkness
43. Bright Eyes – People’s Key
44. Primus – Green Naugahyde
45. She & Him – Very She & Him Christmas (in a post… who knew?)
46. Red Hot Chili Peppers – I’m With You
47. Amy Winehouse – Lioness: Hidden Treasures
48. Bill Evans – Piano Player
49. Daptone Gold – Various Artists
50. Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee
51. Ben Harper – Give Till It’s Gone
52. Edward Sharpe & Magnetic Zeros – Up From Below
53. Arctic Monkeys – Suck It and See
54. Bruno Mars – Doo Wops & Hooligans
55. John Hiatt – Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns
56. Drive-By Truckers – Go Go Boots
57. Kooper/Bloomfield – Fillmore East: Lost Tapes
58. Strokes – Angles
59. Manchester Orchestra – Simple Math (A)
60. Taj Mahal – Taj Mahal
61. Avett Brothers – I & Love & You
62. Aloe Blacc – Good Things
63. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
64. Eddie Vedder – Ukulele Songs
65. Feist – Metals
66. St. Vincent
67. Vaccines – What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?
68. Steve Martin & Steep Canyon Rangers – Rare Bird Alert
69. Black Carl – Borrowed (in-store performance)
70. Jayhawks – Mockingbird Time
71. Nick 13 – Nick 13 (A)
72. Tinariwen – Tassili
73. Beach Boys – Smile Sessions
74. Coldplay – Mylo Xyloto
75. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
76. Delaney & Bonnie – D & B Together
77. Cults – Cults
78. Wanda Jackson – Party Ain’t Over
79. Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’ (S)
80. Loudon Wainwright III – Album 3
81. Rave on Buddy Holly – Various Artists
82. Decemberists – Live at Bull Moose (RSD)
83. Sharon Jones & Dapkings – Soul Time (RSD)
84. Dry River Yacht Club – Family Portraits
85. William Elliot Whitmore – Field Songs
86. Old Crow Medicine Show – OCMS
87. Local Natives – Gorilla Manor
88. Fucked Up – David Comes to Life
89. Kills – Blood Pressures
90. Ryan Adams – III & IV
91. Warren Haynes – Man In Motion (S)
92. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
93. Etta James – At Last
94. Ahmad Jamal – Pittsburgh
95. Taj Mahal – Natch’l Blues
96. Mergence – Those Vibrant Young People Are Dead (S)
97. City and Colour – Little Hell (A)
98. Kinch – Incandenza (A)
99. Beatles – Abbey Road (15 copies!)

S = Steve’s Top 10 of 2011 pick

K = Kristian’s Top 10 of 2011 pick

A = Andy’s Top 10 of 2011 pick

RSD = Record Store Day or Indie Black Friday title

Hoodlums’ Top 100 LPs of 2010

1. Bad Religion – The Dissent of Man (in-store appearance)
2. Beatles – Abbey Road
3. Jimi Hendrix – Live at Clark University (Record Store Day limited LP)
4. Gorillaz – White Flag (Record Store Day limited LP)
5. Phoenix – Fences (Record Store Day limited LP)
6. Black Keys – Brothers
7. Muse – Exogenesis (Record Store Day limited LP)
8. Flaming Lips – Dark Side of the Moon (Record Store Day limited LP)
9. R.E.M. – Chronic Town (Record Store Day limited LP)
10. Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
11. National – High Violet
12. Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More
13. Fela Kuti – My Lady Frustration (Record Store Day limited LP)
14. MGMT – Siberian Dreams (Record Store Day limited LP)
15. Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream
16. XX – XX
17. Arcade Fire – Suburbs
18. Radiohead – Kid A
19. Jimi Hendrix – Merry Christmas (Indie Black Friday limited LP)
20. Fun – Aim & Ignite (Record Store Day limited LP)
21. Rolling Stone – Exile in Main Street (cover artist autographed)
22. Jimi Hendrix – Valleys of Neptune
23. Modest Mouse – Moon and Antarctica
24. Vampire Weekend – Contra
25. Broken Bells – Broken Bells
26. Velvet Underground – Andy Warhol (Record Store Day limited LP)
27. Cure – Disintegration
28. Bob Dylan- Highway 61 Revisited
29. Fleet Foxes – S/T
30. Vampire Weekend – S/T
31. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
32. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
33. Them Crooked Vultures – Mind Eraser (Record Store Day limited LP)
34. Pantera – Far Beyond Driven (Record Store Day limited LP)
35. Beach House – Teen Dream
36. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion
37. Dr. Dre – The Chronic
38. Velvet Underground – Loaded
39. Clash – London Calling
40. Bon Iver – For Emma Forever Ago
41. Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
42. Panda Bear – Person Pitch
43. Radiohead – OK Computer
44. Radiohead – In Rainbows
45. Roky Erickson/Okkervil River – True Love Cast Out All Evil
46. George Harrison – All Things Must Pass (Indie Black Friday Exclusive)
47. Doors – Doors (Indie Black Friday Exclusive)
48. Josh Ritter – So Runs the World Away
49. Monsters of Folk – S/T
50. Drive-By Truckers – Thanksgiving Filter (Indie Black Friday)
51. Dr. Dog – Shame Shame
52. Black Keys – Thickfreakness
53. Ramones – Ramones Mania
54. Pantera – Cowboys from Hell (Record Store Day limited LP)
55. Shins – Oh Inverted World
56. Shines – Chutes Too Narrow
57. Band of Horses – Everything All The Time
58. Sonic Youth – Hits are for Squares (Record Store Day limited LP)
59. Strokes – Room on Fire
60. MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
61. Joe Strummer – Streetcore (Record Store Day limited LP)
62. Metallica – Live at Grimeys (Indie Black Friday)
63. Blackroc – Blackroc
64. Velvet Underground – Loaded (Colored Vinyl)
65. Velvet Underground – S/T
66. Grandmaster Flash – Message
67. Black Keys – Attack and Release
68. T-Rex – Electric Warrior
69. Pantera – Vulgar Display of Power (Record Store Day limited LP)
70. Sonic Youth – Evol (Record Store Day limited LP)
71. Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
72. Arcade Fire – Funeral
73. Spoon – Transference
74. New Pornographers – Together
75. Animal Collective – Fall Be Kind
76. Budos Band – Budos Band II
77. Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
78. MGMT – Congratulations
79. Ray LaMontagne – God Willin’ and the Creek Will Rise
80. Band of Horses – Infinite Arms
81. Gil Scott-Heron – I’m New Here
82. Mississippi John Hurt – Today
83. Tom Waits – Mule Variations (Record Store Day limited LP)
84. Devo – Fresh (Record Store Day limited LP)
85. Beach House – Zebra
86. Soundgarden – Telephantasm (Record Store Day limited LP)
87. Yeasayer – O.N.E.
88. Deerhoof – Green Cosmos (Record Store Day limited LP)
89. Velvet Underground – S/T (colored vinyl)
90. Otis Redding – Pain in My Heart
91. Velvet Underground – Andy Warhol (colored vinyl)
92. Black Sabbath – Paranoid
93. Velvet Underground – White Light White Heat
94. Meat Puppets – Meat Puppets II
95. Misfits – Compilation
96. Spoon – Kill the Moonlight
97. Tom Waits – Swordfishtrombones
98. Sonic Youth – Confusion is Sex (Record Store Day limited LP)
99. Iron & Wine – Creek Drank the Cradle
100. Iron & Wine – Woman King

Thank you for buying your LPs at Hoodlums.  Have a great 2011!

It was Tuesday morning, and I answered the phone, and the nice lady on the phone explained that she has some LPs she would like to bring down.  I began to explain the procedures for used LP buying and selling, and she said “No, you don’t understand, I want to give them to you”.  ”That’s great, I said… we appreciate it”.

She went on to explain that she was coming all the way down from Scottsdale because she had read the article in the Arizona Republic that morning.  Now usually I read the newspaper every morning (that’s right, I listen to CDs and read books and newspapers… cause I’m old school, and I can only mainline so much digital info), but I hadn’t gotten a chance to do so that morning, thanks to some sort of kid-related morning excursion. Because I had sent out a press release about our free J.J. Grey show, which was the next day, I assumed she saw something about that.

“I didn’t see the Republic this morning, was it something about our show tomorrow?”

“No, it’s an article about Social Networking.  It’s on the front page of the Arizona Living section”.

Cool.  There had a been a story about Valley record stores using social media to reach customers on AzCentral about two weeks earlier, but we had no idea it was going to run Valley-wide.   Anyway, she went on:

“There’s even a picture.  Is it you?”

“I don’t think so… they didn’t take any pictures during the interview… but they could have some sort of shot on hand”.

“Are you a hippy?”

“Uh, yeah… sorta”

“Do you have a beard?”

“Hmmm.  Not officially, but I don’t like to shave very much.”

At this point, I just figured it was Kristian (that’s his cartoon, although the boy has shaved off the beard recently) because, well, we are both kind of hippies. It wouldn’t be the first time.  Kristian once had a customer tell him that he was referred to Hoodlums with the reference that both of the owners look “a little like Jesus” (who’s pretty much the most famous bearded hippy of all time).

A little later in the day, our friend Brandon from Changing Hands brought a copy of the paper in, so I was able to check out the picture.

It wasn’t Kristian or me.  It was Dario from Stinkweeds, our central Phoenix indie colleagues, the other store featured in the article. I guess most (I say “most”, because we must remember Joe) of the remaining record store guys fit the profile (although Joe has a different record store guy profile).

Let’s face it: I am a bearded hippy.   I have been ever since I was old enough to grow a beard and do the things that hippies do.  Which is just another reason I own a record store. There’s just not many jobs where I can be my bearded hippy self.  Kristian either.

Both of us hippies thank you for your support.

September is Blues Month at Hoodlums.  That means that all Blues CDs, DVDs, and LPs are 10% off the regular price throughout the month. New and used.  Special orders too.

It also means we are going to have some fun with the Blues.  In addition to a free live show with J.J. Grey (of J.J. Grey and Mofro), we will be featuring great blues titles in most of our listening posts.

Last but not least, we are going to talk about the Blues.  As a Blues lover myself, I wrote a little blog called Blues for Rockers, which you are of course encouraged to check out.  I’ve been hanging around for a while, and I’ve learned about some really classic, cheap CDs… so I’m mildly qualified for such a task.

On the other hand, THIS blog is from perhaps the most qualified Bluesman in Phoenix: Mr. Bob Corritore.

That’s right… the guy that does Those Lowdown Blues on KJZZ.  The guy who owns the Rhythm Room.  The guy who’s played the harp with everyone on either side of the muddy water.  Here’s a couple more relevant links:

Bob’s Webpage

Bob’s Allmusic.com Page

See what I mean?  I am but a mere Blues fan. This guy lives the Blues.

We asked him – but we didn’t think he’d have time to do it.  He did it.  He submitted his list of Essential Chicago Blues CDs. Check it out and see what you think.  We used it to fills some little holes in our blues section.  (That means that Bob is going to cost me some money personally too).

Anyway, check ‘em out.  Don’t forget, they are all on sale throughout September.  In addition, we’ve got Bob’s new CD (pictured), as well as a whole bunch of other great Phoenix Blues CDs… provided by, you guessed it, Bob himself.

Thanks again, amigo.

The video refers to our “Prospective Hoodlums Test”, which should be viewable as a PDF if you click the link below. If you decide to take it… no cheating. If you need an answer key, I’m at the store every day except Wednesday and Sunday.

What Laura Says (with guest sitarist Kristopher Rein).  Special Acoustic Show. Live on the Hoodstage. Thursday, September 2nd. 7-9PM. Free and open to the public. Tell a friend.

Prospective Hoodlum Test

Have a great day.  Steve, Kristian, and the hoodlums at Hoodlums

Hello fellow music biz geeks,

Are we still in this crazy business?  Man, it seems like forever since we talked.  Back in the old days, back in the time when we thought we understood the phrase “uncharted waters”, we used to send charts out every week.

Anyway, down there you will find a chart.  It’s our top 99 of our first full year at the new store.  Although the old store has a totally new personality, mine is still the same (insert smart-ass comment here), so I figured I’d comment on some of the industry-related things we noticed in our 1st year at the new joint.  If you want to scroll down and skip the babble… we’ll never know.

So what’s been going on at Hoodlums, you ask?  How’s biz and all that?

Well, we are officially a year old.  If you remember, we soft-opened on Saturday, September 20th, and our grand opening was in early October.  Two days later the stock market dove, officially signaling the start of the freakshow economy.

Since then we’ve had our first real holiday season, six art shows, and Hoodstock.  We’ve stirred up conservative radio hosts, interacted with our community, learned how to buy used vinyl, and watched another unbelievable year’s worth of changes in the music industry.  Joey Kramer used our bathroom.  So did Peter Yarrow.

We haven’t sent you charts because we’ve been focused on the customers and building up the store.  It isn’t cause we haven’t been paying attention to this crazy $#%& (I haven’t turned anti-vulgarity, I have to do that in case customers are on the list) industry.  As usual, we can’t speak for other stores, or any of you cats, but we can tell you how the music biz looks from our tiny little vantage point.

1. Prices are getting better on catalog.

Let’s start positive.  Those WEA 7.99 titles (Talking Heads, ZZ Top, Bonnie Raitt, Faith No More, etc.) and those Sony 6.99 (Ten Years After, Mike Bloomfield, Milt Jackson, etc) titles have been huge sellers.  We brought a bunch in around February and they have been moving along better than we had hoped.  For 6.99 new, people will buy that David Bromberg album they used to love.  Now, with most of those great Sony 11.99 titles selling at 9.99 (don’t give me that “we don’t have a list price” bullshit, we still base price on cost, not the margin Sony decides we should lose), we are sporting a pretty mean selection of classic CDs at ten or less.  That’s what we’ve been talking about for eleven years: Cheaper prices = More sales.

2. Prices are still too high on catalog.

In the meantime, I shudder to think of how many CSN, Radiohead, or Led Zeppelin CDs we could sell at a realistic list.  18.98?  17.98?  In this day and age?  I can’t even believe those are still a price points.  Is there an economist in the house over in those Ivory Towers?  There must be someone who understands supply and demand.  Call me crazy, but since I’ve been lobbying lower prices to the industry for years to little avail, I’ve decided to make a plea to the artist.  Read the “Robert Plant – A Story and Video Plea” blog here.

3. High list prices more or less kill plans to develop and sell newer jazz, blues, and world.

While the catalog pricing offers some reasonable options in these genres, when it comes to new releases, who can afford it?  Note to the Ivory Tower: After years of watching the way you market these genres, we assume that you don’t ever want to target any young adults at all… but we should at least mention that baby boomers are price conscious too, and pricing every artist on every adult genre at 17.98 or 18.98 list is a bad idea.  I’d love to turn someone, young or old, on to a new Joe Lovano or Roy Hargrove CD, but why bother trying when you can turn them on to a classic Jackie McLean, John Coltrane, or Sonny Rollins CD for under ten bucks?

4. Hang on to your obscure, and not so obscure, CDs.

We are starting to see a lot of CDs go out of print.  Speaking of supply and demand, you want LeRoy Hutson’s Greatest Hits?  It’s gonna cost you no less than $150 on Amazon (pretty much the same price they wanted for the Beatles boxes, isn’t it?).  That plays right into our little hands, because when it comes to finding special orders… a scrappy little joint like ours is the place to go.

5. Label reps that set up records are a dying breed.

It may be because we are just a little joint – but we rarely see a label rep set up new releases any more.  There’s still a few out there that can be counted on to consistently do so (Jay from Sony/now Nettwerk, Melissa from Epitaph/Anti, and the gang at Fearless come to mind), and some that are starting to come on board, but for the most part it feels like we are on our own when it comes to deciding what it worthy of promoting or not.

That’s not all bad, and we aren’t necessarily upset.  After all, we are more than capable of finding stuff for the posts.  But for sure on the right releases a great set-up makes a huge difference… and for sure a great rep that know what to push at your store (or in this day and age, one that pushes at all) can make all the difference.  Look at all the Sony and Epitaph stuff that made the chart.  There’s no way that NASA makes this chart without support.  Would we have brought it in?  Sure.  One copy.  Would we have put it in the post?  Probably not.

How does the lack of set-up hurt?  If someone would have worked with us on the recent Noisettes or Raveonettes CDs, we probably would have quadrupled sales so far.  Do we react once we see demand?  Sure, but it hurts at first, when it matters most.  In this economy, in this industry, we do our new release buying with caution.  Often, we aren’t quite sure what customers are going to want (since the internet has given every customer the ability to find out their own street dates, we don’t quite get the “pre-buzz” like the old days).  People just sorta show up on street date and buy.  It’s easy with proven champs like Flaming Lips or Built to Spill, but since we don’t listen to the radio or monitor internet activity, its tough to judge whether those mid-level groups still have interested fans.  If we don’t hear from anyone at the label, we assume the label isn’t really behind them anymore.  If we buy the CD at all, we buy one.

Like I said, our little store may not rate the coverage… and we can live with that, but I don’t think that’s it.  We seem to be on the radar still.  We still get visits from out-of-town Music Biz Bigshots.  We still get stuff in the mail.  It seems more likely that either: a) there aren’t enough label reps (Phoenix doesn’t have a WEA, Sony, or EMD sales rep – and our UNI sales rep is covering like 32 states or something);  b) many of the labels out there aren’t focused on on physical product at the indie stores; or c) lack of accountability and direction are at an all time high.  Probably a little of everything.

6. Everything is still free on the Internet.

Somehow in spite of those FBI stickers… in spite of the lawsuits… in spite of the “switched” street dates, the branded play copies, and the Congressional testimony… every release is still out there for a grand total of nothing.   I know because we have to get a lot of our play copies, the ones we need to help sell your CDs, the same way that a huge portion of the rest of the world has been getting their music for twelve years now.

Can you guys finally relent and monetize the file-sharing?  Maybe that way CD prices will continue to fall and those who want to collect and peddle the hard copies can do so – while those that are content with files can do their thing legally.  While we are on the subject: A buck a song is still too much.

7. Labels, in true form, are already stifling the vinyl resurgence with ridiculous prices.

It was totally predictable.  Customers find value in LPs… so labels jack prices until the value goes away.  It’s the same Ivory Tower game plan that has helped kill CDs sales over the past twelve years.

It’s simple, anything over $20 is TOO MUCH for an LP.  Even if the digital file in included.  Each week, as we decide what to bring in… we simply look at the list price. These days, instead of 18.98, which is fine (with the digital info), we see lots of 24.98.  If the price is over twenty, unless it is something we can’t live without (like the Wilco releases), we don’t bring it in.  The biggest recent example is the Muse reissues.  Four releases from a very powerful band at Hoodlums, yet only one (Black Holes..) is priced under twenty.  We brought in Black Holes, and it is nearing double digit sales.  The other three have become special orders.

There is it: Our take on how the music biz decision-making is looking at this little store.  As always, we appreciate your support… and your taking the time to read our opinions.  Have a great day.

Steve, Kristian, and the hoodlums at Hoodlums.

The Top 99 of Hoodlums’ 1st year (September 2008 – September 2009)

The album is the latest release by the artist, unless specified.

1. Kings of Leon
2. Neko Case
3. Animal Collective
4. Black Carl
5. Darren Mahoney
6. Fleet Foxes
7. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
8. Phoenix
9. Wilco
10. Bon Iver
11. What Laura Says
12. Andrew Bird
13. Dead Weather
14. Green Day
15. Ray Lamontagne
16. Neil Young
17. TV on the Radio
18. Bruce Springsteen
19. Catfish Groove Farm
20. Calexico
21. Regina Spektor
22. U2
23. Kinch
24. Iron and Wine
25. Ben Harper & Relentless 7
26. Leonard Cohen
27. Bob Dylan
28. VA – Thank You, Goodnight
29. Fleet Foxes – EP
30. Iron & Wine
31. Decemberists
32. Lucinda Williams
33. Grizzly Bear
34. Silversun Pickups
35. Manchester Orchestra
36. She & Him
37. Sonic Youth
38. Jack Johnson/D. Frankenreiter/G. Love
39. Steve Earle
40. Vampire Weekend
41. Camera Obscura
42. St. Vincent
43. Adele
44. Kanye West
45. Fun
46. Dan Auerbach
47. Bloc Party
48. Beatles – Abbey
49. Of Montreal
50. Dinosaur Jr.
51. Arctic Monkeys
52. Ben Folds
53. Bob Dylan – Telltale Signs/Boot 8
54. Dave Matthews
55. Elvis Costello
56. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
57. Abba – Gold
58. Jolie Holland
59. Jenny Lewis
60. Beatles – Sgt. Peppers
61. Ryan Adams and Cardinals
62. Jeff Beck
63. Q-Tip
64. Death Cab for Cutie
65. Damien Rice – Live at Fingerprints
66. NASA
67. Bonnie Raitt – Give it Up
68. Mars Volta – Octahedron
69. Killers
70. Radiohead
71. Mgmt
72. Franz Ferdinand
73. Derek Trucks – Already Live
74. Milt Jackson – Sunflower
75. Ben Harper – Live at Twist and Shout
76. Interpol – Live
77. Son Volt
78. Peter Bjorn and John
79. Bob Marley & Wailers – Legend
80. Taj Mahal – Taj Mahal
81. Slumdog Millionaire OST
82. Byrne/Eno
83. Eminem
84. Robert Plant/Allison Krauss
85. Michael Franti
86. Black Keys
87. Talking Heads – Remain in Light
88. Clapton/Winwood – Madison Square
89. Coldplay
90. Lily Allen
91. Mark Olson/Gary Louris
92. Uncle Tupelo – No Depression
93. Kings of Leon – Youth and Young Manhood
94. John Mayer – Village Sessions
95. Chet Atkins/Les Paul – Chester and Lester
96. Ramblin’ Jack Elliott
97. Pearl Jam – Live at Easy Street
98. VA – Vintage Verve (I love this, as I was on the panel that selected it)
99. Alejandro Escovedo