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

We do these lists to share our love of music… which is pretty much the reason we opened a record store in the first place.  The reason we are still here sharing thirteen years later is because you, and thousands of other music, movie, and art fans, have supported us by purchasing your favorite albums at Hoodlums.

The depth of our appreciation for this support cannot truly be expressed.  Thanks.

Now, without further rambling, my Top 10 lists for 2011 (in no particular order).

Steve’s Top Ten Albums of 2011

Decemberists – King is Dead
Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi – Rome
Charles Bradley – No Time for Dreaming
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Here We Rest
Sharon Jones & Dap-Kings – Soul Time
Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’
Mergence – Those Vibrant Young People Are Dead
Black Keys – El Camino
JC Brooks and Uptown Sound – Want More
Warren Haynes – Rivers Gonna Rise

Ten More 2011 Albums That I Really Dig

Cults – Cults
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
Vaccines – What Did You Expect From the Vaccines?
Dawes – Nothing is Wrong
Ryan Adams – Ashes and Fire
Kooks – Junk of the Heart
My Morning Jacket – Circuital
Tedeschi Trucks Band – Revelator
Steve Cropper – Dedicated
Steve Miller Band – Let Your Hair Down

Five 2011 Records Andy & Kristian are playing into my collection

City and Colour – Little Hell
Big Talk – Big Talk
Gary Clark Jr. – Bright Lights EP
Dead Man Winter – Bright Lights
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – S/T

Top Ten Rock Catalog Discoveries of 2011

Laura Nyro – Smile
Laura Nyro – Nested
Big Star – #1 Record/Radio City
Atlanta Rhythm Section – Live at the Savoy
Marshall Tucker Band – Where We All Belong
Country Joe and the Fish – Electric Music for the Mind
Graham Nash – Songs for Beginners
Josh Rouse – Subtitulo
Electric Light Orchestra – Face the Music
Nick Drake – Bryter Layter

Top Ten Jazz/Blues/Soul Catalog Discoveries of 2011

Aretha Franklin – Aretha Now
The Meters – Rejuvenation
Wilson Pickett – Hey Jude
Lou Rawls – Soulin’
Buddy Guy/Junior Wells – Drinkin’ TNT, Smokin’ Dynamite
Luther Allison – Love Me Mama
Freddie Hubbard – Blue Spirits
Barbara Dane & Chambers Brothers – Smithsonian Archival Recordings
Jimmy Dawkins – Fast Fingers
Art Blakey – Mosaic

Happy New Year to you and your family.

Favorite Albums of 2011 

1. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Here We Rest

2. Manchester Orchestra ­­- Simple Math

3. The Horrible Crowes  – Elsie 

4. City & Colour – Little Hell

5. Nick 13  – Nick 13 

6. Ryan Adams  – Ashes & Fire

7. Kasey Anderson + The Honkies – Heart Of A Dog

8. Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones

9. Dawes – Nothing Is Wrong

10. Kinch – The Incandenza

Top Songs of 2011

1. Jason Isbell – “Codeine”

2. Manchester Orchestra – “Simple Math”

3. Ryan Adams – “Lucky Now”

4. Jason Isbell + the 400 Unit- “Stopping By”

5. Moonshine Matinee – “Postcards From Salem”

6. Kasey Anderson + the Honkies – “Exit Ghost”

7. Nick 13 – “Carry My Body Down”

8. The Horrible Crowes – “Behold The Hurricane”

9. Ladylike – “Cinema Kiss”

10. Ryan Adams – “Invisible Riverside”

11. Dawes – “Fire Away”

12. Dead Man Winter – “Nicotine”

13. Less Than Jake – “Life Lived Out Loud”

14. My Morning Jacket – “Holding On To Black Metal”

15. David Bazan – “Wolves at The Door”

16. City & Colour – “Little Hell”

17. Kinch – “That’s Just The Mess That  We’re In”

18. Abigail Washburn – “Burn Thru”

19. Big Talk – “Katzenjammer”

20. Ben Harper – “Don’t Give Up On Me Now”

21. Childish Gambino – “Firefly”

22. The Head & The Heart – “Down In The Valley”

23. City & Colour – “Weightless”

24. Dave Hause – “Melanin”

25. Frank Turner – “Redemption”

26. Decemberists – “January Hymn”

27. Blink-182 – “Up All Night”

28. Social Distortion – “Machine Gun Blues”

29. Dropkick Murphys – “Going Out In Style”

30. Death Cab For Cutie – “Underneath The Sycamore”

TV Shows

Community

Workaholics

Wilfred

Louie

South Park

The League

Top 10 of 2010 Redux

1.  The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang

2. Justin Townes Earle – Harlem River Blues

3. The National – High Violet 

4. Punch Brothers – Antifogmatic

5. Jakob Dylan – Women + Country

6. AM Taxi – We Don’t Stand  A Chance

7. Trampled By Turtles – Palomino

8. Eminem – Recovery

9.  Josh Ritter – So Runs The World Away

10.  Fitz & The Tantrums – Pickin’ Up The Pieces

Wow, that’s a big task.  But if you’ve followed Hoodlum’s social media sites, or my little Random Babblings of a Record Store Geek blog, you’ve probably read blogs or seen video explaining “why I own a record store”… and you know I’m constantly analyzing my whacky little world… so I’ll give it a shot.

Random observations and opinions from a Record Store Geek:

It takes more than one hoodlum to run an indie business in a corporatocracy.  Luckily, my partner Kristian has been here for thirteen years to share the load.  Because I write, tweet, post, and do the marketing, I tend to be the more-visible of the hoods, but anyone who really knows the store knows that Kristian is a music-lovin’ force-of-nature. I could do a whole article on his talents and hard work alone.  I can never thank him enough.   (Big thanks also to Joe, Andy, and the many other hoodlums who make up our Hood Hall of Fame.)

The rise of digital music has had a far-less negative affect on the music industry than the idiotic decision-making of the record labels. High-prices, customer lawsuits, substandard artist development, corporate-retail subsidies, and a continual overdose of hype have killed off a ton of indie record stores and an entire generation of potential customers.  If the major labels would have embraced digital music, and found a way to monetize it, rather than waiting for Apple to change the rules of the game, the music business would be infinitely more healthy.

I personally think digital-only music is a rip-off.  Although Kristian and I have never been on a crusade to stop illegal downloading, I don’t do it.  So if I want to own a piece of music, I pay for it by buying the CD or the LP/mp3 combo.  I’m a collector.  If I like an album, I want to have it in my collection, and to me “owning” a file is like owning air. The music in my iTunes, iPhone, and iPod is an important part of my collection, but that part is about convenience.  I still get the files with a CD, so to me it’s a win-win.  When Hoodlums was on hiatus after the M.U. Fire, I went to the other indie stores to shop, because I need a record store.  Kristian did too.  That’s why we reopened… because we’re not the only ones that feel like this.

Not giving in to the fear of a digital future has allowed us to feed our families for thirteen years.  Thanks, thanks, thanks to each and every person that has spent a cent in our store for making that possible. I still recall our Sony rep warning us about Napster before we started.  Little did he know that Napster was just the tip of the digital iceberg… and yet we are still here.

I wish I could have another conversation with Brad Singer.  Brad was my old boss at Zia; the guy who started it.  As GM, I would go into his office daily and report on the stores, and then he and I would discuss/debate/argue about our ideas for the company.  A lot of our debate centered around my opinion that some of the things he felt most strongly about applied to owning/running one store, but not eight.  His unfortunate passing led to the formation of Hoodlums, and since then, as the co-owner of one store, I have come to understand his feelings a lot better.  I wish I could tell him that, as well how thankful I am for saving me from corporate hell (and a thousand other things).

Downloading has weened the “lightweight” music fans out of record stores.  You know, people that just want singles, the ones who “like the song but don’t know who sings it”… that sort of music fan.  Don’t get me wrong, we don’t have anything against music lightweights (every good party needs lightweights), in fact we understand.  The labels have falsely inflated album sales for years by not giving them the option to just buy the song, so the new digital world is perfect for them.  If they get turned on and want the album (or they don’t want to download for whatever reason), we’re here to help them, but the majority of the people we serve these days are serious music fans.  Junkies like us.

Most of my fellow record store geeks feel that at this point the economy is tougher to deal with than the industry and technology.  We feel that way too.  Ask almost any other type of shopkeeper, and they’ll tell you how much of a battle it is these days.  The only good side of the sad economy is that the guys in the Ivory Towers (Label bean counters, errr, Presidents) have finally started dropping prices.

I still love music more than any non-human thing on this Earth.  It is my passion. It is a part of my soul and my spirituality. I feel that spreading music to my fellow Earthlings is a very important job, because without it this would be a pretty sad place to live.  I couldn’t sell you cars, or homes, or clothes… because although those things are important, I’m not passionate about them.  But I can sell you music, because I believe in music.  I spread it around when I was younger, so Hoodlums is just a “business continuation” of what I was already doing.

I’ll stop there, although I could give you impressions all day (buy me a drink after the birthday party and I’ll answer whatever questions you’ve got).  Thanks again to everyone for your support.

Random Hood Facts: 

Steve/Favorite In-store: Michael Franti and Spearhead (although I was radically hung over from the Bowie show the night before… I loved the album, my 6-year old son was in the front row, and Michael was a free-spirited champ.)

Kristian/Favorite in-store: Ben Kweller (playing piano in the store with Jason Schwartzmann of Phantom Planet, making up songs and goofing around)

Andy’s Favorite in-store: Greg Graffin of Bad Religion (hanging with Professor Graffin was super-cool, especially for the store’s biggest BR fan).

Most people in an autograph line at an in-store: Weezer (650 preorders was all we could do in their allotted time)

Biggest single-day sales on a record: Format – Dog Problems (500 copies, all we had, during a street-date in-store performance).

Biggest single sales day: Record Store Day 2011.

Good question, eh?

The reason I pose it is due to two factors: 1) My pal Munzy Cat alerted me to the fantastic video (labeled “The Greatest Guitar Solo Ever”) I’ve attached, in which Prince just absolutely goes off on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (along with awesome vocals by Tom Petty and ELO’s Jeff Lynne); and 2) My new iPhone, combined with Garageband, allows me to use any song in my database to create ringtones for my buddies.

So I’m going with the idea of using guitar solos for ringtones, at least for my more rockin‘ friends (hmm, the rockin’ list seems to be heavily composed of guys, which raises another series of questions regarding gender and guitar solos, but I won’t digress, for once). Seriously though, why listen to frogs, horns, and bells when you can do some wankin’?

So what would you want your guitar solo to be?

I’m not talking about the Greatest Ever. I could never put one at the top. The Prince solo on this video is really fantastic (check out the Hendrix-like way he connects with his guitar), but like some of the comments say, “Greatest ever?”. It’s too bold of statement to even make. Hell, I’m not sure I could even decide between the Allman Brothers solos, let alone the rest of the rock and roll (or jazz) landscape.

I’m talking about one that you love.  A solo that lifts your soul… moves your butt… causes you to make rock star faces. If you’re like me, then you know what I mean. I can air-guitar hundreds of solos note for note (as I’ve mentioned previously, I’m a one-man air band).

For now, I went with Jeff “Skunk” Baxter off of Steely Dan’s “Night by Night” as my general ringtone (one thing you can count on in almost every Steely Dan song is a guitar solo, one reason they are my all-time fave).  My son and I agreed to use to part of Rik Emmett’s first solo off of Triumph’s “Fight the Good Fight” for his ringtone.  Cliche as it may be (because it applies to the contact), I went with the mighty Jimmy Page on the double-necked finale of “Stairway to Heaven” for one of the pals with whom I most connect (sorry Bieber, I couldn’t find any solos by Selena Gomez’s guitarist, er, computer).

The point is: I want the solo to represent the caller. It might take me a while, but it’s a task I relish.

Fortunately, I’ve got a ways to go to finish off the contact list. Of course, I don’t have nearly as many friends as I have solos to consider (although many of the solos are like friends to me), so I’ll need to jam my way through a few more decisions.

Luckily, it’s my day off (although it seems a lot like what I do every day, thank God) so I can stay on it.

So now that you’ve had time to think… which solo would you choose for yourself?  We’d love to see your response on Facebook or Twitter.

(Except for you, Disney Boy, you have to call so I can jam some Zep).

In fact, with my recent acquisition of my new iPhone, you could say I am officially Apple’s cyberslave. I started with the initial 40 gig iPod, which was eventually replaced by my current 160 gig iPod classic (which I actually use to walk the dog). Then last year, I finally switched from PC to Mac (which allowed me to customize my rambling videos). Now the iPhone. As Kevin Bacon would say, “Thank you sir, may I have another!”

It goes beyond Apple. I’ve got a Sony 3D Blu-ray player that streams youtube, Pandora, Slacker (which I like better), and about eight zillion movies. The digital cable has umpteen music channels.

It’s awesome. Entertainment everywhere. It makes a guy wonder about the need for record stores, that’s for sure.

So why do I own one?

Obviously, it’s a question I’ve asked myself (and fielded from many of you) countless times over the past thirteen years, and continue to ask myself to this day. I know that I can listen to music from morning until night, and hear tons of great shit, without paying a cent outside of my phone and cable bills, which I already have to pay. So why not just go with the electronic flow?

The answer: I still personally like to own and have control of my music. Collecting CDs (and to a smaller extent, LPs) is my ultimate hobby.

Our old partner, Lloyd, sent me a Spotify invite last month. So I logged on and created an account.  I dialed up Paul Pena’s “New Train” as my first search, to see what sort of depth they had (it was the very first album we ever played at this store). While they didn’t have “New Train”, they did have an album I’ve never seen, his self-titled album. New Pena tracks? Cool.

I started to listen to the album, and of course, it was tasty. But rather than rejoice at my new digital find, I immediately dialed up my distributor to see if it was available (it wasn’t… and I couldn’t even find evidence of it’s existence on Amazon or Ebay).

Because I want to OWN it. I want it to be mine. I want to know it’s in my collection, and that it isn’t going to disappear at the whim of some company or at the surge of some electrical current. I want to be able to make a ringtone out of it, or use it in a video. I want total control.

Yes, I want to have it on my computer, in my phone, and on my iPod… but unless I’ve got that original digital file (otherwise known as the CD) back there on the wall, in my collection, I don’t really feel like I really own it. Plus, I want to be able to listen to it in high quality at my house, at the store, and in my car.

You see, I’m not a “casual” music fan, like for instance, my lovely wife. Music has always been enormously important to me, and I take my collection very seriously. I generally listen to albums (in fact, I never just drag a song into one of my devices). I don’t (and have never) buy singles (unless it’s a rare song and that’s the only way to get it). I rarely rip a CD and then trade it. If I do, I feel like I made a decision to relegate whatever the album is to a lower status… an almost not-worthy status.

I’m not saying that I’m personally down on casual fans. My wife loves her music very much. Nothing is more important than the amazing spiritual vibe music provides almost all of us, so to each their own. I’m just saying that’s not my way.

So while I’ve got the files to John Hammond’s “Southern Fried”, and I can listen to Lee Michael’s self-titled album on Spotify, but until I  get the CD or LP, those two albums are not really mine.

In a nutshell, I’m a guy that needs a record store.

Luckily, I still own one.

You start helping a guy or girl by asking questions, and you find out some info about them.  You throw out some info of your own (usually more rambling than is necessary in my case), and they find out a bit about you.

Usually it’s music-based info, but you can find out a lot about a person by talking music.  Hell, ever since I was a wee pup, one of the first things I did when I got to know someone was take a look at their record collection (or their CD collection, although I must note that I’ve never taken a look at someone’s hard drive… but that’s another blog).  After all these years of record store geekdom, I’m like Sherlock Holmes in terms of tying personality traits to musical tastes.

Anyway, if a person likes your service, and your conversation, or whatever, they come again.  And again.  And you bullshit some more with each visit.  You discuss the last purchases and play some music.  Maybe the guy burns you something to listen to… or you bring something in from your house… and maybe you talk a little politics or sports.. and the next thing you know, a bond is built.  A person that was originally just some dude (or dudette) that walked in to check out the store with the MUSIC sign has become your friend.

Since I write once in a while, and make videos more than I probably should, I sometimes think in terms of “you should write about this” or “you should do a video about that”.  When our old customer-turned-friend Ben Erlandson graduated (see pic, congrats Ben) and headed for Northern Cal last year after shopping at our store for almost the duration of our existence, I decided to write a blog about how Ben had grown into a friend.  How much he had gotten to know all of the main hoodlums, how we had a nickname for him (based on biking accidents), how much fun we had interacting with him online, and how much we were going to miss him… most of all how that missing went beyond the loss of a great customer.

A Tribute To One of Our All-time Champion Customer-Friends

So here I am with that my “customer-friend” blog, but it isn’t about Ben.  Sorry pal, but there’s a good reason for it:

A few months before Ben left, I had already put another “I should do this customer video” thought in progress.  I had the ol’ video camera in the store so I could record Record Store Geek: The Reason It’s Always Me in the Videos, and one our great customer-friends, Craig Pinson, happened to be in the store shopping (and bullshitting about music). In addition to helping spice up the RSG video with his fantastic and supportive laughter, he allowed me to turn the camera on him to make a testimonial about our special order service at Hoodlums. I told him I was going to edit it and put it up on the website next to our special order info.  He loved it.

Of course, I didn’t get on it right away… meaning as I begin to write this it still isn’t on the website.

Craig kept coming, and the friendship continued to grow.  Not only with me, but with Kristian and Andy as well.  Every once in a while, I’d say “Eventually I’m going to get that special order video up”, and he’d say “no biggie” or something to that extent.  It wasn’t like it was a big deal, and in our relationship the most important thing was the music.  This is the Savoy Brown you should try next.  When is that deluxe version of Derek and the Dominoes coming out?  The new Drive-By Truckers is excellent, as is the Jason Isbell.

When the extra Elton John/Leon Russell tickets showed up on the day of the show, we knew who to call.  And Craig (and his wife Mary) were ready.  We were able to hook them up, and we all went to the whatever-it’s-called Arena to verify that Elton can still jam (he can).

Craig ordered the Vanilla Fudge box set through Hoodlums, even though it was a Rhino Handmade product (just like the Delaney and Bonnie in the video), and when we called to tell him it was in, he apologized and said he was laid up and that it might be a while.  We assured him it was no big deal and we told him we hoped he would get feeling better.  It took about a month, maybe longer, but eventually he came in and grabbed his stuff.

He said he was feeling better.  We talked for a long time.  About his purchases.  About the music.  And Craig did what he always would do… he’d finish up the discussion, and he’d say he had to go, and then somehow, someway, the thought of music would take over… and Craig would stop… and fire up the discussion again.  I’d give him shit about it (no, not you, Steve) and we’d laugh.  Eventually he would leave, awesome music in hand.

Then in early May, I received a call from Kristian.  Craig’s wife had called to tell us that Craig had passed away during the night.  She explained to Kristian that Hoodlums had played such a big part in Craig’s life, had provided him with so much enjoyment, that she felt we needed to be told.

She knew that we were friends.  Through Hoodlums… but mostly, through the music.

Kristian and I were both able to attend Craig’s funeral.  During the service, Craig’s love of music was mentioned prominently, along with his awesome kindness, his loving manner, and his terrific laugh.  On the way home, we talked about how lucky we were that this was the first funeral we’ve had to attend during our 13 years of building relationships with customers, and how much we were going to miss our friend Craig.

I knew the video was at home in my Mac.  I knew I had to at least finish it and post it.  In honor of our friend, Craig.  I checked with Mary, and she said it was O.K.

So here’s to ya Craig.  I added Derek and the Dominoes for the music, and I listened to it while writing this.  Lord knows I’ll think about ya every time it plays.

CIMS is a group of the USA’s finest independent music stores, banded together for more than 15 years to successfully fight the giant corporate bean-counters, er, companies that infiltrated retail music (to the complete detriment of the industry, of course) in the mid-nineties.

Our fearless CIMS representatives have been out there every day for 15 years, reminding record labels and the public just how important indie record stores have always been, and still are, to music fans and musicians throughout the world. Reminding everybody, via sweet events like Record Store Day, that (even in a digital age) indie record stores are still one of the primary places where breaking artists are discovered, gain traction, and turned into established acts.

Most importantly, Hoodlums and the other CIMS stores promote new music via monthly listening stations and programs. Each month, we will be featuring over 60 different new titles each and every month. Major artists, breaking artists, multiple genres… the Coalition stores promote it all. The video will explain more about the CIMS listening posts (and let you know just how excited we are about having access to all this great new music).

As you can see from the list of this month’s titles, the same CIMS reps have been out there working with the record labels to make sure that plenty of their advertising budgets are going to support the industry’s most influencial stores, to promote the artists that this veteran group of music stores think our customers might dig.

The Hoodlums/CIMS “Back” Story

A looser way to describe the Coalition would be to say that CIMS is a bunch of record store geeks, just like Kristian and I, that get together to brainstorm about business, share our passions for music and film, and party (what the hell else did you expect?).

That’s the description we love the best. That’s the part we missed the most. The comraderie.  The brotherhood. And yeah, the party. Because after all, we’re all just partying slackers at heart, posing as business people, so why pretend? That’s us in the picture on the right, at our 10 year anniversary in Seattle at the mighty Easy Street Records (Thanks again for the great event, Matt).

What do I mean by “missed”?  Why is this a “rejoin”?  Let me explain.

Hoodlums was fortunate enough to be a member of CIMS from 2002 – 2007.  During that time, we made a lot of friends, and learned a lot about our industry, ourselves, and how to run a better record store. We talked, listened, debated a number of industry issues, and worked with our colleagues to develop some of the “think indie” strategies (including Think Indie Distribution, which peddles the limited-edition, indie-only titles that you love so much) that have helped keep many of the country’s indie stores cranking in today’s challenging competitive environment.

However, when a fire closed our ASU store in 2007, we were no longer CIMS members.  Of course, at that point we were no longer a store… period. The developments at the Memorial Union had led us to the decision to move on to new challenges, and we did not intend to reopen.

Then we found this perfect new location and changed our minds. We formed a new store, with a new philosophy, and we moved forward. While we were still featuring cool new music, we put extra focus on making sure that we had the very best mix of classics and a phenomenal selection of used LPs, CDs, and DVDs.

The strategy worked. Our customers responded. But something was missing.

Then we got the call from our old friends at CIMS. Would we be interested in rejoining?

We met with our old comrades, took a new look at the programs, and decided to jump at the opportunity. We moved our old listening posts back in (much to the chagrin of my tired back), filled them with new music, recorded the video, and started listening. It’s gonna be great to have all that new music around.

But not as great as it’s gonna be to see the gang at the conference. After all, we haven’t forgotten our real priorities.

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!