Song, by Toad

New Front

[Next up in our series where readers and general pals introduce their local record shops is JC, author of The Vinyl Villain, pretty much the model of mp3 blogging to which we should all aspire: honest, personal, knowledgable and enthusiastic.]

Last year, I spent four months working in Toronto, and it didn’t take me any time at all to find myself getting immersed in the local music scene.

It’s a city with loads of great venues for bands to play – with many of them charging way below what we are used to in the UK. And as for the record stores??? Three in particular stand out – Sonic Boom, Soundscapes and Rotate This and I could happily waffle on about any or all of them. But I’ll go for what is the most established of the three – Rotate This.

Its got a great mix of CDs and vinyl, new and second-hand, and it doesnt have staff that sneer at your own peculiar tastes. It also sells tickets for just about all the gigs in the city, from the smallest pub to the main arenas, never charging more than $1 or $2 in commission. What more could you ask for???

Well, its also open every night until 8pm and it can be found in one of the most bohemian and diverse parts of town.

This is what Rotate This says about itself on its website:-

“We’re one of Toronto’s leading and best known independent record stores. We stock new releases from independent bands and artists from Canada, the U.S., England, and around the world. We’re committed (actually, obsessed would be more accurate) with stocking as much of this on vinyl as is possible.

Genre-wise, we’re down with almost everything: the hip, the hop, the punk, the jazz, the hardcore, the reggae, the electronic, the indie, the un-indie. No classical or nu-country, however.

Rotate This is an equal-genre retailer. We do not exclude titles from stock based on race, creed, culture, religious affiliation or sexual orientation. We might not, however, stock a title we feel is not appropriate for our store, for any number of reasons. You want Brittany? Wicked, so do we. But we don’t sell her records. (Well, ok, maybe the UK 12″ers but please don’t tell anyone).

We stock used vinyl as well, although the turnover is extremely high, and we find it difficult to keep much stock. If you’re looking to rid yourself of your dusty old record collection in exchange for some $$s, we’d be more than happy to take a look. We are rather picky though, so please don’t bring in your Poco lps.

We’re also an official ticket outlet for most of the major concert promoters in town.

Next time you’re out music shopping, and you’re looking for stuff that you just can’t find at the mall, definitely stop by. We swear that we won’t judge your purchases. Honest! (Kidding!) (No, really!)”

I honestly couldn’t put it any better myself – which is why I didn’t.

For years, the shop was located at 620 Queen Street West, maybe a couple of miles west of the heart of the city centre, but slap bang in the middle of an area that was incredibly lively, edgy and real fun to be in.

Old Front

In June this year, I was back for a week’s holiday in Toronto, and one afternoon I made time to pay a visit to the store. But it wasn’t there….nor was there any indication of a relocation. Right away I looked round to try and find someone in the vicinity who might have been a customer – which basically could have been any of about a dozen folk within earshot. I just said out loud “Can anyone tell me if Rotate This has moved somewhere else?” and at least three folk started to give me an answer at the same time.

The great news was that it had simply moved two blocks further west at 801 Queen Street West.

I was there in less than 10 minutes, and when I walked in, a couple of the staff recognised me immediately, even though it had been 7 months since I had last set eyes on them. It turned out that the shop had needed to move because the landlord, realising the area around 620 was becoming increasingly gentrified, had demanded an outrageous increase in rent. Luckily for everyone, a nearby, and slightly larger store, was readily available and affordable.

I know from reading a few postings across various sites about life in Toronto that quite a number of folk are a bit unhappy with the new shop, feeling it doesn’t have the same character or ambience as the old store. And right now that may well be the case, but give it a few more months and the newness will disappear to be replaced by the unkempt disorder that the old store was famed for.

Old Interior

Rotate This is the sort of record store I reckon, as serious musos, we imagine to be our ideal. Spend a day hanging around, and you’ll hear just about every kind of music under the sun, except for the sort of crap that dominates the charts. Or nu-country. Or classical…

Its the sort of store where you can spend a fortune and not mind. Its also the sort of store that gives you the opportunity to pick up all sorts of stuff you knew existed but you never thought you would get your hands on.

Over the two visits, I’ve come back with around 50 LPs or 12″ singles – all second hand and mostly from the 80s. I picked up a bunch of great stuff by The The – extended and remix versions of loads of early songs, but all of the songs are too long to transfer as mp3 files in an e-mail. I also got some Billy Bragg stuff that was released on a Canadian label which was just sheer indulgence given I already had all the songs on UK vinyl and/or CDs.

New Interior

I also got a mint copy of a great 12″ P.I.L.. single for the equivalent of £5, from which this rare version comes:

P.I.L – This is Not a Love Song (Re-mixed Version)

And for the equivalent of £2.50, I found 12″ single that i didn’t realise was different from the LP version I knew so well [JC shat it here, because the original song he was going to post was by Fatima Mansions, but he changed his mind at the last minute because he thought it might be "might be just a bit too much for the ears of many listeners". I reckon we petition him to post it on his site, because I am now far too intrigued to be left hanging like this]:

The Breeders – Divine Hammer (Single Version)

Happy Listening, JC.