Lou's Records

[David Ayers]

Well in past years I have sung the praises of Lou's Records, Encinitas, CA, which once upon a time was the best-stocked record store I got to visit. I hadn't visited for two years but called in a couple weeks back as my steps once again took me back that way. Lou's is now a shadow, stocking mainly second-hand CDs and cut-outs, very little new stock (maybe 10 new jazz titles, mostly compilations, though more rock which is their mainstay; the cut-outs contain multiples of things like Charlotte Church's first album and Hannukah and Christmas Holiday Music; pre-owned cassettes sell for $0.19). They told me that fewer people shopped there any more and they could no longer afford the stock. It wasn't their choice but they were doing what they could. It was a sad sight to me as this store was a cornucopia in the past with a rich and knowledgeably selected jazz stock (as well as rock, alternative, classical, etc). It was impossible to keep your $$ in your pocket. Like a lot of people I've tired of CD, so there's no point lamenting the disappearance of a type of store I use less and less, I suppose. Things change. I hope that as the recession ends Lou's can have something of a revival.

[sidewinder]

Don't tell me about it. The old Tower Records store on Sunset Boulevard also comes to mind. At one time an absolute Aladdin's Cave. And you could park for free right by the door.

Edited September 1, 2010 by sidewinder

[colinmce]

Yes, the increasing presence of cut outs and budget imports in what few stores remain is indeed sad and infuriating. There is an FYE here--literally the only place to buy music in town-- that has nothing but terrible Euro budget titles in their miniscule jazz section. The rest of the store isn't any better ... mostly cheesy rock cut-outs from the 90s and early 00s.

At least Lou's is asking a reasonable price for cassettes! As they've disappeared, I've noticed people pricing them for what I feel are absurd amounts. Anything over a dollar is robbery, if you ask me. In fact, there's an ebay seller that is hawking many (admittedly obscure or OOP) jazz tapes for $20 or more. Please.

[BeBop]

I've only been to Lou's once that I can remember. It's a bit South and West of my usual California jobs. But I certainly know the story; see it everywhere.

[Dan Gould]

In Drew's case, he literally means "everywhere".

[samnat]

I wondered about Lou's. I made a point to visit each trip out there I could, but last week I took my kids to Legoland and had to drive past Encinitas without stopping. Now I know I didn't miss anything. I did manage to hit all 3 Amoeba on my California vacation and was saddened to see that older jazz VINYL is now almost all relegated to the $30-60 wall though it wasn't always so. Record Surplus in LA still has 20% sales quarterly and I found the Roy Eldridge Mosaic CD set for $109 less 20%. Even Grateful Dead vinyl was hard to find compared to logging onto the Internet. Record Collector magazine has a "record store locator" section, but I can see why most people buy their music over the internet.

[BeBop]

Record Surplus in LA still has 20% sales quarterly and I found the Roy Eldridge Mosaic CD set for $109 less 20%.

...not to mention...The Attic.

Edited September 1, 2010 by BeBop

[porcy62]

Who cares? I am happy, stuck in cube, my beloved flat monitor and my superfast connection, now if only I could 'erase' all those noisy human beings outside the cube, and the postman carrying the parcel, I mean couldn't they find a clean way to deliver the records?