bookmark_borderGhosts of DFW music history: Direct Hit Records

This is part of a continuing series of posts exploring locations of former DFW musical landmarks and the histories behind them.
Direct Hit Records logo
Direct Hit Records logo

It’s 1994, and you’re in the mood for some local flavor. The DFW music scene has come into its own, and Deep Ellum is a hoppin’ place on the weekends. Local music has been taking off on the radio, and the composers and performers of said music are gaining real traction with the teen- and twentysomethings sets. Some bands are even getting signed to national labels and their music is beginning to be stocked in the big name, big box outlets. But on this particular day you’re looking for something a bit less mainstream and a bit more underground in ethos. You pile your things into the car and head out in the direction of the historic Exposition Park strip. It’s in one of those areas where people are supposedly afraid to go thanks to a reputation for being crime-ridden, but this particular carve-out is said to be safe. You pass by Forbidden Books and The Bar of Soap, negotiating the never-ending road construction, and arrive at a small retail store on Parry Avenue, sandwiched inside a row of businesses just across the street from the entrance to the fairgrounds.

Continue reading "Ghosts of DFW music history: Direct Hit Records"

bookmark_borderA guide to avoiding fake oldies compilations (re-recordings, live versions, and fake artists)

Maybe it's happened to you. There's an artist or a song you really like, you come across it on a compilation CD somewhere, excitedly buy the disc, and eagerly pop it into your CD player... only to find that the songs you thought you bought were in fact shadily marketed re-recordings and not the original hits!

Continue reading "A guide to avoiding fake oldies compilations (re-recordings, live versions, and fake artists)"

bookmark_borderNew and used music stores in the DFW area

With the decline of physical media over the last decade, the experience of digging through bins full of items in search of that hidden gem, or stumbling across that item you never thought about before but now just have to have, is increasingly on the wane. Fortunately, there are a surprising number of brick and mortar stores still active in the Dallas-Fort Worth area ready to cater to that very need, serving those audiophiles and music lovers among us who still appreciate that old time experience.

SOME IMPORTANT NOTES:

1 - For this post, I am only reviewing places that specialize in or do a substantial amount of business in the sale of physical music and music-related items, and that exist as brick and mortar stores open to the public. I am not considering places such as dedicated flea markets and internet based businesses.

2 - Creating a scoring system, and determining how much to weight each item being scored, have been challenging. None of the ratings or reviews in this post should be taken as indicative of whether a particular store is worth your business or support. Some of the stores reviewed are corporate, but others are owned by individuals or families, and some play roles in their local communities that go beyond the sale of physical media. All are evaluated based strictly on how well they are likely to serve the buying needs of a music fan with somewhat broad/eclectic tastes - I'm not looking at things here from an investment perspective. Other factors worth considering, such as how well a particular store serves a specific music market, genre, or neighborhood, are not factored into the ratings. See an explanation of the ratings here.

(Special thanks to Alex Pogosov and Alison Pham for their suggestions and feedback)

Forever Young Records (Grand Prairie)

2955 S State Highway 360, Grand Prairie, TX 75052 Forever Young Records This retailer has been serving the DFW area since 1984, and it's one I used to frequent regularly during my last year of high school.

Pros: