The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.

Barack Obama

It is about faith: in the future, in memory, in shared experiences, in friends, in small businesses, in art, in music, in sharing what we have, and in authentic community.

Music has always been about something that lives in the heart. For some of us, it’s the center of our worlds. Every crisis we face in our lives, whether it’s a personal event like facing cancer or the loss of a loved one, to the scary national events like we’re experiencing right now, we decide what matters the most to each of us, and we hold onto those things. We narrow our focus — we connect. When we act, we find the best in ourselves.

Many small record shops are open for mail orders, and they desperately need to keep making sales to get through this difficult time. Recording artists also rely on record-shop sales more than ever because they can’t tour right now. Music has always been a fragile ecosystem. You can add life-sustaining energy to this system right now.

The Palace made a selection of a few record shops we believe in. Of course, we’re super lucky to have The Business 5 minutes away in Anacortes, WA, so they remain our go-to record source. But all of these record shops are fantastic at mail orders. They all have great websites, and are easy to contact, or to follow on Instagram. The smallest purchase means the world. Sharing what we can.

The Business

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The Business record shop is located at 216 Commercial Avenue, Anacortes, Washington. The shop is currently closed to the public, but they’re accepting mail orders online via their website, by email, or by their landline: 360.293.9788.

“The Business, a retail experiment (past employees include Karl Blau and Phil Elverum), was founded in 1978 by Anacortes legend Glen DesJardins. In its humble beginnings, The Business carried everything from stained glass and books to birdseed and photography equipment. Bret Lunsford (Beat Happening, D+) owned The Business from 1995-2004 (when it was home to KNW-YR-OWN Records). Liz and Jensen Lovelett owned the shop from 2005-2010, and moved it to the historic Anacortes Downtown District. In 2016, the shop was moved once more to its present-day location.

“Currently owned by Nick Rennis and Evie Opp, The Business continues to culture Anacortes via its selection of fiercely independent new music. In 2012 Nick and Evie began The Business Distro-, which continues to grow and expand the role of The Business on a global scale. They also offer label operations and mail-order fulfillment for many self-releasing artists and labels. In 2019 The Business was named the Best Record Store In Washington.”

Resurrection Records

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The Resurrection Records shop is located at 1927 W. Northwest Blvd., Spokane, Washington. They’re accepting mail orders online via their website, by email, or by their landline: 509.414.1429.

Sisters in Christ

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The Sisters in Christ record shop is located at 5206 Magazine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana. The shop is currently closed to the public, but they’re accepting mail orders online via their website, or by their landline: 504.510.4379. (They have an excellent online search.)

“We carry a wide variety of contemporary punk, indie, hardcore, metal, etc., as well as a hefty collection of oddballs and classics on vinyl and cassette, both new and used. We also offer a variety of books and zines focusing on radical and anarchist literature, graphic novels, classic, and punk ephemera. Buy, sell, trade, indulge.

“Every year, we release a 45 for ‘record store day,’ which includes unreleased tracks from musicians we’re friends with and fans of. These releases are one-time presses of 500 available only from us and the musicians involved. Our past releases can be streamed on our Bandcamp page.”

BIS AUFS MESSER

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BIS AUFS MESSER is located at Marchlewskistr 107, 10243 Berlin Friedrichshain, Germany. The shop is currently accepting mail orders online via their website. (They have an excellent online search.)

Normal Records

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Normal Records is located at 550 15th Street, #102, San Diego, California. The shop is currently closed to the public, but they’re accepting mail orders online via their website contact page, or by their landline: 760.212.7794. (You have to register on their website before ordering.)

All Day Records

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All Day Records is located at 112A E. Main Street, Carrboro, North Carolina. The shop is currently closed to the public, but they’re accepting mail orders online via their website, by email, or by their landline: 919.537.8322. (They have an excellent online search.)

Thank you!

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photo credits
(where not otherwise credited)

“Record press” / photograph by Stock Rocket on Shutterstock 
“Record cart” / photograph by Stock Rocket on Shutterstock