CIMS WEEKLY CHART: WEEK ENDING 1/23/20

Hi Everyone,

Not too much to say this week other than it started off with some high highs and some low lows.
 
For the Highs- Congrats to Billie Eilish and Finneas on their Grammy sweep and performance. Tyler the Creator brought it and Rosalia was on fire! I absolutely love her, and it has been so exciting to see her gaining ground here in the States.
 
However, it was beyond weird to go into the Grammys, at the Staples Center, with the loss of Kobe. As a long-time Lakers fan, I watched almost every game of his career and what can you say- he was a legend. I am growing really tired of losing legends. I know, this is a game as old as time….and no one can last here forever, but there are certain people on this planet with such talent and raw energy- be it in in sports, music, film, whatever – that they actually seem invincible.
 
And in a way…I guess they are- because they have forever left their mark on us. The people we hold as our legends (whoever that may be for you) are the ones that inspire.  Whether you are driven to get on the court, learn to work a camera, pick up an instrument, invent something. These are the people that drive us to push ourselves to that next level even when it seems out of reach.
 
So- I guess the message this week is:  Life is short.  Don’t take for granted the ones you love. Whatever it is you do, do it with passion and go make your mark.
 
Here are the charts:

CIMS PICK OF THE WEEK

CIMS WEEKLY CHART: WEEK ENDING 1/16/20

This week, I would like to focus on one of our CIMS members.
Darkside Records in Poughkeepsie, NY celebrated its 9th anniversary this past weekend. I was able to catch up with the store owner, Justin Johnson, to see how they celebrated and I wanted to share his wrap-up with everyone.

From Justin,

“For our anniversary, here's what went down:

Darkside celebrated our 9th anniversary this past Saturday with a huge 30% off EVERYTHING store-wide sale plus hundreds of great used records for only $1. We also paired up with our local coffee shop, The Poughkeepsie Grind, to give away free coffee. We had local brews on tap for our customers, food from our favorite taco spot Mole Mole and adoptable puppies in house from no-kill animal shelter CARE of Dutchess County. The day was a huge success despite the impending snow, with the morning and early afternoon feeling like Record Store Day had come early.

We also launched a new charity event on our anniversary. Our county, and in March the whole state of NY, has started a plastic bag ban. We've been using paper for years, but we decided to do like some other indie record stores have and take it to the next step. For every person that doesn't take a bag at checkout, Darkside is donating 10¢ (the average cost of our bags) to the severely underfunded Poughkeepsie City School District via DonorsChoose.org. If you're not familiar, Donors Choose connects people directly with teachers who need things for their classrooms and students. 90% of the kids in the city of Poughkeepsie school district live at or below the poverty line, so it's pretty awesome when we can help out teachers who are trying their best with what little they're given.”
 
I love hearing this sort of news, and Darkside’s account is just one example of how our stores are SO much more than just a place to buy music. They are an integral part of the communities around them. I would like to extend a huge congratulations to Justin and the entire Darkside team. Keep up the good work!

-Andrea

CIMS PICK OF THE WEEK

Various- Come On Up To The House: Women Sing Waits (Dualtone)
Justin Johnson - Darkside Records

“Especially the Phoebe Bridgers cover of 'Georgia Lee' - it's just devastating.”

CIMS WEEKLY CHART: WEEK ENDING 1/9/2020

It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that a group of record stores would come up with a way to work together- to be stronger, to think bigger, to matter more.
 
That year was 1995:
It was the year of the OJ trial,
The year Sony gave us the PlayStation,
The year we would meet and fall in love with Buzz and Woody,
The year the World Wide Web successfully found its way into people’s homes.
That same year, so did Ebay and Amazon.
I will always remember 1995, because it was the year I saw Aphex Twin & Bjork at the Masquerade in Atlanta. Easily one of my top three favorite shows of all time.
 
Britpop was having a serious moment…
And so was the CD, which I guess makes it quite appropriate that CIMS is celebrating its Silver anniversary this year.
 
25 Years Y’all… Dang. How did that happen?
 
Here we are 25 years later; still fighting to stay in the game we love, sometimes still winning, and along the way making some lifelong friends.
 
Through the years, we have marked the milestones with some pretty amazing events and artist performances. This is a year to celebrate so we are planning to do just that with a “CIMS Silver” party at RSD Summer Camp. There will be more info on that in the coming months, but we will be inviting some of those friends to join us so please help us Bring the noise!
 
Speaking of, I would like to extend a giant congrats to Trent Reznor and our pals at Silva Artist Management on the Nine Inch Nails induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
 
Time sure is a funny thing, but the one thing you can count on- it flies by when you’re having fun.  
 
Here are the charts.

Andrea 

Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
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