Budapest Record Shops

I visited Budapest directly after Prague, and I couldn't help noticing the similarities and differences. Both cities have a beautiful historical center with imperial period architecture, but while Budapest had some bigger and more majestic buildings, the overal look was a bit more rundown. Which, I'll have to admit, I liked. It looks more like a lived-in city when Prague has this fairytale quality that seemed to be fabricated for tourists (I'm sure it isn't so, but that's the feeling I got). Also, in Prague they may sell the chimney cakes (there it's called trdelník) in every corner, but here you'll find the most authentic ones. They're called Kürtőskalács and if you want to taste some really good (and cheap) ones I strongly suggest Molnár's. Another thing I loved about Budapest was how lively it is. When you go out at night it's full of young locals having fun. A special feature of the city's night life is the so-called ruin bars. Be sure to at least visit the first and best one Szimpla Kert on Kazinczy Street. It's very crowded at night, so if you want to take a look around I suggest going in the afternoon. And as long as you're there, don't forget to eat at Karavan Street Food a few meters away. It's an open space with food trucks serving everything from Goulash-in-a-bun to the delicious Hungarian pies called lángos.

Despite the fact I was only in Budapest for 2,5 days, I tried to visit most of the city's record shops - at least the ones within walking distance from the center. Starting with Musicland which may be somewhat out of the centre (Almássy Square 8) but is, at least size-wise, the biggest in the city. It's a semi-underground establishment with two big rooms. During my visit the CD section was closed for construction, but there was enough to see at the main (vinyl) section. It's very well stocked, had lots of record store day specials and new 180gr reissues (€15-25) as well as second hand LP's and a bunch of 7' singles (60's to 80s pop & rock in dubious condition) for a measly 100HUF. There's also a record player you can use to listen to LPs. Conveniently for international buyers, prices are also listed in €. International LP's (Classic rock, psych, pop) cost 3,5-20€, Hungarian editions 1,5-5€. To get an idea of the prices from now on, at the time of my trip 1000 Hungarian Fiorins were roughly €3,5. Second stop was Headbanger (Múzeum krt. 17),a small store dedicated to Heavy Metal. It has a big variety of Metal T-shirts, and a few hundred vinyls (mostly 5-7.000 HUF). It doesn't sound like much, but you'll be surprised with what you can find: Anything (but not everything) in HM plus some rock albums (e.g. Pink Floyd, Doors), mostly new and sealed or used in good condition.

Laci Bácsi Lemezboltja (Kertész utca 42) 

Rock diszkont on Kiraly 108 reminded me of a shop in my old neighborhood that sold buttons and shoelaces. Cd's are in boxes on the walls, some you can get out and browse through while others are out of touch behind the counter. There are no price stickers, so you'll have to ask. The problem with that is that these guys there don't speak English or make any effort to communicate. The prices they gave me were the same or slightly lower than the average prices anywhere in Europe. On the other hand, there's a huge variety of Hungarian music in CD so if you're looking for something specific in that department, it's worth a visit. A bit further (Kiraly 67) you'll find Lemezkucko, Budapest's oldest record store (from 1986). It looks the part, too. It's of good size and, while it may not be the trendiest in town, it's nice to look about. You'll find 2nd hand vinyl (60s/70s/80s pop & rock, international albums mostly costing 2000-3000HUF, Hungarian ones typically 2000), new LP's (around 5000HUF) and CD's (international 2000-4000HUF, a big variety in Hungarian rock mostly 2000HUF). It's possible to listen to albums. I bought a couple of Yugoslavian pressings of Western rock LP's here, they're cheaper than e.g. German but still of good quality - which I can't say about the Hungarian-made vinyls I listened to in this trip. 

Zene Borze

Rock Dizkont

Laci Bácsi Lemezboltja  (Kertész 42) is the place to look for vinyl. Long corridors stuffed with all kinds of LP's (60s/70s/80s for 600-6000 HUF, new reissues and rarities sometimes more expensive). Some really cheap ones also, prices vary according to the vinyl's condition and issue. Worth spending time, there's no telling what you can find. Especially recommended if you're looking for East Bloc Rock. 

Many shops are listed on a wide road called Erzsébet str. The most visible is Zene borze at no. 52. No vinyl here, only CDs and DVDs apparently 2nd hand. A lot of international rock/pop CD's for good prices (1000-2000HUF). At no.58 you'll have to go inside the back yard to find a tiny shop. The sign says Hanglemez, which apparently means "Records" in Hungarian. I think it's probably Film-Zene Kuckó which is mentioned in some sites and is registered in the same address. It's really packed with very little space to move, but I did see some interesting stuff, classic rock mostly. CD Pince at n. 41 is likewise in an inner yard, and underground to boot. Fairly big, though, if somewhat one sided. To paraphrase The Blues Brothers, they have both kinds of music: Heavy and Metal. If that's your thing you'll find lots of CD's (new 3000HUF, used 1500-2000HUF) and T-shirts as well as some vinyl LPs. Média Pont A Lemezbolt is a little out of the center (about 15 minutes' walk from the parliament building). It's small and cluttered both inside and out, but in a nice, colorful, manner. There a few boxes of offers for 500HUF outside. Inside there are both used CD's and vinyl. A surprising variety for such a small shop, with prices slightly lower than elsewhere (typically 1500-4000HUF for vinyl). Saving the best for last, Wave (Révay Köz 1) is a beautiful record store that serves as the center of the Hungarian underground scene since 1989. The owner speaks good English, he's friendly and very knowledgable about music. The focus is on Alternative rock, punk and underground music but you can find everything from Jazz to Garage Rock to Soviet records. New vinyl costs 5000-8000HUF. used around 3000HUF with some cheapos for 300-1500. CD's in different prices (used ones 1500-2000HUF). This is a must visit place, even if you don't have much time. After all it's just a few steps from St. Stephen's Basilica, which is an obligatory tourist stop.

During my trip I managed to visit most, but not all, of the record shops in my list. For example I couldn't find Rock in Box on the given address, Paulay Ede utca 8. Metro-nom (Kresz Géza u. 11) is apparently the place for New Wave, dark wave and electro, but it was closed on Saturday. Newport Records is a very small shop hidden in a passage (Teréz krt. 8). I swung by, but it was closed. Supposedly it's good for Jazz, Classical, 60s and French vinyl. AktRecords (Ó u. 35) and Deep Music (Aradi u. 22) specialize in dance music which isn't my thing so I chose to cut them out of my schedule. A couple of shops at the city's 8th district sounded interesting, but I didn't have time to visit them: Ethno Sound (Krúdy Gyula 7) has ethnic stuff including world music CDs and Iguana (Krúdy Gyula 9) retro/vintage items, including garage/punk vinyl LP's. Maybe next time. To summarize, it seems that vinyl is alive and well in Budapest (well, in Pest at least. Not much to do in Buda). Many shops cater to the needs of record buyers, although price-wise there aren't many bargains except for local artists. At first it struck me as odd, seeing as the cost of living is supposedly lower than in Western Europe, but it makes sense after all: there weren't many rock records getting pressed in Hungary during its communist years, so most of the records on sale are imported. Not that it matters - if you're like me, you won't be able to resist searching the shelves. And when you do, you're bound to find some good stuff, I certainly did...

Prague Record Shops

Are we (I mean myself and my girlfriend) what people call foodies? I don't like to think so because it sounds pretentious, like hipsters for food or something. But of course she is a cooking enthousiast with a food blog (with recipes for food mentioned in fairytales and classic stories). And I can't help noticing that my reports on international record stores in this blog are infested with remarks on local dishes and restaurants. So when I sit down to write about Prague's record stores, I have to try not to comment on the history of Czech pilsner or the difference between Czech and Hungarian goulash (the one is a stew with thick sauce served with dumplings, the other is a beef soup with potatoes and carrots - there I said it! It just came out!). I'll urge you instead to read about Kafka, about the city's Jewish community and the legend of the Golem, and about Prague's turbulent history (the defenestrations, the Prague Spring and the exciting World War II episode of Operation Anthropoid - don't forget to visit the crypt in Saints Cyril and Methodius church where the final confrontation took place).
I know there's too much to do and to see in Prague, but I guess if you're reading this you're music fans and would also like to buy some records while you're there. I did, so I rented a place near the Jewish quarter and proceeded to explore the city. Most of the record stores are situated in the area called Nové Město/New Town, within walking distance from my apartment. Googlemaps showed me that the closest record shop was called Musicland, a shop that didn't exist in most guides. Probably because it is a rather faceless business situated in the second basement of the big Palladium mall. Expect to find the equivalent of the music section of a big department store: clean, well ordered, with a mainstream selection of CD's (200-400 CZK) and LP's (370-800 CZK). To put that in perspective, at the time of my visit 100 Czech Crowns were worth about 4 Euros. The second store I visited was also inside a mall on a very commercial pedestrian street (Na Příkopě), the Černá Růže passage. But this shop is one for the vinyl fetishists. It's called Japan LP and sells exclusively Japanese vinyl imports (mostly 2nd hand). There are a few offers 150-300CZK, but the usual price is 500-700, up to around 1000CZK. Owner is probably a late sleeper, as he opens at noon. At the end of Na Příkopě you can find Bontonland, a shop that advertises itself as "Europe's Biggest vinyl shop". Now that's a big claim if I ever heard one! To find the store you have to descent the stairs leading to an underground passage connected to the Mustek metro station. I'll admit that, for sheer surface, the vinyl department is huge. It hosts only new LP's from all genres (500-900CZK), a wide but far from complete collection. If a vinyl record is recently (re)issued, you'll probably find it here. It reminded me what I've read in a magazine, that Europe's biggest new vinyl records manufacturer is a Czech company whose pressings, I'm sure, are well represented here. The CD department is also big with separate mini-shops for classical, metal, czech music etc. Typical prices 300-400CZK, though there are some offers for half that price. For example, I got a CD (very rare outside Czechia) by Plastic People Of The Universe for only 160CZK. Also has the best opening hours (9:00-20:00, even open on Sundays). 

Another shop in a commercial passage (Lucerna Passage which also hosts a live stage for pop concerts) is Happy Feet (open 12-18:00). It's a cute shop, very small but unexpectedly good. Some really nice LP's (prog/kraut rock, pop and classic rock) on sale for 200-500CZK. Despite its size, certainly worth a visit. The Suprafon music label is probably Czechoslovakia's most important one. A pre-war classical music label, it was of course nationalized in the country's communist period during which it held an almost-monopolistic position. Its official selling place is Suprafon Music Point, located in a nice square (Jungmannovo 17). It's a rather spacious shop with a big LP collection (400-900CZK) as well as CD's (200-400CZK) - a bit of everything, not just their own releases. But I daresay if an album is released by Suprafon, this is probably the place to find it. Bazar-CD on Školská 36 is your typical 2nd hand record store (thank God for those!). Here you'll find all kinds of music on CD and LP, as well as DVDs. CDs are typically 140-180 CZK, many on sale for only 50CZK. Most pop/rock LP's cost 350-500CZK, some old Suprafon issues 50-80CZK or less. There's a good selection of classic rock and, naturally, Czech music. The owner is helpful and will let you listen before buying.

Aurora (Spálená 53) is a huge antique/used books store which also sells records. Instead of doing the sensible thing and collect all the music in one place, its owners scattered the records about different rooms, so the experience is akin to shopping at different stalls in a bazaar. There are a lot of classic rock and pop LPs available between 200-500CZK, as well as some new reissues on sale for 500CZK. My sources said that Disco Duck was mostly specialized in dance music, so I almost didn't visit it which would be a pity. The shop is in an inner yard connected via a passage to a very crowded touristic street near Charles bridge (Karlova no.12). There are a lot of funk and hip hop records, as well as cheap techno 12's. But there's also a good rock vinyl collection. Used LP's cost 300-800CZK (mostly 500) and new ones 700-800CZK. They also sell nice decorative clocks made of old vinyl records.

Phono.cz (Opatovická 24) is a, slightly underground, vinyl-only store with a good selection of used (250-500CZK) and new (500-700CZK) records. In addition to the usual pop/rock stuff, one can find funk, dub/reggae and East European prog. Towards the southern end of Nové Město (Trojanova 9) you can find Prague's most "alternative" record shop Rekomando. On the outside it looks like a thrift store, but it holds real treasures inside. Especially the front room with its impressive variety of punk, indie and underground CDs (300-400CZK) and LPs (new 350-600CZK). There are many more used records of all genres (200-400CZK) as well as books, usually relevant to underground/ rock'n'roll culture. Back to the center, I went looking for Bazar CD Krakovská, which had a legendary collection. Apparently it merged with punk/metal store Maximum Underground at Jilská 22. Enter the passage and go up the stairs to find yourself in front of the biggest 2nd hand music selection in Prague. Pop/rock LP's cost from 50/100CZK to, typically, 350 and 700 for the more collectible items. If you spend some time, you'll find many good albums around 200-300CZK. The CD collection (100-300CZK) seems almost infinite. Be prepared to spend a lot of time here. Up to now all the record shops mentioned are in the Nové Město district. I only visited a couple of shops outside that area.

One was Gramodesky Letna at the 7th district (Heřmanova 51, opens at 13:00). It had a good collection of classic rock and jazz (vinyl 190/260/420 CZK, CD's 190-260CZK) as well as some cheapos (25-100CZK). A nice enough shop, but hardly worth getting out of your way. In the same district you can apparently visit (I didn't find the time to) Jukebox Records (Funk/Soul/Hip-Hop, Heřmanova 38, open from 15:00) and Garage Store (Veverkova 6) for more rock'n'roll things. Some other record shops I had to leave out, partly because of the location and partly because they deal mostly in electronic/dance music were: Gram Records (Lužická  31), Vinyl Kink (Veverkova 6), and Alien DNA (Seifertova 24). They may be worth your time if you're interested in that kind of music. Last among the shops I did visit on this trip is Music Antiquariat CD LP, inside a passage (Tržiště 22) at the Castle District/Malá Strana. Medium sized with an interesting selection of reasonably priced 2nd hand items. If your walk around the castle and to this store has made you hungry, I suggest a stop at Magistar Kelly, round the corner (Šporkova 5) named after the (in)famous 16th century alchemist who lived in this neighborhood. I've tried their beef goulash, pork knuckle and mushroom risotto, washed down with a light and particularly refreshing dark draft beer. Excellent food, and relatively cheap - there, I did it again! Oh well...

The Original Sins "Move" 1992***

I bought this album during a period I'd get anything labelled "garage rock" and actually enjoy them all despite a certain sameness. The Original Sins were never an A-list band, more like solid garage rockers notable for writing their own songs instead of just covering Sonics/ Nuggets 60's classics. After an increasingly well-received trio of releases, it seemed that by 1992 they were finally due to break out from the underground. Nirvana had just kicked the doors of the mainstream open for alternative rock bands, while singer-guitarist John Terlesky was apparently on a songwriting roll, coming up with enough material to fill a double album. The name of R.E.M's Peter Buck on the producer's chair was another good omen - the record came out precisely as R.E.M. reached their world-conquering commercial peak. The Sins have a distinctive sound that many compare to The Lyres, owing to the 60's influences and omnipresence of organ (although The Sins' Dan McKinney played a Korg instead of the standard garage bands' favorite Vox or Farfisa). Compared to The Lyres, they also had a wider songwriting range: Here you'll find guitar driven punk rockers reminiscent of Radio Birdman or The Godfathers ("Talking To You", "Like An Animal", "Hit Or Miss", "It's A Good Life", "Devil's Music", "Between The Lines"), 60's-style garage ("Watch You Dance", "Waiting", "Closing My Eyes"), catchy 70's power pop ("She's On My Side", "If I Knew", "All Good Things"), R&B party tunes ("Wake Up", "Move", "Feel So Fine", "Break The Chain"), and even slower melodic psychedelia and ballads ("I Surrender", "Getting The Feeling", "Forest For The Trees", "Nothing's Everything", "Not Today"). In retrospect, neither the large number of tracks (24) nor the relatively polished power-pop sound was a good idea. Songs that would have sounded great during the paisley underground days of the early 80's were too tame for the grunge crowds of the 90's while, despite the variety, the record sounded overlong and repetitive with an evenly pleasant sound but no real hits. Eventually "Move" proved a commercial flop, and while The Sins soldiered on for a further six years and numerous albums, they would never again reach for the charts, seemingly contend to be just a cult band. Well, it's better to be fondly remembered by a faithful few than to have had your 15 minutes of fame and see your CD's getting massively dumped at the thrift shops.

**** for Watch You Dance, Getting The Feeling, Forest For The Trees, Waiting, Hit Or Miss

*** for She's On My Side, I Surrender, Talking To You, Like An Animal, Move, Saturday, Feel So Fine, I'll Be Around, Between The Lines, If I Knew, Closing My Eyes, It's A Good Life, Not Today, Devil's Music

** for Wake Up, All Good Things, I Never Dreamed, Break The Chain, Nothing's Everything

The Original Sinners "The Original Sinners" 2002****

If you listen to Alternative Rock but the name of the band doesn't sound familiar, chances are you've at least heard of their frontwoman Exene Cervenka, formerly of legendary L.A. punks X. After that band fizzled out in the 90's she tried to do different things (acoustic folk, spoken word etc) before forming the Original Sinners for a welcome return to the X's signature sound: aggressive punk with country and rockabilly flourishes. Her co-travelers are two former members of The Distillers on bass (Kim Chi) and drums (Matt Young), and two guitarists, Sam Soto and Jason Edge. The album begins with Wipe Out-style surf drums introducing "Birds & Bees" in speedy Ramones-like pace featuring short and sharp rockabilly solos. After just over 2 minutes, it's followed by "Who's Laughin' Now" and "River City", both similar in style and duration, and exactly what any X fans would ask for. "Bringin´ Me Down" and "Aluminum Flavored Honey" are grungier with alternating quiet and loud passages, at times reminding me of P.J. Harvey's early albums. "Alligator Teeth" and "Mourning After" are a couple of short instrumentals, while "One Too Many Lies" is your typical my-man's-done-me-wrong country song, albeit played at triple speed and given a feminist twist. "Woke Up This Mornin'" and drunken duet "Whiskey For Supper" are also cow-punk, "Suitcase" and "Pretty" are more hardcore punk rock, and closer "Tick Tock" a fine surf instrumental. Fun album, finding Exene and the band on top form. If you like X's early albums, or if you're not familiar with them but the idea of mixing roots music and punk rock sounds good to you, this is an album for you.

**** for Birds & Bees, Who's Laughin' Now, River City, One Too Many Lies, Whiskey For Supper 

*** for Bringin' Me Down, Aluminum Flavored Honey, Woke Up This Mornin', Tick Tock

** for Alligator Teeth, Suitcase, Mourning After, Pretty

Various Artists "Everywhere Interferences" 1965-1968(rec) 1983(comp) 2004(CD reissue)***

This is a bootleg CD reissue of a rare French compilation of 60's garage rock singles. An early example of the pebbles/nuggets garage rock craze, when the search for hitherto unknown garage nuggets led to the reissue of virtually anything released between 1965-67. These compilers put together the complete output of The Clefs Of Lavender Hill, but that filled only one side of the album, so they added some random 60's garage singles to fill side 2. The C.O.L.H. were a Florida brother/sister team (Joseph and Lorraine Ximenes) on vocals and guitars, aided by another siblings team, Bill & Fred Moss. Their single "Stop! Get A Ticket" was a minor local hit and later anthologized in the Nuggets box set. The music is Beatles-y folk-rock with vocal harmonies and jangly guitars. For an unknown mid-60's band, these tracks are quite professionally played and produced, which is both a blessing and a curse: while all of their songs are listenable, they're also too tame and generic to register. This is especially notable in the covers (Beatles' "It Won't Be Long", The Stones' "Play With Fire") which are just competent imitations and thus completely redundant. There are a few small detours (the soul beat of "One More Time", Dylan-ish folk of "Oh! Say My Love") but mostly the sound is melodic garage folk. Side 2 offers more variation and an overall rawer sound. Opener "William" borrows from The Yardbirds' "For Your Love" but features manic drumming and distorted guitars courtesy of former Litter guitarist Zippy Caplan. The Pied Pipers are white school kids imitating Motown Soul but ending up sounding rock'n'roll just the same. The Baskerville Hounds (or The Dantes, or The Tulu Babies, or Talula Babies - it's all the same band) have produced one of my garage favorites: "The Hurtin' Kind" has it all: danceable rhythm, groovy organ, bluesy harp and sneering lyrics. I have three versions of this song: by Scandinavian garage revivalists The Cosmic Dropouts, by an all-girl 60's band called The Bittersweets, and this one - all great. The Todds' "I Want Her Back" is an intense rocker, while The Moonrakers play fast Animals-like R&B, Satisfactions prefer mid-tempo Stonesey blues, Cavemen improvise over a Louie Louie beat with cheesy organ background, and Nomads close the LP with a bit of folk rock. Between the two album sides, the second one wins easily because the bands overcompensate for their lack of professionalism with enthusiasm and intensity - the two marks of a good garageband. On the whole, it's a hit-and-miss collection that contains a few garage rock gems and a lot of filler.

SIDE ONE (all tracks by The Clefs Of Lavender Hill) Stop! Get A Ticket****, First Tell Me Why****, So I'll Try**, One More Time***, It Won't Be Long**, Play With Fire**, Oh! Say My Love**, Gimme One Good Reason***

SIDE TWO  William (White Lightning)*****, Stay In My Life (Pied Pipers)****, You Don't Know Like I Know (Pied Pipers)***, The Hurtin' Kind (Baskerville Hounds)*****, I Want Her Back (The Todds)****, I'm Alright (The Moonrakers)****, Bad Times (The Satisfactions)***, Small World (The Cavemen)****, I Need Your Love (The Nomads)***