Ten years ago, I wrote my first report on a city's record store scene (London) for this blog, and teased about offering some pointers to record-loving visitors to Paris. Although I've visited the city a few times in the intervening years, it's only now that I can make good on my promise. On our latest visit, we lodged for the first time in the Montparnasse, at a hotel that used to count painter Paul Gauguin and writer André Breton among its permanent guests. Don't get the wrong idea, it wasn't a particularly luxurious place. Just typical of the neighborhood; every other place displays a plaque about a famous writer or artist that lived there - in the early 1900's it probably boasted the greatest collection of talent in history since classical-era Athens. A very lively area, too, full of bars and restaurants that were open until late, and a large number of theaters and music halls. Not many record stores though, apart from the local Fnac branch. Most Europeans are familiar with those, but in case you're not it is a chain of department stores that mostly caters to your entertainment needs; so you'll find a lot of books, records, CDs and DVDs as well as games, laptops, mobile phones, TVs etc. The one on Rue de Rennes 136 is fairly big with a wide selection in vinyl (French and international, including jazz, rock and metal as well as pop and K-pop). As always, the biggest concentration of record stores and book stores is near the student areas, of which there is none more famous than the Quartier Latin. I remember, during my first visit to the city, having spent hours at the Gibert Joseph at the Boulevard Saint-Michel. It's nominally a bookstore, or chain thereof, but its music department consists of two floors of ample square footage full of LPs and CDs. French chanson, jazz, world music, rock, pop, rap and funk are all well represented, and there's even a corner of Japanese vinyl (10-40€). New LPs cost mostly 23-35€, and used ones 6-20€. It's not the best place for used vinyl, but the variety of used CDs (3-9) is really huge. There are also many offers on new CDs (prog, metal, rap etc), for 6,99€ or less. 20 years ago I spent hours looking for bargain CDs both new and used; they had to escort me to the cash desk at closing time.
Close to the Sorbonne university, on Rue des écoles 40, one can find Crocodisc, one of the most famous Parisian record shops, supposedly good for used records and CDs in all styles of music. Alas when I visited, it was closed for the summer vacation. According to their website, the shop carries both collectors' items and sale bins with records as cheap as 1€. On number 26, one can find the local branch of French music/film chain O'CD. Lots of DVDs, as well as LPs (new 10-35€, used 5-15€) and CDs (5-10€). Here in the Netherlands, La Dame Blanche signifies a dessert with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. But in Paris, it is the name of a charming record store, situated between the Pantheon and the École polytechnique (47 Rue de la Montagne Ste Geneviève). Both the shop and the street are highly instagrammable; which is not to say that the records aren't interesting. It just has a small rock selection; it's far better when it comes to classical, jazz, and French music. Most (used) LPs cost 5-10€, while the shop also sells CDs and cassettes. Leaving the Left Bank behind, you can crosses the Seine and walk past the Notre Dame and Hotel De Ville to find a pedestrian street (Rue de la Verrerie). On your left, on number 66 there's Lucky Records - a veritable shrine to Madonna (the singer, not the mother of Jesus for whom a shrine would be more appropriate). Her whole discography seems to be here, be it rare singles, EPs or bootlegs. Other pop divas are also well represented, e.g. Mylène Farmer, Tailor Swift, and Lady Gaga. Also a few random CDs starting from 3€. A bit further, I was surprised to see a chain I was familiar with from Japan: Book-Off mostly deals in used books, including English and Japanese ones, as well as manga and other comics, pokemon cards, board games, and of course vinyl records and CDs.
Close to the Châtelet metro station, there's a shop called Monster Melodies. It has, I think, an unfairly low rating in Google. Sure, it's not cheap and neither is it browse-friendly, but it must be heaven for collectors: rare classic rock, psychedelia, and early punk/new wave records. Mostly original pressings, prices upwards of 30€. At the next corner (47 Rue Saint-Honoré) there's Parallèles, another great shop focusing on music and books. A big selection of music books, LPs (chanson, jazz, blues & rock, a few new around 25€ and lots of used ones starting from 3€) and CDs (used, mostly 6€). A bit to the north, there's a shopping mall (Westfield Forum Des Halles) containing another Fnac (good variety, many offers). Closeby there's another O'CD branch; compared to the one near Sorbonne, this had a better selection on vinyl (used and new LPs on offer 5-15€) and CD (under 10€) in all genres: Rock, rap, reggae, funk, jazz and French music. I also passed by another small record shop (at 187 rue St Denis) with the intriguing name Maquis Megastore. (the maquis were WW2 French partisans). It looked as if they'd gone out of business but Google says it's temporarily closed, so I thought I'd mention it here.
Big Smile Bazaar, at 6 Rue du Ponceau, is a small but sophisticated shop, specializing in used vinyl. All styles, but especially good for Funk, jazz, African and oriental music. LPs typically cost 20-30€ but there are also some offers for 5€. On the same Superfly Records (53 Rue Notre Dame de Nazareth) also deals in used records almost exclusively. As suggested by the name, there are many funk, disco, and hip hop records for sale. Also Jazz, Afro, Latin, and rock. Now, this round took me almost a whole day. I'm not complaining, I love walking around Paris, and any itinerary that takes you past the Sorbonne, the Pantheon, Notre Dame, Hotel De Ville, and The Louvre is worth it. Not to mention the Seine, the banks of which at the time (late July) were converted to a plage, complete with imported sand, chaise longs, and beach bars. But, as I said, the day I had dedicated to record hunting was drawing to a close, and I still hadn't visited one of my prime targets: Born Bad Records is both a shop and a label dedicated to scuzzy rock'n'roll and reissuing rare 60's - 70's French rock (ye-ye, psych, punk, exotica etc). I'm very much into all these genres, so I turned towards the Bastille to check out this shop. Predictably, I wasn't disappointed. It's not huge but it has a very deep selection of garage, rockabilly, punk, and blues. Some CDs (8-15€) but mostly vinyl, both LPs (around 20€, some offers 5-10€) and 45s. Patate Records (57 Rue de Charonne) is another specialty shop: they only do reggae music, but they do it well. The last shop I visited that day was Plastic Soul (93 Av. Ledru Rollin). Not very browse-friendly, but the reviews say that the owner is very helpful. As I wasn't looking for something in particular, I didn't initiate a conversation with him - plus, I always hesitate to do that because my French is terrible, and not everybody speaks English. Although I was pleasantly surprised to realize that Anglophony has progressed in strides in France during the last few years. Time restrictions meant I missed some famous record stores in the area: Betino’s Records (32 Rue Saint-Sebastian) is supposedly a must. They specialize in house, soul, disco, jazz, Latin and African, and mostly sell new vinyl. Listen! lies a few meters from famous live venue Le Bataclan, and apparently has "a great selection of original pressings...soul, disco...obscure pop, prog, and psychedelic". Synchrophone Records and Techno Import, both Rue des Taillandiers, are well regarded by electronic music fans, but that's not my thing so I passed them by. Heartbeat Vinyl (26 Rue Godefroy Cavaignac) advertises itself as a "specialist on all quality music, including soul, rock, jazz, world, and techno". Le Silence de la Rue is a historic record store mentioned in many guides, but Google lists it as "temporarily closed". If, at that point, I had decided to head towards Père-Lachaise cemetery to pay a visit to my dear departed friend Jim Morrison, I might have passed by a couple more well regarded record stores: Music Fear Satan (4 Bis Rue Richard Lenoir) focuses on metal LPs and CDs, while Souffle Continu (22 Rue Gerbier) seem to be the place for eclectic finds "from jazz improv to harsh noise, indie rock to black metal". Finally, another place I missed in the region (23 Rue du Roi de Sicile) was Rock'n'Roll Voltage. Which is too bad, since this shop is dedicated to Hard Rock and Metal, which I really enjoy listening to. On the other hand, customers on google often complain about the prices.
I spent most of the next day walking around the Montmartre: I joined a walking tour, and visited a museum as well as the area's last surviving vineyard; well, that's not exactly true: that empty lot used to be a vineyard back in the 19th century when the area was full of them, but the vines were, of course, all long dead. Recently, the mayor of the 18th arrondissement decided to revive it as a tribute to that long gone era. The new vine varieties were chosen for sturdiness rather than taste, which as a result doesn't make for a great wine, but the profits from the small amounts produced go to local charities, so people buy it anyway to support the good causes. Well, one can fill pages upon pages writing about Montmartre: the cabarets, painters, revolutionaries, singers, movie locations, the good restaurants and the tourist traps. But that's not our subject here, so let's go back to record stores. At the foot of the hill (32 Rue des Trois Frères) I found a rather charming shop called The Mixtape. Small-ish, with a good vinyl collection, especially in indie rock. New LPs 25-35€ used ones 10-30€. The shop also sells T shirts and music-related souvenirs. I was familiar with Balades Sonores (8 Rue Pierre Picard) from their Brussels branch. The Parisian one (the mothership, so to speak) is way bigger. Although it initially gives off a chaotic vibe, the records are well catalogued per genre and browsing is easy. There are sections for rock, indie, funk, rap, world music etc. New LPs 25-35€, a few used ones 15-20€. Also on sale are music books and a few CDs. To the south of Montmartre (114 Rue du Faubourg Poissonnière) I visited one last record store called Ground Zero. Only vinyl (indie, rock, rap and jazz). New 25-35€, used 14-20€. Had I exited Monmartre to the north, I might have come across Exodisc (70 Rue du Mont-Cenis): records, cassettes, and CDs spanning rock, reggae, jazz, soul and more. A bit further north (9 Rue André Messager), another shop with good reviews is Dizonord. It's billed as an "alternative record shop / cultural café". New and used records as well as books, toys, coffee and drinks.
So, that was my report on Parisian record stores. It's always nice to visit Paris, and it's only a 3-hour train ride from my home in Delft, so I hope to be able to go back soon and fill in the gaps. Now I need to sit down and write my report on the Tokyo vinyl scene while I still remember my trip there last April. Until then, if Japan's your thing, you can check out my piece on Kyoto, which was our next stop during the same trip.