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The Basement

A piece in the Toronto Star of all papers about the appeal of vinyl records reminds us of one of our favorite local record shops, The Basement.
Tucked away on Ventura near Van Nuys boulevard in Sherman Oaks, the hip hop focused record store features some of the coolest and little known live in-store events around town. We were there when Pigeon John and others rocked the mic and the energy of Los Angeles "heads" coming together to check out local hip hop was overwhelming. Somehow we're always surprised when the Valley provides us with a particular experience we don't think we could get anywhere else. You might not know it just by looking but hip hop is alive on this side of the hill.
It's easy to miss The Basement when you're walking Ventura Boulevard. Second Spin, Groove Riders, and even Borders are much higher profile places for buying music and are all within the same 2 blocks as our beloved record shack. If you are a true vinyl hound, however, you have to stop in and see what they've got for you.
Update: a reader let us know that the Toronto Star piece was actually a pickup from The Daily News. Danceblogga is also up on vinyl coverage.
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