On January 10th I will be participating in the Listening Party at Record Store 406 Occidental Ave S., Pioneer Square. The Record Store is a Seattle Art Museum function.
Seattle Art Museum and Olson Kundig team up for a vintage music experience.
Before the advent of iPods, CDs, cassettes or 8-tracks, Seattleites rocked out to vinyl records. Thanks to a pair of celebrated local establishments, we can still enjoy this bygone form of home entertainment at a newly-opened museum in Pioneer Square.
Inspired by the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) exhibit, “Theaster Gates: The Listening Room”, SAM Curator Sandra Jackson-Dumont teamed with Olson Kundig Architects to open Record Store – an interactive listening experience that celebrates the music of vinyl records from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.
Contrary to the name, Record Store does not sell any music. As the museum’s mission statement reads, “The goal is for the Record Store to function as a cultural commons where ideas, issues, and moments in time are discussed, debated or responded to.”
Jackson-Dumont curated the entire vinyl collection for listeners to engage with the music, rather than simply purchase a vintage album and subsequently mount it on the wall as retro home décor. The space was designed to emulate an old-school record shop, and visitors are invited to thumb through scores of original vinyl releases — and pick out a few favorites to spin on one of the authentic Hawthorne turntables. Think of it as an old-school, hand-picked version of Pandora — and just like the popular online radio station, Record Store is free to the public.
For our further listening enjoyment, Record Store will feature daily “listening parties” in which guest DJs, artists, musicians, urban planners and other Seattleites will play their favorite LPs and hold open discussions about music culture.
Whether you’re a music fiend, a history nut, young and curious or just a flat-out nostalgist, head to Record Store and jam out the good ol’ fashioned way.
Record Store is open Tuesday through Thursday, from 12 to 4 p.m. and then again from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The exhibit will be available to the public until Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. For more information, please contact Olson Kundig at (206) 624-5670.
Record Store | 406 Occidental Ave S., Pioneer Square