Tanner has asked me to write a lil sumpin sumpin for the Pure Pop blog, alumni employee that I am. I worked at Pure Pop for about five years, from the time I graduated college to the time I moved to New York. My hours at the store have been among the wackiest and most fun in my working life, not to mention probably the most valuable ones in my overall education. The management and staff there have always been supportive and enthusiastic, creative and smart. (ed. this is no longer true) I’m still in contact with many people I worked with at the store, and we often collaborate on creative projects, share music, and even work together from time to time.

I have been to record stores all over the world, and Pure Pop remains at the top of the list for quality per square inch. The vast and diverse selection at the store is exceptional, and the prices are fantastic. I never visit Vermont without stopping in.

As I am known to be a raving RnB fan, it was suggested that perhaps I do a “Top 5 Greatest Albums” post on the genre. However, RnB does not focus on albums as much as other categories of popular music – it tends to be single-driven, it’s avid collectors digging for dusty 45s and such. The thing I love about RnB is that it is meant to capture a pulse, an immediate feeling, and that it is supposed to reflect and illuminate common experience. RnB is about radios, jukeboxes and dance floors. It’s about the right song at the right time, bringing people together.

“The thing I love about RnB is that it is meant to capture a pulse, an immediate feeling, and that it is supposed to reflect and illuminate common experience.”

A person can build a decent soul collection by buying “Greatest Hits” and singles collections, which generally have pretty low price points and can also be found used for excellent prices. The Stax, Motown, and Atlantic labels are particularly important to get your “major arcana” artists such as Isaac Hayes, the Four Tops, and Aretha Franklin. I suggest familiarizing yourself with an artist or label’s major works before exploring their catalogs, which can be very prolific and varied. There is somewhat of a consensus about “Greatest Albums,” with records like “Songs In the Key of Life” etc. ranking justifiably among many people’s favorites. But because RnB is so personal and sensitive, I prefer the idea that people find those cuts that hold specific meaning to them on their own.

The wonderful thing about shopping at Pure Pop is that you can count on that one unfamiliar studio album in an artist’s section to be the mind-blowing piece which stood the test of time. The store has been around long enough to know the men from the boys, as it were, and not to be swayed by whatever a label or distributor is trying to inject into the general consciousness. So I say go for it, that Al Green album, the trippy Curtis Mayfield record.

There are many RnB artists, songs, and records that are very important to me. I am enchanted with the lore surrounding these recordings, as well as my own personal stories of finding and enjoying the music. Any time you might want to talk to me about it, I am game (and probably nerdy and obnoxious). I highly recommend soul-sides.com for news about beat-based recordings.

But whoever you are, just go ahead and get a copy of Sly and the Family Stone’s “There’s A Riot Going On.” Until you have this record in your life you are like the alcoholic who hasn’t found your Higher Power – you’re living in your body and your mind instead of in your heart and spirit. So yeah, get free.

About Me:
A deep-generation Vermont native, I now live in Brooklyn, New York. I am an Illustrator/live music Girl Friday with an interest in absurdity and creativity. You can count on me to burn a hole in a dance floor. Find out more about my musically-saturated visual work/ethos by visiting nortonanalog.blogspot.com.