Urban Discoveries Baltimore

The list of things you should pay for on-line is shorter than you think. Included are fines, items not sold in the United States, and stuff you’re ashamed to be seen buying. Music is not among these. As convenient as it is simply to click, debit, and download, this maneuver misses the point of having music at all. (Casual thieves, this applies to you, too.) Music is, as Aristotle noted, the closest thing outside the heart to pure emotion. Drooling before a dusty screen in a Hot Pocket-stained armchair, one has little real context for, say, Debussy’s Clair de Lune. Forget about “Bad Moon Rising” or “The Killing Moon.” To get music, one must get out of one’s room. Places in Baltimore where you can do both:

1. Soundgarden in Fell’s Point (1616 Thames Street) is big, noisy, and loaded with people to talk to, whether they work there or not. There are worse places to pick up strangers; at least you’ll know you both love/despise Elvis Costello. Sunday through Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to midnight.

2. Normals in Waverly (425 E. 31st Street) is slightly more of a bookstore than a record store, but it qualifies bravely for this post by being without question a real place in the real, filthy world. Quiet, variegated, and lovingly festooned, Normals can give you hours of actual experience in the company of fellow mortals, living and dead. Daily 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

3. The True Vine Record Shop in Hampden (544 Hickory Avenue) may be the Platonic form of the independent music store. Their stock is rich but small. The owner will personally turn you on to bands you’ve never heard of. They carry everything put out by two Baltimore labels: Ehse and Megaphone. They double as a venue. Tuesday through Saturday noon to 9:00 p.m. Sunday and Monday noon to 6:00 p.m.

There are several other dependable record stores in Baltimore, though maybe not for much longer. Which is your favorite?

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