Lewes, Delaware
Web: undergroundlewes.com
Facebook: undergroundlewes
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| The Vintage Underground is literally underground! |
On our way to Rehoboth Beach for a much-needed break from work and home-repair stress, my wife Amy and I stopped in Lewes to visit the wonderful Biblion (meaning "little book" in Greek) used bookstore on the corner of Second and Market Streets. Since discovering this treasure trove of contemporary and antiquarian books (not to mention the best greeting cards and buttons) in the heart of historic downtown Lewes, it has become a regular stop on our Lower Shore getaways. Once inside, we noticed a sign that said a record store was around the corner. Cool, we thought, let's check it out, for we love records as much as we love books. (Yes, we are from the pre-digital streaming Physical Media Era.)
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| Biblion Books: Home of used books & rare finds |
Walking around the corner to Market Street, we descended the stairs and immediately heard a familiar-sounding "non-Kansas" Kansas accent. "Hey, that lady sounds just like the Biblion owner," I commented. "That's because it is her," observant Amy observed.
Yes, it's true! Biblion owner Jen Mason now also runs The Vintage Underground, where her finely curated "Inventory of Cool" features vintage vinyl and CDs, groovy vintage clothes, eccentric cards (Simon Drew! Edward Gorey!), snarky buttons, hip vintage rock mags like UGLY THINGS, miscellaneous tchotchkes and geegaws and, yes, even more books (and even more by Edward Gorey!).
Vintage Underground is split into two rooms. On the left, before you enter the record store proper, is a room full of men and women's clothing ranging from mid-century to the 1990s, with selected vintage pieces mixed in. As Mason explained to Cape Gazette writer Nick Roth ("Vintage Underground is hip new Lewes Shop," May 31, 2018), Vintage Underground is not a thrift or secondhand shop; she picks out all the clothing and music herself. And, sign-o'-the times, clothing is not separated by gender: "It's wear what you like. We have tops and tops."
Given my wife's flair for fashion, needless to say it took a good 30 minutes before she was able to pull herself away from the clothing racks to the music racks, where the collection includes a mix of new vinyl records from independent labels (like Jack Black's outstanding Detroit-based Third Man Records) and a carefully curated selection of used records. Mason takes pride in the shop's collection of jazz, blues, funk and soul - as well she should. Her Blue Note/Verve Jazz selection alone was worth the trip, and Anglophile Amy naturally managed to uncover a British Invasion compilation CD of bands appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show. And as an Elvis Costello Completist, Amy also had to pick up the soundtrack to Wim Wenders 1991 film Until the End of the World because it had an Elvis song she didn't think she had (Elvis covering Ray Davies' "Days").
I went hog wild when I discovered a CD cache of Rhino's long-out-of-print New Wave Hits of the '80s because, well, where else am I gonna find digitized versions of oddball singles like The Normal's "Warm Leatherette" or Flying Lizards' "Money (That's What I Want)"? But the real find for me was scoring The Flashcubes' Bright Lights, an anthology of 21 punk-powerpop tunes by this classic '70s Syracuse rock group, who I had previously only heard one song by ("It's You Tonight" on Yellow Pills Vol. 1). All of these CDs were steals at $5 a pop.
Vintage Underground's decor is creative, the vibe is fun, the hip factor is off the hook, and the owner is genuinely warm and engaging. And in honor of Miles Davis's Memorial Weekend birthday, Jen told me that if I said "Happy Birthday, Miles!", she would give me one CD for half-off - I did (I chose a Dexter Gordon CD - I think both Miles and my dad would approve) and she did. Hey, that's swell!
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| Vintage Underground proprietess Jen Mason |
So if, like us, you like to get physical with your media (books and records and CDs, oh my!), then Biblion and The Vintage Underground are not to be missed! You can spend hours in these shops - and we certainly did! Oh, and let the record show: I bought The Velvet Underground at The Vintage Underground! How's that for poetic justice?
Related Links:
"Vintage Underground a hip new Lewes Shop" (Cape Gazette)
biblionbooks.com
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