VMP Magazine

In a scene from 2016 awards-season darling La La Land, aspiring actress Mia (Emma Stone) unexpectedly runs into struggling jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) at a party and realizes he’s been comically reduced to playing in a 1980s cover band. She requests A Flock of Seagulls’ new wave classic “I Ran,” much to his obvious discomfort. Later, when Sebastian confronts Mia, he protests, “But requesting “I Ran” from a serious musician – it’s too far.” It’s a deftly comic scene, but it raises a larger question: what, precisely, makes “serious musicians” spurn ’80s pop’s characteristically synth-driven sound?

The 50 Best Record Stores In America is an essay series where we attempt to find the best record store in every state. These aren’t necessarily the record stores with the best prices or the deepest selection; you can use Yelp for that. Each record store featured has a story that goes beyond what’s on its shelves; these stores have history, foster a sense of community and mean something to the people who frequent them.

In the aftermath of a particularly grueling year, music’s potential as a vehicle for empathy seems more vital than ever. Yet in addition to solace, contemporary music is also providing a furnace for rebellion—especially to the nation’s alternative and indie rock scenes, which have lately been returning to a more lo-fi, consciously DIY sound. It seems fitting, then, that some of today’s most brilliant artists in the genre are Asian-American women, figures long relegated to the fringes of creative culture—namely Mitski, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, and Japanese Breakfast.