Jeffrey Tastes – Queens Qustodian

Breakdown Records

4809 Bell Blvd
Oakland Gardens, NY 11364
(718) 279-0040
Category: Music & DVD’s
Neighborhood: Queens/Bayside

written: 11/25/2007

Like the sea, I both fear and respect it.

Breakdown’s been having their going-out-of-business sale for years. Maybe it’s the sense of urgency marketing that they seem to unknowingly employ. As I write this, I’m wondering “are they still around? were they serious?? ”

This record store is dangerous. A recovering addict myself, the process of record collecting is thorough by the eyes and fingers, straining on the knees, draining on the wallet and seldomly rewarding. And you keep on looking for the one. The one is usually found in a virgin collection. One untouched by other collectors’ dirty little fingers. These can easily be identified by a beatles records, an early Dylan, a Velvet Underground or a Coltrane – all for the standard $1-2 bulk price tag. At every collection I encounter, it’s not an option to skip a record until you are sure it’s lost its virginity a long time ago; usually then surrounded by the ubiquitous Streisand, Kennedy’s inaugural address, showtunes and other post-electric pre-60s).

As for Breakdown, it may be impossible to sift through every record in the store. There are about 100,000 records on the shelves for 2 dollars each. Now, these arent virgin collections, their best are sold on ebay – but you will probably find any popular artist currently on the radio on their shelves.

Last time I went, I found 50. That was me on my way to a mission of collecting the LPs of rolling stone magazine’s top 500 albums of all-time… (aborted).

I shouldn’t even be thinking about Breakdown now. This review must be stopped before I get the urge.