11:29 am Jul. 17, 201239
Capital is proud to present the documentary film, For the Records, after a brief introduction from the filmmakers:
When Bob Plotnik quit law to open up a record store in Greenwich Village in the '60s, the only thing he wanted was to get hold of his favorite street doo-wop records ahead of everyone else.
He couldn’t have known that the store would still be there nearly 50 years later—that it would survive the introduction of cassettes, CDs and MP3s, outlast CBGB, even stay open after Bob had a huge stroke and handed the store over to his colleagues to run.
And though "Bleecker Bob" is identified with some of the great names of rock and roll through the decades, and especially downtown movements from the Village's folk scene through punk, new wave and alternative music, now, time is finally catching up with the oldest record store in the Village.
There are cracks in the black and white linoleum floor. Dust gathers on Bob’s collection of art deco clocks, many of which have stopped. Though the landlord of their building on West Third Street has been good to Bob over the years, he’s finally putting the rent up in line with prices in the area. Bleecker Bob’s is getting priced out.
Hover over video below to play.
Bleecker Bob’s will stay open until the landlord has found a new tenant. When it goes, it will take with it a huge part of the history of the Village. And it looks unlikely to find a new place to open up. Here, meet the people who made the store a New York institution, and watch as they struggle to decide what's next. And, next time you're in the neighborhood, stop in while you can.
Bleecker Bob's was a part of my youth. Hanging at the Scrap Bar on McDougal, eating Mamoun's falafels at 3 AM, searching for music at Bobs.... man. CBCB's is gone, and now this.
I suppose that's life, but it is sad nonetheless.
That intersection of MacDougal and Bleecker, and the surroundings, were my first version of the 'Village.' I seldom went west of 6th Ave or much east of 1st; a few years past and I never intentionally went east of 6th or west of 1st.
Related:
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/tags/nyu2031
Pricing the records, watering the plants. Chris- I know what you're going through.
-Johnny
Bleecker Bob's - always overpriced and treated the customers like crap. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Bob is human and a character. What do you get when you purchase music online? Or I suppose you like the insincere fake politeness of Wal-Mart. But don't worry, whatever takes over that place, an overpriced coffee shop/Starbucks, another overpriced artisanal cocktail lounge, a Wiconsite overpriced restaurant, I'm sure they'll be 'smiling at you and be 'pleasing' you, and won't be treating you like crap.
I started hanging out in the Village in 1967 when my aunt moved there. Started going to places like The House of Oldies and then Bleeker Bob's when it was near the Bitter End and on a second story level. Lenny Kaye was working there in those days. Bob was a jerk the majority of times I went there. His employees I could deal with, but Bob was typically condescending whenever you askied for something, like he was doing you a favor by even selling the record. None of the other record shops: Farfels, Golden Discs, Daytons, Sounds, had the attitutde that Bob did. Haven't been there since 1986 so the store closed down long ago for me.
Thanks for making this available. I worked there from 85-88, and say what you like about the man, the store is iconic and deserves to be remembered & recognized. Huge! Are there any plans to make the film embeddable?
For now, our feeling is that Hazel and Emily worked hard for a year to earn the trust of the staff and get the footage they needed; already, it's being pirated and many more people are viewing it without profiting the filmmakers at all; as much as we are into the openness of the web, this is a special case, and, for a while, at least, we'd like to make people watch it in the place where the filmmakers put it intentionally.
But, we will see over time!
- Tom
Editor
Great feature, great film. Bleecker Bob’s was a big part of my formative years, even though I found Bob himself terrifying. This brings back memories of listening to the New Afternoon Show on WNYU after school, visiting 99X around the corner, buying Joy Division t-shirts at Bob’s....It’s sad to see the store being forced to close.
Holy shit The New Afternoon Show! 89.1 was my jam in the '90s.
Spent a king's ransom on BB's vinyl. Pricey, but rare and there. First heard Chameleons UK there, about 1982. One night I went in there after drinking, felt insulted, and tried to pick a fight with a guy working there. He gave me a break and declined. Nice guy. Not like Bob. I think he played with God Is My Co-Pilot. It wasn't his fault. I came back the next day and apologized. Bleecker Bob's. Alot of history. Alot of memories. Thanks.
Second Coming Records was way better and they treated you like a human being. I actually watched this documentary just to make sure I wasn't "missing" something about Bob. Nope. Still the same crappy attitude from the other guys.
Sounds, Rocks In Your Head, Tower (4th & BWAY), etc... there were so many other better stores than Bleecker Bob's.
And the daughter is totally in over her head here about the music or record business. Not a clue. She should sell whatever is left of this store.
This film is a waste of digital space.
The woman you refer to as his daughter is his girlfriend, which is quite clear if you pay close attention. That is not a scold! I'm not sure what difference it makes.
But the idea of them all being in over their heads a bit, that is part of the facts of the case, and it's unvarnished and comes through in this video, no? They all admit that.
That said, for me, personally, Bleecker Bob's was not my shop either. For me it was Venus Records, Rocks In Yr Head, Sounds ... and Tower only if my favorite band happened to have been signed by 4AD or Elektra or Sire.
For what it's worth, the HMV on 60th and Lexington was good for that latter stuff too, I didn't always need to go downtown to get the stuff I wanted.
But the obscure, real stuff--Venus, Bleecker Bob's, Rocks In Yr Head--those were the only options.
(And I might say: All three were plagued with obnoxious staff--but it's hard to judge that now, because back then obnoxious staff were a fixture in NY, and a talisman against gentrification--not saying it's good, just saying I always looked past it and appreciated it for what it was. Ever go to Barney Greengrass in the 80s? Remember Soup Nazi?)
gojohnnygo --- you (over)pricing for your buddy Shuga? Or your own tired show boxes?
Bob's should've closed in the late 80's, it went downhill after he became a bitter old man. He was always crazy.
I would sometimes frequent Bob's in the mid 90's when I lived in NY while doing the vinyl rounds - the guy was rude, but there was a certain bit of comedy to his rudeness and there was always something interesting in the racks.
I did prefer other shops like second coming and A-1 but it was cool getting off at west 4th and going to
his shop nonetheless..
Ah - the vinyl days !!!
Bleecker Bob's has been a crap store for 30+ years. Duse is a racist pig. Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.
Bleecker Bob's has been a crap store for 30+ years. Duse is a racist pig. Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.
Very interesting video. His girlfriend is a remarkable character, the way she takes care of him. The rest of the staff are real interesting characters too. I was never in New York, but there were record stores like that when I was young, so it brought back some memories.
That store is shite. Insultingly overpriced records, often not in the best of condition I can get almost anywhere else for half the price. Buh bye now...
Never been to NY or Bleeker Bob's. Live in Wisconsin, but we have a few used record stores left here.
True to form, the owners are arrogant jerks, but the vinyl is wonderful, and after all THAT is what the visit is all about. At my age I am not going to be "downloading" anything. It was enough to start buying CD's and I have enough music to last a couple of lifetimes. Though I could always use something new...preferably on vinyl.
Long line Bleeker Bob's, Resale Records, and Stardust.
My last memory of Bleeker Bob's isn't exactly an in-store experience. I went around there a lot in the late 70's. You could get any punk record out there at Bleeker Bob's. The last time I was in there was some time in the 80's. I was a hot mess back in those days. So, I never noticed any bad attitudes or anything like that. As usual, I'd purchased a record they happened to be playing behind the counter there.....along with whatever else I'd come there to get.
When I walked out of the store, I was kind of in a dreamy head space over the great stuff I'd just acquired. I stepped off the curb and almost got hit by a bicycle rider. He was very apologetic and seemed a bit shaken. It was JFK jr.....in a suit....riding his bike around the village as he did back then. We had a short conversation and he was off to wherever Kennedys went on bicycles back in the day.
So, my last memory of Bleeker Bob's is intertwined with meeting a Kennedy on a bicycle.
I worked at SOUNDS record store on St Marks from 1984-89 ..I was shoppin at Bleecker Bobs one day, Bob says to me "Hey what record are you looking for "? I forgot what It was, but I said well do you have a used copy instead of a new copy ? Bob says ..Yeah ,you look like that type of guy !.. I wrote a book about my NYC life... KEVIN K "How To Become A Successful Loser"...its in Amazon...enjoy.
I bought African Dub Vol. I there in 1978. Joe Gibbs label. Very vivid memory. I remember the clerk saying to another customer "The whole African Dub series is good..." There are more? I asked myself. Remember looking at Earthquake Dub there with the cheesey graphics lifted from the movie poster. Did not find that one again until the 2000s on CD...
I bought Fools Gold by the Stone Roses there on Gold vinyl. It will be rad when this place is a Starbucks or maybe an Abrecrombie and Douchebag. Nah that would need a bigger space.
i remember the first time i went in there in 1984 i bought a dead kennedys record Bob knew all the latest punkrock and always recommended good stuff to me - i like all the people who work there everyone knew their stuff - im gonna go there tomorrow and buy a bunch of stuff and relive my youth - i miss Bob
Bob used to claim she fucked Madonna, i can't think of who i feel more sorry for if that really happened.
Spelling correction, sorry :/
Bob used to claim he fucked Madonna, i can't think of who i feel more sorry for if that really happened.
sounds like a good place to me.sad if its going or gone.i love all independant records. im from england,and im not allowed into the states,for various crimes commited in my youth[drunken fighting]. so i cant get to see the great places before they go,saying that in the uk,nearly all the good record shops have gone.music is getting anti social and not in a good way.
Bob himself was, is and always be a Joke, he was a complete jackass. that store has the same lame stuff it has had for years, all bent up, all dusty, high priced rotting in the bins. Glad to see it go, it is no loss to anyone. and even happier to know he can watch it all fade away. Bye Bye Bleeker Bum !
I worked at Bob's in the mid-80's for maybe 3-4 years. And yes, Bob could be a complete pain a large portion of the day but the man has a soft spot and a sardonic sense of humor. He was an aggressive sales guy ("Anyone who walks in to buy one record should be walking out with two !").
He was arrogant at times ( and I'll even admit some customers deserved the wrath ) but he could also be charming. So before I view the film, here are some recollections of working there (for better or worse) that come to mind:
Rick James coming into the store to pick up a few records (apparently him & Bob were friends) and then Rick making a quick exit ( or hiding ?) in the back as his fans were on his tail.
Telling Glen Danzig (or maybe the other Misfits member) to fuck off & get out of the store. I guess Glen didn't like the fact that Bob had 7" bootlegs on the wall.
Bob had a Doberman named Mac that hung out behind the counter. Although the dog was a sweetheart, he came in very handy when homeless/drug-addled/disturbed people needed to be shown the door in the late hours. All you had to do was say "MAC" in a loud voice and the dog would pop up from behind the counter barking like crazy.
Meeting Dweezil & Moon Unit Zappa who are apparently Bob's God-kids !!?
Bob being so adverse to smoking ( absolutely not in the store ) that he would tell people not to smoke in Front of the store.
After the store closed at 1:00 a.m. on a weekday, I would sometimes get a slice of pizza around the corner before heading back home. And said Hi to Keith Richards on two occasions who was also having a late snack !
One Saturday afternoon I was working w/ Joey. Bob came in and started yelling at both of us (I can't recall the reason). We became so fed up that both of us walked out, went around the corner and had a coffee at a cafe for awhile leaving Bob solo w/ a busy store. I recall him being somewhat apologetic when we came back.
And speaking of Joey, the opening record for every Saturday was the Beastie Boys "Rock Hard" 12" played very loud. A few times in a row.
If you ever wanted to actually Buy a record from Bob, it was like pulling teeth from Mac. So to get a Todd Rundgren "Something/Anything" promo LP that's on Red & Green vinyl he had on sale for I think $200, I had to trade my Stranglers 3D Raven album + pony up $50. I still have the Todd album.
I met my 1st NY girlfriend who shopped at the store.
After Bob bitched about me asking for time off to visit my parents over the Xmas Holiday, at the end of the night ( when he always called ), he said: Take an extra $75 & Merry Xmas. The soft spot !
Anyway, just a few tidbits for posterity. There was nothing like Bob's, Venus (Scott, where are you ?), Freebeing & Sounds (Hi Kevin!) to fill a day spending your hard earned cash.
This was a really well done film and I enjoyed watching it , Im quite upset that this NYC instution will be leaving Ive been buying records from here since 1978 and the first record i bought there was Ian Dury and the blockheads hit me with your rhythm stick .ive worked night shift for a NY newspaper for years and some use to love going in the store late because they where open late just to look around . I love bleecker Bobs and will miss it . Dave
I would like to add one more thought to this enigma known as bleeecker Bob's. The Word in the streets is that the place is so pathethic that the employees had not been payed for a few weeks and given instead I owe yous, while the manager is the only one getting payed. What kind of individual allows this to happen to people who are depending on thier salaries to put food on their tables and pay thier bills? I tell you who, the manager at Bleecker Bob's Golden Oldies that's who. which also brings up the question, How a man managing a small buisness gets to make enough money to pay taxes on property, insurance on both a house and a car, pay for an apartment, utilities and groceries? This sounds very fishy to me, unless he himself is robing the store blind, by taking advantage of the owners inability to directlly keep an eye on his buisness. Way to go Chris, I would not hire anyone like you even if my life depended on it. And if for some reason there is some out there looking to hire a manager with expirience, please stay away from this guy cause he will drive your buisness to the ground as he did with Bob's.
Bleecker Bob's was Iconic at one time, but the time has come to close this chapter in music history and start a new one. I feel very sorry for the workers but not for the store manager, he's a jerk and a creep with no work ethics or managerial concepts, and this video proves it. The man looks unhealthy and pathetic, he also shows a negative attitude towards the buissnes. Chris seems to me to be a control freak and a man that hates music, Why is he been alowed for all these years to manage the store? Is obious that the man does not fit the right cualifications for the job. How come the owners girlfriend makes him look like a saviour, when he really is a destroyer? The documentary to me seems to be more about Chris than it its about music, I would like to see more about what the employees have to say about the buisness than some pathetic man living in an inherited house that looks like the one in Psycho.
reply
I first went tio Bleeker Bobs in 1967 when i was 15 and to House Of Oldies also further up Bleeker St. and later ended up in the collectable records business myself as manager and/or owner of Golden Disc, Farfels Records, Record Runner, Its Only Rock & Roll and Revolver Records all nearby in the village from 1973 till 2004, so i was a competitor of his in the village but also a friend of his at times over the years. Bob i think was bipolar he could act crazy in one minute but also could be nice at times and yes he always had a big doberman behind the counter when he was there for intimidation towards any riff raff street people who came in. What has happened in the village now is real estate prices have gone so high that unique independant record stores which at one time in the 70s there were approx. at least 50 different ones in the area, and unique bookstores and other similar types of businesses have given way to much less interesting corporate stores ala Starbucks, Gap Jeans etc the end of an era
Keith
i do agree with all ! He could be an ass and a jerk to everyone ! But long before I moved to New York-I would call him and ask him to hold some records for me and maill them here to Arkansas, He always wanted a quick postal money order. When I moved there I would always give him stick for his tampering ! He would always take a bonus 45 form an album, and then resale it as something rare ! He laughed about it and gave in a few times-but I did spend much money and time ! I loved it ! Many other stores opened in the city with more punk rock records-but they always closed after a couple of years ! Some great finds back then ; Man of Words lp Bowie dress cover which would sale for big money, Models 45 which is their only one ! Son of the streets fan club by Sham 69. Skrewdriver LP on 45RPM chiswick records. All in great demand today ! Sad to see a great place close ! Tony in Fort Smith, Arkansas
I remember those days when I was a young record collector...Like Keith, I remember Bleeker Bob and House of Oldies and later,Golden Disc and later on, Kape Records in Brooklyn (Bay 28th and Bath Ave as I recall). Hell I remember Keith and Ron and Peter.... I'm sorry to see the whole collecting scene change. Spent many a weekend traipsing store-to store, flipping through bins of used, promo and cut-out record bins in search of the latest oddity, lucky find or holy grail piece. So Bob could be irascible at times...perhaps even more than that. He just struck me as a village character that added some color to my adventures at the time. And while I'd seen him lose it with others, he never lost it with me...so go figure.
I went in here a lot and Bob was always fun to watch. One day a guy came in and asked for some punk 45. Bob gave it to him to look at and the guy spent about 5 minutes with the disc up to the light, checking for scratches. Finally Bob says "Is there something wrong with it? Let me see it." The guy handed the record back to Bob and he cracked it in half and says, "Yeah, I guess it's damaged."
This place is unbelievable, can you believe they are still open and trying to sell their old dusty vinyl for the same outrageous prices. last time I heard they were not paying money they owed in consignments and to those who supply them with merchandise. Typical old Bob's policy, ripping off people left and right without guilt or shame, I guess they want to go down without any trace of dignity at all. These people, and I mean the manager and the owner's girlfriend are two good for nothing scam artists looking for hand outs on facebook. Yes, you have heard it folks, and if you don't believe me go on facebook and see it for yourself. They are asking people for donations to keep the place going, but I truly believe all they want is some extra cash to go into their bottomless pockets in order to secure a nice retirement place somewhere in Florida. I feel bad for the employees which got the short end of the stick, for I have to tell you that they did their best to do the right thing for the costumers and make the place more friendly. But the powers that be running the store prevented John, Javier, and T.J. from accomplishing that, the same way it happened to others who worked there before them, thank God these good old fellows are out of that place; they are better off anyway and I wish them the best. As for the manager and the owner's girlfriend I can only hope that sometime down the line they pay for their wrong doings, remember what goes around comes around.