The Little Store That Could (!)

“Long after dinosaurs and corporate music store chains collapsed under their own weight, the little store that could is still alive and well,” declares the homepage of In Your Ear!, the new- and used-record store over in BU’s West Campus. Calling it a record store is a bit of an understatement, though. Walking into this basement store can give the faint-hearted a bit of a sensory overload, what with its stacks of 45 rpm records, movie and music posters, magazines, VHS tapes, CDs, gum ball dispensers, cassettes, T-shirts and yes, vinyls.

Started up by Reed Lappin in 1982, In Your Ear! is a Mecca for people who prefer to do things the pre-technological revolution way. This shop-of-wonders makes a home for anything that got shunted from the main display to the back of the megastore and puts these novelties someplace noticeable for anyone who might still want them: “the music weirdos, lost people, and obsessive collectors,” according to Lappin. This vast collection is largely a result of “wheeling and dealing and finding things over the years.”

“Used stores have always been in the shadow of big record stores,” he says, from under a cap that says “We Buy and Sell Junk.” But when CDs started to make their way out, they weren’t the ones to be eradicated. “There’s so much information out there that people need to find a way to simplify it,” he explains. “It became important to seek out music on vinyl; it’s a different quality of listening and you can only

listen to one thing at a time.” Lappin tries to sell records of every genre right from classical to rock, in the belief that people should be receptive to all types of music. He’s always happy to give a first-time listener a recommendation. “Someone decided they liked the band Traffic, but picked up their worst record!” he laughs.

While vinyls are the main attraction, the store also sells other dated media as well as stereo equipment. Some of the more unique items to be found are the old press photos of bands and artists from the ‘60s to the ‘80s; there’s also a quirky collection of old Mexican movie posters that are desirable not only for their loudness but also because they’re “more affordable than ‘art.’” And yes, everything in the store is reasonably priced.

A trip to In Your Ear! cannot be a short one. It’s easy to get lost amongst the racks of records, the photo books, and the random mannequin heads on top of the shelves. They even have a little recorder and microphone for spontaneous karaoke sessions! “That’s for the voyeurs who come in,” Lappin jokes. But really, it’s just as easy to get lost in a conversation with Lappin and the other guys who work there, because they clearly know what they’re talking about.

For more information on In Your Ear! and for directions, visit their website.