‘Weirdo Records’ Opens to Fanfare

With obscure LP covers, CDs, and music posters plastering its windows, Weirdo Records’ new storefront at 844 Mass. Ave. serves as an appropriate foretaste for the music haven that lies inside.

The retail space—which opened its doors on Feb. 6—is the first for the business that began in owner Angela Sawyer’s bedroom in 2006. Primarily an online store until now, Weirdo sells new and used music, DVDs, books, and magazines.

“I would like Weirdo to be a home for people who like weird stuff, who have eclectic taste and are curious about new sounds,” Sawyer said.

With Japanese psychedelic rock blazing in the background, the store’s shelf labels reveal a wide span of genres—including world, classical, and rock and noise.

“The name is Weirdo for a very good reason,” Sawyer said.

Following the demise of various record stores in Cambridge—including Harvard Square retailers HMV in 2003 and Tower Records in 2006—Weirdo’s entrance stands in contrast to the downward trend that has plagued music stores in past years.

Duncan H. Browne, CEO of Newbury Comics, which has a branch on JFK St., said he remembers when Harvard Square used to be densely populated with music stores.

“Now it’s a veritable desert,” Browne said.

Local record store owners attributed the decline to the economic recession and the digital availability of music.

At Planet Records, which has operated for 25 years on JFK St., owner John Damroth said he has seen his business decline steadily in the last decade.

Even after keeping prices as low as possible and offering a wide range of music, Damroth envisioned a bleak future.

“We probably won’t be in the center of Harvard Square forever—we just won’t be able to afford it,” Damroth said.

But Sawyer—who said Weirdo makes over 60 sales a day—remains optimistic about the future of her new store despite the flagging economy.

“It has wildly exceeded my expectations,” Sawyer said, adding that business has been so busy that she can barely keep up.

Weirdo’s entrance to the market has been welcomed by both customers and other business owners.

Weirdo Records customer Jason Tetreault—a self-described “vinyl junkie” who has frequented Boston music stores throughout his life—said that he was impressed by the new store.

“Just from looking at the stuff, I’m blown away,” said Tetreault. “The sixties vinyl section looks pretty sick.”

At Twisted Village on Eliot Street—a record store where Sawyer used to work—owner Wayne Rogers said that he viewed Weirdo’s opening not as increased business competition, but as a “positive sign of the strength of the area.”

Due to the distance between Harvard and Central Square, and because each store offers slightly different material, record store owners said they did not expect to be impacted by Weirdo’s presence.

Browne, the CEO of Newbury Comics, said that he welcomed the opening of another music store nearby.

“We like it when there’s lots of people selling physical forms of music. It creates energy and excitement,” he said.

—Staff writer Liyun Jin can be reached at ljin@fas.harvard.edu.