Feature Friday: Items of Note!

POPshop strives to bring you the coolest stuff we can fnd! It's always fun to see our merchandise featured in the media.

Check out these resources!

Bust Magazine, Oprah, Newsweek, and Rachael Ray all love Anne Taintor! POPshop carries a great array of coin purses, paper goods, and accessories from Anne Taintor's fun line.

Curve Magazine thinks this Matryoshka Stationery would be a great gift...so do we! Stationery sets in stock...

Underwired Magazine featured Blue Q coin purses as a great treat for all ages. Check out some of POPshop's!

Feature Friday: Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!!

Very Happy Christmas from POPshop & Spazz Records!!

Music Monday: 20 Years of Weird: Flaming Lips 1986-2006

New CDs in stock: The Fearless Freaks is 11 tracks of live cuts that span the Lips career, 27 years and going strong! 

From SoundUnWound: 

"The Flaming Lips came from Oklahoma City, emerging in 1983 with their strange sound almost fully formed. Since then, the Flaming Lips have come under the almost singular leadership of singer Wayne Coyne and done magical things with alternative rock. In the early 1990s they made a commercial splash with "She Don't Use Jelly," showing the world their madcap pretzelling of pop music - a tumultuous tangle of guitars, bristling melodies, and oddball lyrics. Since then, The Soft Bulletin attempted a 90s version of Pet Sounds and largely succeeded, becoming one of the most acclaimed albums of the decade in its last few months. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002) was widely praised too, and eventually became a gold-seller: their biggest commercial success, two decades and 10 albums after they started. The Lips are also famous for their live performances, which often feature giant plastic balls, furry animal suits, hand puppets, videos, light-shows and truckloads of confetti."

Feature Friday: Lippy Yummies!

Winter is upon us, and those icky chapped lips are a bummer. The POPshop will have you feeling good with amazing  flavored and tinted balms, all handmade and free of yucky chemicals. No animal testing, and in cute packaging to top it off!

BalmBox flavored lippies in lots of flavors:

Prairieland Herbs Naturally colored lip glosses: 

Smack!

Music Monday: No Loitering, No Crack Selling, No Cat Selling...

Another feature on a unique record in stock at Spazz Records: the King Lee with Quintron "Tire Shop" 7"!

From Goner Records:
"Some might have known King Lee (R.I.P.) from one of his late-night appearances at the Spellcaster Lodge in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. Or from his back-up vocals on the 2006 Quintron slow jam “Dream Captains.” Or he may have fixed your tire at the St. Claude Tire Shop. If you are an old-school cop, he might have fixed it at Danny’s Service Station way back in the day.

This single is a late-night ode to the St. Claude Tire Shop, recorded by Quintron and King Lee just blocks away at the Spellcaster. Familiar with much-talked-about blurry connection between Caribbean rhythms and inner-city New Orleans? It’s all over this incredibly slow drum-machine / echo-organ jam. All the extra clanky sounds are samples from the actual tire shop. Lee’s vocal is comprised solely of him going off on all his friends and relatives who work at the shop. The list of nicknames is impressive, to say the least–so much so that the song can’t be contained on one side! The original take was about fifteen minutes, and it was edited down to the essential three-and-a-half minutes per side. This 45 is truly the sound of the streets without drama and gunfire–a tire-shop army of love and beer and tires and air compressors and echo and organs and tires!

A note on the St. Claude Tire shop: This is the only Orleans Parish business that did not close during the you-know-what. They fixed tires for the National Guard, Presidential limos, road warrior bike punks, everyone. The owner, Joe Pete, who Lee references several times in the song, sits on an actual throne of tires to keep an eye on his employees every day. Oh, and check that sign on the cover real close…."

Download sample here and come get your vinyl at the shop!!!!!!!!!!

Feature Friday: Tiny Meat!!

A Must Have!! Check out these awesome wallets and  passport holders from Tiny Meat! Available at the POPshop :)

These are streamlined and as cute inside as out:

Music Monday: Let's Hear It For The Ladies!!

Today's Music Monday will highlight awesome in-stock vinyl from some favorite ladies!

Some of Spazz's girly highlights include:


Ani DiFranco's Red Letter Year: 
"I've got myself a new mantra," Ani DiFranco shares on her new studio album. "It says `Don't forget to have a good time.'" This attitude has clearly influenced the dozen tunes on Red Letter Year, which celebrate existence, profess love and tackle thorny political issues with an infectious sense of glee. It's one of Ani's most joyous records to date. 

Lez Zeppelin I: 

LEZ ZEPPELIN has delivered a performance that not only exceeds expectations but serves as

the authentic female counterpart to one of the greatest rock albums of all time."

X: Ain't Love Grand:

Though the band is all-male save the lead singer, Exene Cervenka, makes her presence known heartily. Her fashion was the precursor to all things kinderwhore, and her voice remains a force to be reckoned with.

Come on down and check out more of our great vinyl, lady-centric and otherwise!

Feature Friday: Choices Galore!!

Hi all! Hope your December is starting off wonderfully! We are in the full swing of the holidays at POPshop & Spazz!

Not sure what to put on your Christmas list? Tell your friends and family you want a POPshop & Spazz gift card! Stylish, available in any denomination, and good towards anything in the whole shop. Perfect!

We also offer the cutest bags in town! Eco-friendly, reusable, and hand-decorated! Use these for more shopping, or as a gift bag!

Come by Tuesday- Saturday, 10-5, call for shopping after hours, and check us out at these upcoming shopping venues:
Washington Plaza, Dec. 7th, 8:00 a.m. till...
The Corner Bar, Dec. 21st, 9 p.m. till...


Happy Holidays!!!

Upcoming Giveaways!

Keep an eye on the blog- we have a fun giveaway coming up for followers!

Music Monday: Weezer

Hi all! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday!

Today's Music Monday is a rundown of Weezer's 2010 release, Death To False Metal.

I cranked this one up and was immediately confused. The Weezer I know (smart, catchy, slighlty rocking) was not the Weezer I was hearing for the first few songs. A quick Google search later, things were a little clearer. DTFM is a release, right on the heels of Hurley, of songs that for one reason or another, didn't make the cut on any of their albums. The reasons they didn't make it are fairly apparent on some of the songs, but there are a few great standouts.

"Everyone" and "Trampoline" are some of the tracks that really reflect the positives that keep Weezer going. "Everyone" has great lyrics and "Trampoline" opens with one of those Weezer-esque riffs fans know and love.

My main complaint with the less impressive songs is that the lyrics and music are just too simple/slow for what I expect of Weezer. These songs, while not awful, definitely could kill the pop/rock buzz that Weezer albums are so good at creating.

Reviews of Death To False Metal seem to run the gamut from high praise to musings on how Rivers Cuomo lost his mojo...any opinions?

If you are looking for Weezer albums on vinyl, we currently have Hurley (free CD of the album included), as well as several Weezer releases on CD.

Feature Friday: Stocking Stuffers & Gifts!

Hi all! Today's post is on affordable, unique, and fun stocking stuffers and gifts from the POPshop!

Check out these goodies for the special people in your life!

Music lovers/party people:

Pick Your Nose cups!

Party picks!

For sushi lovers:

Gama-Go Coin Purse!

For vintage-loving ladies:

Anne Taintor Coasters!

Come on by and browse the shop for more great one-of-a-kind holiday gift ideas! We also offer handmade POPshop & Spazz gift bags!

Music Monday: Collections

Welcome to another Music Monday!

Today's feature is collections!

Do you collect records of a favorite band or artist? As a small record store, we have the opportunity to hand pick the records we stock.

We often come across great hard-to-find releases on vinyl and help music lovers

complete their collections of a band's albums.

If you are working on completing a collection, let us know! We'll keep an eye out and update you as vinyl comes in.

As always, thanks for supporting local business!

Gift Cards are here!!

Not sure what to give for Christmas this year?

Check out our brand new (and snazzy!) POPshop & Spazz gift cards!

These are double-sided, glossy cards that can be purchased in any denomination. They are good for any item in the shop and perfect when you want to give a unique present of handmade goods, offbeat gifts, and music! 

Come down and pick up one, or lots!!

Feature Friday: Cozy Up!

Welcome to Feature Friday! Every Friday, we'll highlight new products in the shop!

The weather is getting chillier and the season is perfect for cozying up! Check out these great goodies that will have you warming up in style!

Hand-blended organic peppermint and green teas from Good4U:

Pretty travel mugs (these make a great gift!):

And for the cerebral sipper, Reading Is Sexy Mugs! Smart, cute, and eco-friendly (made of corn!):

We also have super stylish POPshop & Spazz gift cards, perfect for Christmas gift-giving!

Have a great day!

Music Monday!

New blog feature! Every Monday we'll highlight a new or interesting album in the shop!

This week: Deftones Diamond Eyes (Limited Edition White Vinyl)

This album has been hailed by some metal authorities as the best metal album of the year. The Quietus says, "Album of the year? I don't know, but it's better than getting piss on your leg!"

This album comes out three years after the bands' last release. During that time, bassist Chi Cheng was in s serious car accident that left him in a coma. While he recovered, the band did studio work with Sergio Vega (Quicksand) filling in. These sessions evolved into Diamond Eyes.

Vocalist Chino Moreno on the album:

"The songs recorded for Eros are very special to us as they are the latest with Chi (and we certainly hope not the last); they have history and significant meaning to us. However, as we neared completion on Eros, we realized that this record doesn’t best encompass and represent who we are currently as people and as musicians. And although those songs will see the light of day at some point, we collectively made the decision that we needed to take a new approach, and with Chi’s condition heavy on our minds while doing so. We needed to return to the studio to do what we felt was right artistically. Our inspiration and unity as a band is stronger than it has ever been before and we needed to channel that energy into our music, and deliver to our fans what you rightly deserve: the best Deftones record that we can make."

Best metal album of the year?

You decide!!

Monograms & More

Hi all! Here with a little update on a new aspect of the POPshop! We make a continued effort to support local artists, musicians, and so on.

This local artist is my mom, Donna Joseph. She sews, monograms, embroiders, and quilts. We are now offering her handmade tea towels, hand towels, burp pads, cosmetic cases, bibs, pillowcases, canvas totes, and more. She uses bright colors, fun designs, LSU & Saints themes, and can do anything from playful and modern to classic and elegant.

All of the items in the shop feature monogramming and can be custom monogrammed for you, included in the price of the item! She also will monogram items you bring in (shower curtains, linens, bags, placemats, etc.!)

Custom orders generally are ready for you within 1-2 weeks.

We also take the sewing business on the road, so you may see us around town at places like local schools and the Council on Aging (shown below).

Thanks for your continued support of the shop, and we hope you enjoy this new line!

Bottle Trees!

Stop by and see these gorgeous locally-made bottle trees just in at the shop!

They are beautiful, complete with unique little leaf designs! These would make a great holiday gift or decor item.

New Tees

The "5 Inch Tee" Series

"The idea is as simple as it is classic. We wanted our new tees to be soft, white and with a nice design. The graphic on the shirt fits in a five inch square. There is no text or any other printing. Each shirt is handcut. And not in some sweatshop, but in a factory in Los Angeles that treats its workers right: good wages, health insurance, in-house Yoga and English as a Second Language classes for those who want them. The shirts are screened in Port Angeles,WA by our friend T-Shirt Mike. He believes in fishing and playing rock music."

Currently in stock: Broken Heart, Sunflower (above)

Holiday Goodness!

The holidays are fast approaching!

Join us on Sunday November 7th from 1:00 pm to 5 pm for the Antique Alley Holiday open house. Food, drinks, and all kinds of holiday goodies!

POPshop is full of new and fun stocking stuffers and gifts. We also offer handmade gift bags!

For the record lover in your life, POPshop & Spazz gift certificates are perfect! Get in touch early about any custom music orders you'd like for the holidays :)

Cupcake Blast!

Newly arrived from the U.K. are these adorable Momiji cupcake cases! Super-cute reusable tins filled with the sweetest cupcake accessories..hearts, flags, and more!!

New Link!

Spazz Records is now part of RecordStoreDay.com.

Check it out!!

Guitar Pick Barrettes!

POPshop carries these great guitar pick barrettes made by Jen of Hip Threads!

Check 'em out!!

New Locally Made Goodies

POPshop has a growing stock of locally made goodness! The newest additions are these very cute tea towels!
More locally made stuff coming soon: market totes, baby gifts, aprons, and more!!

Have a great day! ♥