Pet Sounds, Stockholm
1 November 2014
Questions: Andrew Birbeck / Answers: Owner of Pet Sounds, Stefan Jacobson
Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys is one of the most iconic albums of all time. Has Brian Wilson, or for that matter any of The Beach Boys, ever been in touch, and, if so, can you tell us about it?
I met the Beach Boys in Gothenburg during the summer of 2012, just before a gig. I got them to sign my Pet Sounds vinyl. Brian didn’t say a lot – actually, nothing. I had a Pet Sounds, Stockholm totebag with me. Mike Love looked at it and said, ‘Pet Sounds?’ I told him, “It’s my record store in Stockholm.” He looked at me and also said nothing. Ah well…
We hear a t-shirt that reads “You can’t download vinyl” once inspired you. What makes vinyl so special and how did the love affair start?
The sound, the smell, the sheer beauty of a vinyl record on the shelf. LP’s are firmly on the rebound.
How do you account for it and what kind of customers are going “back to the future”?
We stock a really large selection of new and secondhand records. Customers range from young hipsters buying the latest import releases to grumpy old men buying original 1960s LPs.
How important are online sales, and what’s the strangest enquiry you’ve ever had?
With online sales we aim to reach the whole wide world, and we do. Strange inquires happen every day. Yesterday somebody asked for ‘Wilget Pepple’. After a while we managed to work out that he wanted Village People.
Since opening in 1979 who were you most honoured to see coming through the doors, and can you tell us why?
It’s not easy to pick one person, there have been so many: John Peel, Bjork, Elvis Costello, Bryan Ferry, Little Steven and many others. They’re such legendary artists, they took time to visit, and of course I’m a fan of them all.
You’re renowned for hosting gigs. How regularly does that happen and which relatively unknown artists attracted most attention and went on to great things?
We have gigs once a month or so. Blur, Oasis and Coldplay all had gigs or appearances here, and I guess in those cases the rest is history.
You sell concert tickets, too. How important is it to keep diversifying and do you have plans to expand what’s on offer any further?
There are always plans; right now we’re working on Pet Sounds Factory, a place with a bar, restaurant, coffee shop, stage, record, book and DVD section and much, much more. Watch this space.
What’s your favourite track of all time?
Racing In The Streets by Bruce Springsteen. If you could choose just one thing, what’s the best part of your job? That’s easy, helping people find great records they didn’t know existed. Last but not least, what would the song title of your life be? Has to be Neil Young’s Keep On Rockin’ In The Free World.
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