It’s that time of year again when music lovers, and record shop virgins, come together to celebrate the great art of the physical record. Record Store Day (UK) has become one of the biggest and understated music event around the country that bring together music fans and diehard music aficionados for the 3rd Saturday in April, just before the start of the never-ending UK festival season.

TNC has been incredibly lucky to meet two of probably the biggest music enthusiast in the UK, husband and wife team Jude & Nick Clarke who run Rhythm Online. There is passion for music, records, the search and satisfaction of the find and then there are the Clarke’s who make this seem easy.

Jude took the time to answer some of our questions and for more information on Rhythm Online you can find it all HERE.

Being married and working together (in music no less) must have its stresses, how have you guy managed to keep a balance?

Well, Nick has run Rhythm for so long that I’m quite a recent addition to the workforce (the last 6 or 7 years). When we decided that I would come on board, we were careful to agree that I wouldn’t be working “for” Nick – I do my own things like publicising and marketing the site, leaving all the specialist stuff to him. Also, I’m afraid we’re one of those sickly couples that genuinely enjoy spending as much time as possible together, so it’s just brilliant having our little office upstairs, blasting out music, drinking cuppas (Nick’s designated tea-boy) and working on our shared project and love.

Being music fans do you think your always on the look out for something new to share with your customers? And do you find your customers coming back to you wanting more recommendations?

Sometimes, and we aim to highlight things that we’re particularly enjoying at any given time using the “featured” showcase on the front of the website. Also, though, we are actually informed by our customers too, which is brilliant. If we get an order from a regular customer for a band or album that we’ve not heard of, then that often prompts us to check them out too. We’ve discovered some really interesting new music this way: our customers are the best!

How did Rhythm come about?

Nick worked for Andy’s Records from its early days. He then moved over to HMV (he was “headhunted”), which he didn’t find anywhere near as enjoyable or rewarding. Because of that, he took the plunge and started selling records on market stalls in Plymouth and the South West (where he had been posted to by HMV). From a market stall, Rhythm developed into a Mail Order catalogue (in the days before people generally had access to home PCs Nick would painstakingly type out the listings each month), before becoming a website at around the turn of the century. All in all, Rhythm has been going in some form since about 1983.

Was is daunting setting Rhythm like this up when records shops like HMV where till huge players?

I think we just sort of plunged in. Because Nick had been running Rhythm so long – and so successfully – as a mail order business, going online was a totally logical step at the time. Fortunately, we’ve never been particularly motivated by the need to make our fortune (!), although a little more of a realistic living would be nice, in these latter days…

What have been your biggest challengers?

Challenges? Really, just the changing nature of the business. The decline in popularity of records generally. The demise of some of our key distributors hasn’t helped much either.

What was the first record you both bought?

Jude: First single I bought with my own money was Boomtown Rats – I Don’t Like Mondays. My Dad swiftly managed to stand on it and break it in half. Accidentally, he claimed. First album that I properly chose was 10CC – Deceptive Bends. The classic influenced-by-a-friend’s-older-sibling selection.

Nick: First single was Tornados – Telstar, first album was The Beatles – Please Please Me. From these choices you can probably work out our approximate respective ages…

This one is for both of you, what are your top five records of ALL time (this is cruel as I know I would not be able to answer this?

Jude: Without thinking too hard (otherwise I’d go insane, and change the list every two minutes) mine can be: Pavement – Slanted and Enchanted (first album Nick bought me when we were first dating); Human League – Dare (a teenage favourite); Broken Family Band -Cold Water Songs (local band, brilliant, parodic, twisted alt-country); Neutral Milk Hotel – In An Aeroplane Over The Sea (quite possibly the most beautiful collection of words and music ever put to vinyl); Hidden Cameras – Origin: Orphan (massively underrated recent(ish) release).

After much agonising, Nick’s gone for the same Neutral Milk Hotel album (yes, we’re that musically compatible!), Forever Changes by Love, Television – Marquee Moon, Captain Beefheart – Trout Mask Replica and Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde.

For all our readers who would you both recommend they listen to?

The King Creosote/Jon Hopkins collaboration: Diamond Mine is a recent gem of a release. Jude’s unfortunate Mike Skinner crush has been resuccitated by his new (last) album Computers and Blues – a total return to form – and Nick suggests they check out Sun Araw and Antlers, if they’ve not already done so.

What has been the most obscure record you both have found?

A recent success was with a 7″ single (Little Next To Nothing) by an 80s band called City Giants. A customer in Japan had been after it for a long time, and it was on our “wants” list, where it was spotted by Paul Davies – the guitarist from the band. He had a few copies knocking around in his loft, possibly gathering dust, so he got in touch and gave them to us. Cue one very satisfied Japanese customer. In fact, the band are now aware of a fair bit of interest from Japan, and are considering re-forming and touring there!

The music business has changed so much in the past 10 years how has digital downloads/recordings affected the physical record?

In loads of ways. Although obviously our business is in physical product (vinyl, CDs etc) we try not to be too luddite about it though. As music enthusiasts, we can see that the easier availability of artists’ work by means of things like Spotify, Bandcamp, even Myspace etc is a positive thing too. Physical records, particularly 7″ singles, are becoming more and more a niche item, released on a limited run and collectible (which is where we hope shops like Rhythm can come more to the fore). It would be very sad if the often-wonderful artwork that accompanies records (and CDs, although to a lesser extent) was lost.

Do you think that sites like iTunes charge too much for music downloads?

I guess they charge what “the market” is prepared to pay. There’s definitely two opposing schools of thought around pricing: so much music is now available legally or less-legally for free this on the one hand means that anyone can listen to a far wider range of stuff than ever before (and bands can get their music heard without having to go down the record label route); on the other hand, though, does this devalue music? Make it seem more ephemeral and disposable, perhaps?

People seem less and less inclined to live with an album, save up for it, treasure it and listen to it for weeks on end, it seems to be much more about chasing the “next big thing”, blogging about it one day, then moving on to something new straight away. I kind of thing this is a shame and that something is being lost: does that make me sound old?

Tell us about Record Store Day, what does this mean to you both?

We are totally behind the idea and love that it highlights actual shops and gives them some much-needed love and publicity. We’re slightly sad that shops like ours (that sell physical product, but via a website rather than an actual shop-shop) are expressly excluded.

We’re based in Cambridge – that has ZERO independent record shops – so we’re not competing with anyone, and would love to be included. We’d also love to have a proper shop (although local customers do nip round to pick up their records, and are often treated to a slice of cake and a cuppa at the same time), but unfortunately it just isn’t financially viable at the moment.

Much like there is a generation of people who have never read a book there are thousands of people who have never been to a record shop, tell us in your own words why buying records is so much fun?

It’s about the tactile sensation of flicking through racks of vinyl. Looking at intriguing, eye-catching, weird or just plain pornographic sleeves and wondering what the hell kind of music they might be encasing. About hanging out in a place – maybe shabby, maybe run-down but somehow just like home, and populated with People Like You – where you can explore your tastes, go on musical adventures and come home with a product that will – if you’ve picked well – pretty much last you a lifetime, soundtrack your subsequent days and instantly take you straight back to the first moment you heard it.

Visiting a known, loved record shop is the bought-music equivalent of live-music’s collective experience at that wonderful festival – the one with the line-up that feels like it’s been chosen specifically for you, where all the other festival-goers seem like realistic potential friends. There, you don’t get that from an impulse CD buy in a supermarket, or on iTunes, do you?

There is something in the air and it is certainly student revolts and as part of TNC’s ongoing series of features and stories on student protest we are really lucky to have been give the opportunity to talk with UMN Soclidarty at University of Minnesota. This interview was finished just before they where raided and kicked out by the police, A full statement of this and other events can be found on their Facebook page HERE.

It’s clear that UMN have conducted themselves with pride and honour and many great lessons for occupations and groups in the UK can be learnt from their example. There is a clear message and an even clearer understanding of what they are doing and what needs to be done for their to be effective change. Reading though this interview all at the University of Minnesota should be proud of the UMN and what they are doing.

TNC supports the peaceful and UMN Solidarity Occupation.

How has the occupation been going, has there been, has moral been good?

The occupation began on Monday, March 28th at 1pm, so as of writing this, it has been going on for 3 days, 4 hours. Morale has generally been good. It is an open occupation, so people are free to come and leave as they choose. As a result of long negotiations with police, we are allowed to have 12 students spend the night in the space without getting arrested. Relations with police and security staff have been particularly positive and cooperative.

How did the occupation come about, who started the ball rolling?

Last month a general assembly was called for on campus in response to issues around the world, including but not limited to the attack on collective bargaining in the state of Wisconsin, political unrest in the Middle East as well as frustrations with the University of Minnesota itself. A moderate-sized group of students, community members and faculty gathered to discuss responses to frustration. One of the ideas brought up was an occupation on campus.

In response, a rally was planned for March 28th. Students and community members gathered outside of Coffman Student Union on the East Bank of the U of M. We marched around the East Bank and over the Mississippi across the Washington Avenue Bridge, carrying signs and chanting in favor of soldarity and equity for U of M students and staff. We gathered again at the end of this march at the Social Sciences Tower on the West Bank. Here we collectively decided through consensus we wanted to and were willing to occupy the building. The first thing that we did in the occupation was to change all “men” and “women” signs on the bathrooms to “all-gender”. The university didn’t like that, and the signs have been taken down a couple of times, which was incredibly frustrating, but we just keep making new ones.

What has the feedback been like, how has the wider student community/academic staff taken to the UMN Occupation?

We’ve receieved a broad range of support, criticism and downright surprise. Students and staff have stopped in and had constructive conversations at our info table, as well as with other occupiers scattered throughout the first floor. Speaking broadly, we’ve been complimented on our peaceful, democratic process and presence here. A few dissidents have commented that we seem disorganized and directionless. We disagree there, we have a list of demands and our over-arching, unifying goal is to involve students and staff directly with the control of resources and policy at the U of M. Since we are in the Social Sciences building, we have been getting a lot of good feedback from professors who work in the building, and many of them have invited us to speak to their classes, or even brought their classes to the occupied space.

What advice had you sought before your occupation, and what advice would you give other student bodies hoping to follow your lead?

We read some zines made by various other student occupations, specifically from students who had occupied their schools in California, as well as “The Occupation Cookbook” put out by Croatian students who had occupied their university in Zagreb. There had not been a successful occupation on our campus for years, so we didn’t have any recent activities to base our actions on. We mostly have been learning as we go, which has its pluses and minuses. In terms of advice for other students hoping to occupy their schools, we would recommend getting demands finalized immediately after occupying the space, pushing hard with outreach to students, and not forgetting to have fun. An occupation is really hard work, and some of us are really exausted right now, but by having fun activities has kept us going. “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to part of your revolution.”

In the UK we have NUS (not a very good national Union) in the US is there an equivalent national or state level Union for students?

We do not have a student union. There are not many in the US, and most students here don’t even know what they are, unfortunatly. We have the MSA (Minnesota Student Association), which functions as a type of student government, but it is very much tied to the University administration. There is nothing like a Student Union in the European sense that functions more like a labor union. One of the hopes of some participants of the occupation is that this action will be the first step toward the creation of a Student Union, hopefully based on the principles of Solidarity Unionism.

What has been the response from your University?

We sent out a letter to administrators, and yesterday the chief-of-staff for Vice Provost Jerry Reinhart came to us at the occupation to discuss our demands and the nature of our occupation. We talked with him for about an hour and a half, and he was hoping to get us to say when we would leave the occupied space. That didn’t happen, and we just discussed the ways that we see the university could solve its issues. We told him that we believe that the entire university community should have direct, democratic control over university resources. Obviously he didn’t like that too much. But he did say that we were the most respectful group of protesters he had ever met, so that was nice haha.

Tell us a bit about your occupation, what your hoping for, what your hope to gain from this?

Our occupation, unlike many occupations of the 60′s and 70′s in this country, is open. We have no barricades, and people are free to come and go as they please. We are hoping to build awareness of occupations as a protest tactic, as they has been largely forgotten in the state of Minnesota. We are also hoping to build awareness of the budget issues facing our university. Many students see how their tuition has risen, but they don’t see how workers have been facing cuts, or how administration has been giving themselves raises. We are hoping to build this movement upwards and outwards in preparation toward a larger and more militant action surround university issues.

How has the press coverage been, have you been getting support from your students?

We have received a good amount of coverage on leftist and progressive blogs, as well as in smaller newspapers and the university newspaper. Our first night of the occupation, some TV news channels showed up hoping to get some footage of students protestors getting arrested. When they realised that we weren’t going to be arrested and that that was not our goal, they did a couple of interviews, left the building, and didn’t do any stories. We weren’t necessarily expecting them to, but it was still a bit frustrating. But our goal is not to gain coverage on the 5 o’clock news. We have gotten our message our through social networking and through word of mouth for the most part. The message from students has been mixed: those who come in and talk to us generally have a really good response and some of them have joined the core group of organizers, but some students who have not even come in to see what were about in person think that an occupation is unnecessary. A big reason for that is apathy and general indifference to current political and economic issues affecting us today.

Are you all continuing going to classes, what has the moral been like?

We have been continuing to go to class (or at least trying to), which can get stressful having to do work with the occupation while getting school work done, and while going to actual work. The positive thing for students who commute to school is that it is easier to get to class in the morning now that we are living on campus!

What would you like our readers to know?

We stand in solidarity with students and workers worldwide in the search for democratic, non-hierarchal solutions to everyday problems at institutions of education and workplaces everywhere.

So this was written earlier today before we were raided and kicked out by the police, so maybe you could have a small update on there about tonights events. We have a statement up on our blog about tonight’s events, and we have a shorter statement on our facebook. If you have any other questions, we would love to answer them (and I promise we will be more timely next time!)

With the news finally coming in this weekend that NUS president Aaron Porter is giving his full support to the student occupations we at TNC got into action and contact some of the students who are still occupying their University buildings. As well as the incredible UCL and NCL occupations we have been lucky to have got in touch with Edinburgh students who have been in occupation since last week.

Edinburgh holds a special place for us here as during the summer we, like millions of others, descend on the city for world famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival. So we are very used to the university and have been stunned at what an amazing protest and action these students have made.

You can follow the Edinburgh Occupation and get all their news by following then on Twitter & their Blog!

How has the occupation been going, has there been, has moral been good?

Moral has been fantastic. We’ve just had a lock in all weekend in Appleton Tower, so the same group of people on the inside. Depending on the support and supplies of the outside world. If we’ve needed anything, we’ve asked on Twitter and its arrived. The Edinburgh Mosque kitchen has been sending us curry every day. Amazing.

With the minority of students who have caused clashes with the police do you think that has harmed your message?

As a group we are split on this issue. We have decided not to take a stance on violence. For there is no doubt that the violence has got the movement media coverage. It is now the job of the 12 occupations to publicise and organise the peaceful movement. The occupations are forming 24 hr bases for planning and delivering action.

What advice had you sought before your occupation, and what advice would you give other student bodies hoping to follow your lead?

None. The occupation was entirely spontaneous. There was so much momentum to act at the end of the wednesday rally that we just entered the nearest lecture theatre. Had a large open meeting that simply hasn’t yet ended.

NUS is supporting you do you think they could have done more before their initial march in London?

As Aaron Porter said yesterday. The NUS has been ‘spineless’ and ‘unsupportive’. The national demo was theit only direct call for action. They took too long to respond to the peaceful actions.

Your university is very much in support of your occupation, has this been a surprise?

Yes, Edinburgh University is firmly against the Browne review (along with Glasgow). All the staff are scared for their jobs and pensions (especially the security staff), so they have been in support. We have been peaceful and open in discussions from the beginning. The uni recognised this and firmly asked the police to leave.

For all none students out there tell us just what these cuts could do to higher education?

Scotland will not be affected by the cuts as strongly as the rest of the uk, because of devolution. Departments are in threat of closure. Staff, who are facing pension cuts and redundancies are moving out of the sector or moving abroad.

Is there anything you need that our readers could try and get to you?

Get the message out! Pressure your MPs and MSPs. Promote the websites and twitters of the occupations. If you are in Edinburgh, you are free to visit us in Appleton Tower during the day. And free to stay overnight! The doors typically get locked after 7. Though you are free to leave. We have lots of food, showers, loos, plenty to do, its a great place to come and get work done. I didn’t know anyone else in the occupation when it began.

The interview was cut short due to some issues with the police but we have been assured that the occupation is ok.

Support the student occupation and listen to what they have to say. It is too easy to push this aside or ignore it as something that doesn’t affect you but it really does. Through peaceful occupations like Edinburgh some real changes can be made, it is now time to act and take part in the next National Day of Protest, 30th November 2010.

There is luck and then there is shear luck, what we have is ‘OMG you lucky bastards’. Today during the second screening of the day for us, A Dry Land starring America Ferrera, walking into the theatre who should be sitting there but Scouse Hollywood Icon Jason Isaacs – we don’t need to mention his credits, you know who he is!

After the film and many text from friends I asked him if he would be up for doing a interview with us there and then and the legend said YES.  We are really honoured to have a interview going live on our site 9am tomorrow due inpart to Isaacs genuinely kind and friendly manner – and he’s from Liverpool two!

As well as asking him about why he decided to do such a small budget film, what was the draw, and what he hopes people wil get out of this incredible debut Skeletons by Nick Whitfield.  This really is one of the key films of this years festival and one that stands out and then some, if you get a chance see it and support British Cinema anyway you can.