See our map and guide to area record stores | Get a video tour of a DC record store 

Jesse Kristin of Jukebox The Ghost
• My favorite store in the area is definitely Orpheus Records in Clarendon, although it was closing down last time I visited and may actually be gone now. It had everything: Stacks upon stacks of used and new vinyl (including unending piles of vinyl on the floor that had yet to be mixed into the stacks), an old, emaciated, bearded, always barefooted owner, and a constant rotation of great background music for browsing records.
• Dookie by Green Day is the first record I got, in third grade.
• Record stores are indeed still relevant, particularly for those who are meticulous/dorky about the quality of sound in music. If you are buying CDs just to upload them into MP3 format, then, yes, you are in a sense wasting your money. However, for those who are frugal and buy everything used, for the audiophiles who love the clarity and fullness of vinyl, and for those who, like me, are always nostalgic for the days when buying a record in a store felt like buying a new Mercedes, the independent record store is as magical and timeless as an amusement park.

Local Bands and Bloggers Talk About Independent Record Stores | Our Map and Guide to Washington's Record Stores

Josh Harkavey, owner of independent record store Red Onion, chatted with us about his thoughts on the state of independent record stores, and gave us a video tour of his shop. Click below to see the videos.

How does funny man and former frat guy Aaron Karo deal with life after college? "I cope by traveling to colleges to perform, hanging out with college kids, and hooking up with college chicks," he explained this afternoon, jokingly. We think.

Other pearls of wisdom from the stand-up comic from his online chat with us? "If you vomit before even getting to work, you are too hungover to make it through the day." Uh, true! Not that we'd know.To read more of what Karo had to say—including his take on  TV show Greek and why one can't really "enjoy" Los Angeles so much as endure it—check out our transcript here.

Karo ruminates.

On Wednesday, April 16, at noon, standup comic Aaron Karo will join us for an online chat. During his freshmen year at the University of Pennsylvania, Karo began sending out monthly e-mails, titled Ruminations, recounting funny stories and anecdotes to a few friends. Word of mouth spread about the e-mails, and by his senior year Karo had amassed more than 11,000 subscribers nationwide. His columns have been compiled and published by Simon & Schuster in two collections, Ruminations of College Life and Ruminations on Twentysomething Life.

Want to know more about his time in college? We do. Karo was a member of a fraternity at Penn, and we’re betting there are still plenty of untold stories you can wheedle out of him. He’ll also answer questions about touring, performing standup, his dark days working for an investment bank, and perhaps even his puzzling love for soccer.

Karo will performing his standup routine at the 9:30 Club on Friday, April 18. Be sure to check him out there, and don’t forget to submit a question to the chat!

That Joe Englert—what a guy! In our online chat with him today, he talked about his latest projects on H Street and beyond, gave sage advice to those looking to invest in the bar/restaurant business, discussed some of DC nightlife's strengths and weaknesses, and, most importantly (for us, at least), announced the imminent return of the Shot and a Haircut deal at the Red and the Black (hint: it involves obtaining cosmetology licenses.)

Oh! Also, during the chat, we found out what Englert has in mind as the ultimate bar for DC: "A gigantic cave restaurant bar...I would love to start digging right now." Genius! Check out the transcript here.

Next Wednesday at noon, stand-up comedian Aaron Karo will be joining us for a chat. Start submitting questions now.

Neighborhood tavern the Pug is one of Joe Englert's ventures on the H Street corridor.

Just a reminder: Today at noon, nightlife impresario Joe Englert will join us for an online chat (submit your questions here). Englert, who’s been opening and running bars for more than two decades and is often credited as a pioneer in the revitalization of U Street, will discuss his recent string of offbeat bars in Northeast DC’s Atlas District and his take on the city’s nightlife. He’s even threatened to share details of his half-completed screenplays.

Want to know his plans for bars he’s got in development? His pick for the hottest nightlife neighborhood? What development means for DC? Ask him anything!

Before becoming a nightlife mogul, Englert was a freelance writer for publications such as the Washington Times and the Washington Post. Read our profile of him here—and don’t forget to submit a question here.

For more posts on nightlife, arts and events, and bars, click here.