T.T. the Bear’s Place caved. Weirdo Records closed its doors. Johnny D’s is on its last breath. Right when we were about to go running through the streets of Cambridge flipping off every defunct music space we found, Deep Thoughts stepped up to save the day.
Jamaica Plain’s delightfully absurd record store Deep Thoughts turned two this year, and with that birthday comes proof of a cult following. The owners open a brand new location on Norfolk Street in Central Square this week, a mere two blocks away from Mass Ave. If you’re reading this, the store is officially open. Deep Thoughts Cambridge, open daily from noon to 8 pm, sells new, used, and rare music in any format you can think of—vinyl, CD, cassette, film—as well as zines, comics, and books from around the area. If you’re looking to trade or sell wax, they have your back on that one, too. Just make sure to leave the Taylor Swift LPs and emo records at home. They’re concerned with the oddball vinyl that makes you scratch your head, whether it was considered weird five decades ago (krautrock) or one (asian neo-soul).
What does this mean for Cambridge? Yes, there is a one-stop shop where you can find that Todd Rundgren LP your dad won’t stop asking for, a copy of Joni Mitchell’s Hejira for your mousy mom, the Prospect Hummer EP your sister wanted but never bought since she spent her birthday money on acid, and cassette tapes of local acts like Gracie and Guerilla Toss to play in your POS Subaru. It’s called Deep Thoughts.
Our only bit of advice? Make sure you leave some records for others because, trust us, you’ll be grabbing everything within reach.
DEEP THOUGHTS. 89 NORFOLK ST., CAMBRIDGE. DEEPTHOUGHTSJP.COM.
