03

The First Crate

Getting Ready

I arrive at A1 Record Shop and the sidewalk is already a stage.

Crates open on the curb: red, blue, gray. Vinyl waiting to be put back into the world.

A dolly leans against the wall. An apron moves between the door and the street.

Inside, the ceiling holds a collage of records, decades deep. The fluorescents are on. The room is quiet.

The first crate goes out. The first sleeve gets a place. Hours before the first customer walks in.

04
The A1 Record Shop storefront — staff in apron emerging through the door with the dolly, crates stacked on the sidewalk.
Getting Ready / IV
05
A street crossing near the shop in harsh morning sun, an elderly woman with a cane passing through.
Getting Ready / IV
06
Staff outside the shop, hand on a tabletop, looking back at a crate of vinyl loaded on a dolly.
Getting Ready / IV
07
Hauling In photograph 2
Getting Ready / IV
08
Macro of a single crate of records, the words 'NARRATED BY BEN GRAUER' visible through the grid.
Getting Ready / IV
09
A customer digging through deep crates of vinyl in side profile.
Getting Ready / IV
10
The Floor Opens photograph 2
Getting Ready / IV
11
The Floor Opens photograph 3
Getting Ready / IV

See you in the racks.