To all of our friends and valued customers: greetings and happy holidays!

If you have not heard, changes are coming to Rainbow Music & Books! As some of you have expressed various concerns to us about this, we would like to take a minute to let you know about the upcoming plans for our (and your!) store.
Over the next couple of months, Rainbow Music & Books will be renovating and moving to the back half of our current retail space at 54 E. Main Street, making room for Switch Skate & Snow (currently located at 16 Haines Street) to move into the front half of the store. In the process of doing this, we will be announcing several special sales and promotions, which will be advertised and announced via our e-mail list (subscribe on our website, www.rainbow-online.com) and our Facebook/Twitter pages.
No major changes will happen until after the start of the New Year. We will be closed for renovations and shifting and sorting of inventory for most of January. Look for special hours of operation (and some pretty incredible sales!). We have a projected grand re-opening date (for both Rainbow and Switch) of February 1, 2011.
Upon re-opening, we will continue to offer an extensive selection of new & used CDs, LPs, DVDs & books, and will continue our special order services at no extra cost. Further, all gift certificates and trade credit will remain valid and acceptable (unless, of course, you lose them!), and we will still be accepting trade-ins.
Though the floor space will be smaller, this move will allow us (in spite of the difficult economy and a difficult industry) to continue to serve the community as we have since 1978. We are all very excited and enthusiastic about this move, and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask any of the staff.

We just sale priced a ton of NEW CDs and have placed them on specially marked sale racks. There is a ton of amazing stuff, and most of it is priced at $9.99 or less!

There has been a TON of used stuff coming across the counter this summer. So much in fact, that there is not enough room for it on the floor. So we need you to help us out. To help you help us, ALL USED CDs, DVDs, Books, and LPs are 25% off this FRIDAY, SATURDAY, and SUNDAY. As a little added bonus…all NEW VINYL will also be 15% off (lowest marked price) the whole weekend!

We just got a grip of new posters in, many of which we’ve never had before. My favorites are either the cover of Joy Division’s Closer, or a super awesome portrait of Nick Cave (is anyone else excited about the new Grinderman album, BTW?). ANYWAY, you need to check them out. For real.

Hey folks – It has been a long, hot, slow summer here on Main St.  After careful consideration, we have decided that in order to maintain the level of service that our wonderful customers (that’s you) have come  to expect and deserve we will have to shorten the number of hours we are open, slightly.  Starting tomorrow Monday, August 23 the new store hours will be as follows:

Monday-Thursday  11am-7pm

Friday  11am-8pm

Saturday 10am-8pm

Sunday 11am-5pm (no change)

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but it is a necessary measure to ensure that we will be here for you for years to come.  Thank you for your continued support.  We will see you soon!

P.S.  As a reminder:  We validate parking if you park in a City of Newark lot!  Just ask for validation when you check out.

Ray Lamontagne – God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise
CD $12.99

“As the album’s title suggests, it’s a country-tinged record complete with slide guitar and the occasional banjo. The songs conjure images of a simple life of hammock naps and skillet-cooked breakfasts within a universe devoid of cell phones, laptops and televisions.” – Full Review

David Gray – Foundling
CD $11.99

“The customary bleak introspection (“Take me down, take me down,” he sighs, preparing for the worst, on Davey Jones’ Locker) is there, as is the neediness in his jagged voice, especially on the bloodily raw When I Was in Your Heart. ” – Full Review

Iron Maiden – Final Frontier
CD $11.99

“Here we are, some 35 years after Iron Maiden began creating a legacy which the band never set out to make for itself, and the group sounds as tight and energetic as it ever has. Not only that, but Iron Maiden is making music that is—shocking for a band of its age—honestly relevant in the grand scheme its genre; if you were to take away Maiden at this point in time, the band would leave a hole in today’s metal scene, not just the metal scene in general.” – Full Review

John Mellencamp – No Better Than This
CD $13.99

“Whatever you think of Mellencamp, this is the kind of record that will compel a re-evaluation, an out-of-leftfield shot that mostly works because of its modesty, shagginess and humor – qualities not normally associated with the singer in the past.” – Full Review

When I first heard the title for this latest ‘Crowes release my eyes rolled in the back of my head, thinking it was another “greatest hits” record. And while it IS to certain extent, the album is actually a recently recorded studio album of the band playing their favorites, stripped down and acoustic. Check out the stream and swing by to pick up a copy (or if you’re the lazy type download it!)