Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Rocks in Your Head SoHo is Dead
By
Jacob Dobkin
Published Apr 29, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jacob Dobkin
Published Apr 29, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The last vestige of 1970s SoHo is about to disappear: Rocks in Your Head, the record store on Prince Street, is closing after twenty-eight years of business. Manhattan's loss is Brooklyn's gain: the store is moving to North 5th and Roebling Street in Williamsburg. The Villager reports:
“I’ve been losing money for the last few years, and the rents being what they are, business hasn’t been good,” Barouch said on Monday. “The name of retail is location, location, and when the location’s not any good, that’s why we’re moving.
“I’ve been complaining about Soho for 20 years,” he said. “This used to be an interesting neighborhood. When I first opened, I could stand on the street and at least half the people walking by were potential customers and interested in music. Now, it’s much less. Hopefully, Williamsburg’s a cooler neighborhood.”
The store’s rent is currently $5,000 a month, up from $300 a month in 1978.
A few years back we got rid of all of our Morrissey and Smiths CDs-- Rocks in Your Head bought them for $3/each. That was like $200! Come to think of it, that was right around the time we opened Gothamist-- some of that money probably paid for hosting costs of the site. So without Rocks in Your Head, you probably wouldn't be reading this right now. Weird!
We'll probably need to raise some money again soon, so does anyone have a suggestion for a new used record place below Houston Street?
Tagged
brooklyn
cds
gothamist
houston
houston street
manhattan
maps
money
morrissey
Music
people
prince
prince street
soho
The Villager
When I
williamsburg
Jacob Dobkin
Jake Dobkin co-founded Gothamist with Jen Chung. In 2019, Jake released Ask a Native New Yorker, a book based on his Gothamist advice column.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Can New York City's playground gyms solve my mid-life crisis?
If I start doing bodyweight strength exercises now, I could postpone the day where it becomes really painful to bend down and pick stuff up.
By
James Ramsay
Published Sep 10, 2026
Standing on the Corner's music honors the ghosts of New York City
The group's frontman Gio Escobar met Gothamist at the 9/11 Memorial to explain the inspiration behind the experimental collective’s new album that, ironically, feels so full of life.
By
Sonia Rao
Arts & Entertainment
Standing on the Corner's music honors the ghosts of New York City
The group's frontman Gio Escobar met Gothamist at the 9/11 Memorial to explain the inspiration behind the experimental collective’s new album that, ironically, feels so full of life.
By
Sonia Rao
Brooklyn Public Library launches first ever craft library
By
Hannah Frishberg
'The Real Housewives of New York City' is back, and so is Carole Radziwill
By
Eddie Mouradian
A lost archive of NYC 9/11 street art memorials comes back online
By
Hannah Frishberg
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .