Birdel’s Records, Joe Long’s Brooklyn music shop, “where a young Notorious B.I.G. honed his chops listening to James Brown and Temptations records,” will close this Friday. The store opened in 1944, and it tried to close two years ago before locals demanded it stay open. However, amid the decline of album sales, Long is really closing up shop this time. Still, don’t be too sad for him: Long’s immediate plans include traveling “far from New York,” to Aruba or Ghana. [City Room/NYT]
