It was just a joke. A couple of weeks ago, I laughed with my boyfriend that he has a vested reason to hope for a Kamala Harris victory in November, noting that the vice president and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, are "both big vinyl heads." Harris likes to visit record stores around the country and Walz geeks out about turntables on social media. And my partner, Marc Faletti, owns a record store called Latchkey in Philadelphia. "Having the leaders of the free world talk up the joys of collecting records would be a boon to your business," I said to him, only half-kidding.
"Wouldn't it be wild," I added, "If the campaign had a stop at your store?"
We live in a swing state in a city only a stone's throw from Harris campaign headquarters after all. Plus, his South Philly store would be a perfect stop for the joy-themed Harris-Walz campaign, since the atmosphere is chill and inviting, as opposed to the "High Fidelity" stereotype of the judgemental record store clerk. So of course I thought that he was pulling my leg Tuesday afternoon when he texted me that the Secret Service had arrived at his store to set up for the imminent arrival of Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff. But, as surprised as I was, it made perfect sense. Harris was in town for the evening's debate against Donald Trump. Emhoff had been hitting all the stops around the city to campaign for his wife.
Marc had no prior knowledge of the surprise visit. (Salon has no affiliation with the campaign event.)
"Ben, my clerk, noticed a Secret Service guy casing the joint," Marc told me after Emhoff and his companion, Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., visited. "It turns out that a customer who had come in previously and was asking for a bunch of help was actually part of the campaign. She was scouting us to see if we were the type of shop that would be a good fit." Secret Service, Marc noted, even found a parking spot right in front of the store, "which in South Philly, as you know, never happens."
Once inside, Emhoff and Newsom "asked a couple of questions about the shop, but mostly they just wanted to talk about music," Marc told me. "Doug wanted to see all of our New Wave," and picked up "Brotherhood" by New Order and the eponymous first album by the Stone Roses.
The governor of California and possible future First Gentleman noticed that Latchkey has a genre section cheekily named "Soft/Dad/Yacht Rock." It's where artists like Robert Palmer, Billy Joel, and Hall & Oates are stashed, for those seeking a soundtrack for grilling on a Sunday afternoon while sipping Yuengling.
"We had a great conversation about whether 'dad rock' or 'yacht rock' are insulting terms for the genre or not," Marc said. "The consensus is that it's slightly mystifying to the Gen Xers, but they didn't seem too frustrated by it ... They were just surprised how many artists they like were in that category," he added, noting that there was an engaging debate over whether Eric Clapton counts as so-called dad rock rather than the standard classic rock.
"So Gavin Newsom might have helped us rearrange the shop a little."
Emhoff asked Marc about some of the store's bestsellers. "Doug immediately gravitated towards Chappell Roan and a couple of his younger staff encouraged that as a very good choice. So he went for it." Newsom grabbed a Miles Davis record after going straight to the jazz section.
The outing is part of the larger history of Harris and Walz publicly sharing their love of vinyl records. Harris herself regularly makes a point of going to local record stores and gushing to nearby cameras about her purchases, such as this bobblehead of George Clinton.
It was a joy to make a surprise stop by Della Soul Records in Michigan and look at their impressive vinyl collection.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 24, 2024
I'm always willing to teach the press about George Clinton and Bootsy Collins. pic.twitter.com/od0GD6aaSd
And Walz has proudly shown off his enthusiasm for the controversially named "dad rock" while hyping Electric Fetus in Minneapolis. (Which was also a favorite haunt of Prince before he passed away.)
Electric Fetus for the win. Shop local for your vinyl. pic.twitter.com/D0YUU3TIZI
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) December 29, 2023
"People who love vinyl tend to pay attention to the little things," Marc said after Emhoff and Newsom left with their records. "It's a really good sign when you have people who aren't just interested in the surface level of things, but they go deep on the things that they love."
"I want people who listen to vinyl in the White House," he said. "We need leaders who have that emotional connection to things they care about."
