Record Shopping With Florence and the Machine

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When she dropped into New York in early April, singer Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine invited Rolling Stone to tag along for an epic record-shopping excursion. On her killer debut album Lungs, Welch delivers piano-pop anthems with an arty, avant-garde bent, so it made sense to head over to Other Music, the independently owned shop that specializes in more obscure, left-of-center records.

Welch managed to find plenty to purchase, including new records from her favorite acts Goldfrapp, Holly Miranda and Liars. Her grand total? Fifty-five bucks. Welch also revisited some of her old favorites and told RS about the impact those records had on her life and work. While eyeing a deluxe edition box set of the Beatles' Abbey Road, Welch said, "This is the first Beatles album I ever heard. And I loved it! For some strange reason I was really anti-Beatles. My step-dad was into the Beatles and my dad was into the Stones. So I was always in the Stones camp, until someone gave me [Abbey Road] for Christmas." Watch the full clip above.

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

More Song Stories entries »

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