Planet Queen Vintage & Records opens its doors to vinyl, vintage, and vibes
Photo by Gabriel Flynn
Planet Queen Vintage & Records has an interesting spot to fill. Opening up on 209 W Maple Ave in Independence, it is the only record store. Kimmie Queen, the owner, says it’s the only one in that area filling the market.
For those noticing a similarity between the store and that name, that wasn’t entirely intentional. It was actually named after the song “Planet Queen” by T. Rex. The store itself is more than just records though, Queen says, “we really want this to feel like a blast from the past, not just records.” On top of records, the store stocks’ merch, clothes, VHS tapes, and CD’s as well as a few other random things all with a strong vintage feel.
It has the vibe of an old Mom-and-Pop store, and knowing that it’s so handcrafted helps a lot. The store itself was converted from a salon that they redecorated and repainted in preparation.
Queen says, “So I work at Seventh Heaven on Troost, and I’m a vinyl DJ. So I’m one of these people that are just constantly hunting.” The selection in the store is the spoils of the hunt, so to speak.
It features classic artists, some newer stuff, and a special section for local artists such as the Architects. Kimmie says, “When I see something that I know that has value at a good price, I just get it, even if it’s not my flavor.”
Cody Wyoming, Queen’s partner, says “I was just about to watch, you know, Maximum Overdrive, which is a terrible movie. The other night, and we watched it because they’re getting ready to pull it from streaming. And then once it’s gone, like if you don’t have it on VHS, you don’t have it.”
While services like Spotify and Netflix are convenient, it can feel like they pull things off the platform at the most inconvenient times. When dealing with them, you have to deal with everything from licensing agreements, to when they just decide something isn’t worth keeping.
Physical media is a more permanent solution, so long as you take good care of it. No company is going to kick your door in and take your favorite album because they lost the rights to it.
CDs and records aren’t compressed either, so you can get a lot richer sound from them. Unfortunately, compression is inevitable when it comes to streaming and even with a perfect internet connection and the highest quality settings it will still suffer from it. So a shop like Planet Queen Vintage & Records offers a good local shop selling a nostalgic solution to that problem. If you’re looking for something specific or didn’t see it last time you visited their Instagram and Facebook both feature new stock as it comes in. The store itself is open from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
