There are a few very valid reasons to be nervous about playing an in-store at Origami Vinyl; loading gear in up its perilous spiral staircase, the remote chance of plummeting off the loft into the crowd, Ali the Boxer dog witholding hugs in judgment of your set. (Full disclosure: I've played at Origami Records in my other life as a drummer, and received Ali hugs.)

We may never truly know why Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi pulled the ripcord on his planned acoustic record-store tour after playing Origami last month (he cited paralyzing nervousness at the set's intimacy, which was unexpected for a singer who headlines the world's biggest venues with Sigur Rós). But Origami and director Jack Schlinkert just posted two gorgeous clips from the show, each of songs from Jónsi's recent solo album, "Go." His otherworldly falsetto is pristine and betrays no trace of what he was feeling at the time, so enjoy these clips as the best evidence that a show like this actually happened, because it apparently won't happen again.

-- August Brown

Superchunk - Digging For Something from Merge Records on Vimeo.

Superchunk, the perennial heroes of purist indie rock from the hills of North Carolina, will be diving right into the belly of the beast on Oct. 19 at noon. Which beast, which belly?

The raw intestinal gorge of the hipster corridor, located approximately 2,040 nautical miles* from the prime meridian at 1816 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles.

Origami Vinyl just announced that Superchunk, currently on tour in support of its first new album in nine years, "Majesty Shredding," will be performing an all-acoustic set of songs in the record store's loft, typically the province of the kind of band that Superchunk lovingly spoofs in the video above for "Digging for Something."

The video, directed by former Daily Show writer Scott Jacobson, shows Mac McCaughan forging on with Superchunk 2.0 (played by Merge labelmates the Love Language), now outfitted in an array of neon sunglasses. Meanwhile, his former band members distract themselves with second-stage careers in dentistry, ceramics and bliss-chasing. When Laura Ballance sees a flier for "Superchunk! (Feat. One Original Member)," she leads a take-back of their old band, luring away one player with... well, we won't spoil it but it's good and hurts only a little.

In order to get yourself into the show, you have to buy "Majesty Shredding," which, in a sure sign that it's not 1999, debuted at #85 on the Billboard Top 200, or the reissues of Superchunk classics "No Pocky for Kitty" and "On the Mouth." There's only 40 spots; if things go wrong, we could see a tiny Altamont on our hands ... but instead of blood, maybe just tomato sauce from Two Boots Pizza next door.

If you can't squeeze into the wee record store, there are other opportunities to see the band. One: Matador's 21st birthday party in Las Vegas next weekend. Two: Henry Fonda, also Oct. 19.

--Margaret Wappler

*That would be a totally made-up figure, yes.

A year and a half ago, I found an errant UPS delivery slip outside a gutted storefront on Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park. It was addressed to an "Origami Music," and we speculated accordingly about its enticing provenance.

A year ago this weekend, Origami Vinyl threw its doors open to rapturous local (and international) vinyl vermin, and it quickly established itself at the heart of young Echo Park as both a practical alternative to Amoeba and as a hangout for fans of indie, punk, folk and garage rock at their in-store performances.

On Saturday, they're taking a well-earned victory lap with an anniversary party with sets from wistful rockers Summer Darling, gloomy noiseniks Twilight Sleep and the all-girl Southern goth group Kissing Cousins, among others. Shows get started at 4 p.m., and feel free to hassle Neil about when the heck they're going to get that used section in there.

-August Brown

Photo by Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Last May, Neil Schield was laid off from IODA, a digital music distribution company. Schield knows the grim state of the music economy as well as anyone, and no one would fault him of steering wide and clear of the business of selling songs in the future.

So Schield's forthcoming venture into a retail business -- one devoted entirely to selling vinyl records -- feels as if it falls somewhere between absolutely crazy and completely insane. But Origami Vinyl, the soon to open brick-and-mortar arm of Schield's record label, tucked in a dizzyingly gentrifying strip of Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park, might just be crazy enough to work. 

"It's the only corner of the physical music business that's growing," Schield said over a pint of craft ale at nearby cafe Masa. "I've lived in this neighborhood for eight years, and I've always been inspired by how much people here know about music and want to spend money on it."