Portraits of forty closed record stores

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 11 Apr 2011 6:47 pm

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/40-sad-p ... ord-stores

Bill Kellum · Post by **Bill Kellum** » 11 Apr 2011 7:38 pm

This saturday April 16 is Record Store Day. Get out and support your local independent record store!

Billy Tonnesen · Post by **Billy Tonnesen** » 11 Apr 2011 10:10 pm

In the "Hey Day" of Tower Record Stores, one could spend all day browsing through every kind of Music and you never knew what might show up, sometimes in vintage records and casettes. You could meet people having the same interest as yourself. It does not seem the same browsing the Internet.

Marc Jenkins · Post by **Marc Jenkins** » 11 Apr 2011 10:45 pm

Sad stuff! I feel very lucky; in Victoria, our former hole in the walll shop just moved into a new space, which is 4 times the size as the old location. When I popped in, it was insanely busy. Wish it were that way everywhere.

Larry Tracy · Post by **Larry Tracy** » 12 Apr 2011 2:25 pm

I have to agree with some of the responses on the site that were saying some of those places that were being shown have been out of business a long time. I think it would be more productive to show the record stores that are still going strong and new ones that are opening. Vinyl had the biggest increase in sales last year of any format.

Leslie Ehrlich · Post by **Leslie Ehrlich** » 12 Apr 2011 3:15 pm

I guess I'm too young to remember the stand alone independent record store. That must be a 1950s and 1960s thing. I grew up in the 1970s and I bought most of my records at stereo shops and department stores.

Tony Glassman · Post by **Tony Glassman** » 12 Apr 2011 4:45 pm

Love live Amoeba Records, SFX!

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 12 Apr 2011 5:26 pm

Record hunting was something I began doing when I was about 8 years old. My grandfather would take me along to Two Guys department store and we would always end up in the record dept. (he was a musician and a record hunter).

When I was in my teens and into my early 20s, I went record hunting at least 2 days/week. In my 20s it was always in NYC record stores--I knew them all. Those were the best years of my life. I've purchased over 10,000 records, tapes and CDs (my least favorite) in all that time.

It is sad to see the record stores closing, but I have to look on the bright side that now and in the future it may be possible to hear almost everything that was ever recorded via the internet. I have never been an audiophile snob (hell, my love for music was born listening to cardboard record players), so the sound quality of mp3s does not offend me.

I would like to thank everyone everywhere who ever worked in a record store for all the care that they put into such a great thing--your services are very much appreciated.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 12 Apr 2011 6:49 pm

Tony Glassman wrote:Love live Amoeba Records, SFX!

Yes, and Princeton Record Exchange in Princeton, NJ, who seem to be doing just fine - it's loaded with people every time I'm in there.

But one of those pix is a record store here in State College, PA run by friends of mine - Arboria Records. We also lost City Lights Records last year, also friends of mine. I miss them both - with most of the restaurants turning corporate, all the record stores gone, and most of the stores mostly hawking either Penn State sweatshirts or overpriced ugly clothes, and a designer-coffee shop on every corner, I have virtually no reason to go downtown anymore.

FWIW - one of the guys from Arboria now does a brisk ebay business in vintage vinyl.

Another FWIW - the people in the serious record stores have been far more than sales clerks. Many if not most are highly knowledgeable about music, and I discovered a ton of music just hanging around them, which I have done most of my life since early adolescence. Without a question, the internet is a very cool source to discover and investigate all kinds of great music, but it ain't the same as being able to hang out and talk with, and listen to great music with, people - in the flesh - who get it. That is getting harder and harder to do, and it's not a good thing. My opinion, anyway.

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 12 Apr 2011 7:32 pm

Behind me is a rack with 1000+ records. I used to "live" at Aron's Records, on Melrose. Back in the late '70s, I was going through the bins and across from me, also going through the bins, was Emmy Lou Harris. I stopped breathing and almost passed out. I was so taken, I couldn't even mutter a hello, much less an I love you.

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 13 Apr 2011 5:49 am

chas smith wrote:Behind me is a rack with 1000+ records.

Behind me too. It' funny that I very often remember where I bought a certain record and under which circumstance, it's not so with books. I don't want to brag, but in the early seventies I bought a bunch of records at Virgin Records in London, this was then a buy and trade, before the owner R. Branson became an Airline owner. I still have a few of them.
It's sad that so many stores have to close, and also sad that many of the people who worked there may have no perspective.

Larry Tracy · Post by **Larry Tracy** » 13 Apr 2011 1:04 pm

Aquarius records,SF, The Beat in Sacramento, Cherry records, Auburn, Vinyl Solution, San Mateo . All still going. On a sad note up here in Nevada City we lost Gold Rush Records. It wasn't that he was doing bad business wise. The landlord kept raising his rent. Next door to the store was a little bar called the Crazy Horse Saloon(gone too). When we would play happy hour there I would go check out the vinyl in between sets. Always telling myself I would not buy anything but always getting at least 1, usually 2 or 3 albums.

Jim Snowman Mitchell · Post by **Jim Snowman Mitchell** » 13 Apr 2011 1:10 pm

The one in Dayton,Ohio is now reopened. Someone bought it It's also still a record store called Omega Music.

Snowman

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 13 Apr 2011 1:14 pm

In my youth, I worked in 3 different record stores: In Boulder, CO I worked on a record store on the "hill", I helped my cousin open a record store in Erie, PA and I worked at the Sound Warehouse in Austin, TX.

I still remember the days when the new records would come in and how exciting that was. We crack open a copy and put it on. First day I worked in the Boulder store, Miles Davis "Big Fun" album came out.

I also remember the store manager disappearing into the back room with the record distributor.

those were the days.

Ron Anderson · Post by **Ron Anderson** » 13 Apr 2011 2:47 pm

So physical media and the ever inflating gouging cost of it is obsolete.

So what?

Just sayin'

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 13 Apr 2011 3:41 pm

Sam Goody's in Philly, the Coop in Harvard Square, Looney Tunes, Tower in SF, Nashville and Boston, so many of them and so many hours spent and such great memories.

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 13 Apr 2011 9:07 pm

So physical media and the ever inflating gouging cost of it is obsolete.

I just spent $1.29 for a download from iTunes that's a .m4a file that I'll convert to a .mp3 that I'll convert to a .aiff to burn to a cd that will never sound as good as the vinyl record, out of the bins, that cost me $1 or $2 or $3 for 12 tracks. And because I could hold it in my hands and appreciate the art work, it didn't feel like a disposable product.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 14 Apr 2011 2:11 am

I'll bet that almost 50% or more of the records I bought were sound-unheard because I could hold the cover, check out the art or photos and read the liner notes.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 14 Apr 2011 4:07 am

I've never been able to remember the team that won the last Super Bowl or World Series (and I am a big sports fan!), but I could remember the names of everyone who played on many recordings, or which recordings John Abercrombie, for instance, played on. This is how I purchased 50-70% of the thousands of records I bought. Another 20% was because of the artwork.

This was all pre-internet, so the information was not available at your fingertips as easily as it is today. If you were serious about buying records, you did your homework--either that or you spent tons of money. I did both. Tower records in NYC took a substantial chunk of my money, but I loved perusing the used record stores, and there were many! In fact, one of my favorite things to do was go record hunting in different cities--Boston was a favorite.

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 14 Apr 2011 4:49 am

Yes, the joy of record collecting is lost. I remember coming to NYC when I was in college in PA and heading to Sam Goodies: purchasing Harry Partch's Delusion and the Fury, John Cage records. Just to hold those well produced works of art.

It is a joy and pleasure that is just gone now, although with the proliferation of used "vinyl only" stores here in the east village gives you a bit of that sense. But it is not like it was.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 14 Apr 2011 5:49 am

Ron Anderson wrote:So physical media and the ever inflating gouging cost of it is obsolete.

So what?

Just sayin'

I'm with chas - I don't particularly object to mp3, but if available, higher-quality digital or analog is generally around the same money. To me, the main advantages of online are convenience and ability to market more obscure stuff which wouldn't be economically feasible to distribute in physical media.

I also agree about art work and liner notes. OK, it's like having print books. Yes, there are disadvantages to having physical media, but also many advantages. Again, unless one is talking about something so obscure that it isn't marketable in physical media, I really think the big advantage is being able to get it without getting off the couch. Personally, I think we, as a culture, need to do a lot more 'getting off the couch', so I don't see that aspect as 'mostly positive'.

Another issue for me - at a certain level, having info without separate physical media makes the whole process abstract at a certain level - and almost transient (translation: throwaway). I think, at least, that there is a tendency to transiency using this model. If that's what you want, great. It ain't for me.

I'm not worried - I have been picking up literally thousands of old LPs at flea markets for pennies for decades, and filling in holes from vintage vinyl stores. I have more to listen to than I'll ever have time for, and still have sources. At this point, to me, online is mostly a source to discover new material, and I find can usually other ways to get it if I find it worth pursuing.

Still - the biggest loss for me is the lack of venues for local contact with others of like musical mind, and this is happening at a lot of levels. So be it, but I don't have to like it. I also think there is a growing reaction against it. It may never become mainstream, but I'm happy to live in the margins of the music world. I started that way in the 60s, and I'm fine if that's the way it goes now.

The same thing is happening with musical instruments to some extent. It's getting harder and harder to find good music stores that have a reasonable selection of stuff I want to play. Of course, that's always been an issue for pedal steels, but is getting to be more an issue for guitars, amps, and so on.

All this isn't so much an issue for me - I know what I like and have contacts. But what about younger people who now have to rely on online sources?. IMO, this makes for a much tougher time getting face-to-face contact with real sources of knowledge, and not just BS sales hype at the usual big-box stores, either brick/mortar or online? Again, YMMV, but I consider this regression, not forward progress.

Online is great for certain things, but sometimes there's no substitute for in-the-flesh. My opinion, anyway.

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 14 Apr 2011 9:46 am

The mystique of the unheard tracks is fading. It was always fun to bring home a new LP and catch a great tune that hadn't yet made the airwaves.

Paradigm shift, technological cannibalism, obsolescence, call it what you will.

It may be a sign of maturity when one has seen a significant number of technologies born, mature, and die off.

The transistor led to the demise of the telephone operator. Morse code is history. The phone company would prefer to do away with subscriber loops.

There's always a cost to implementing "improvements" to a process.

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 14 Apr 2011 1:26 pm

There's always a cost to implementing "improvements" to a process.

As you recall, back in the mid 80's when the cd "arrived", it was promoted as being a newer and better medium than vinyl. Originally, the whole idea of digital, for film and music, was to facilitate non-linear editing. When the record companies discovered that they could resell all of their music catalogs, that had already paid for themselves, there was a collective priapism and they made a fortune. Except, as we all know now, it was a Pandora's box and enter downloading, where now, nobody has to pay for anything, if they don't want to.

Orville Johnson · Post by **Orville Johnson** » 15 Apr 2011 7:53 am

I'm lucky to still have a great record store in my neighborhood. I don't know how they do it but they always seem busy and have great in store shows. In the last year I've seen Abigail Washburn, Bela fleck and the Sparrow Quartet, Kaki King, and Ben Harper's new band Fistful of Mercy, all 6 blocks from my house and for free!

Like Amoeba, they sell new and used and have a big vinyl section. Check em out if you're in Seattle- Easy Street Records

http://www.easystreetonline.com/

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 15 Apr 2011 11:14 am

I can remember going to Looney Tunes (I think it was) just outside of Harvard Square circa 1982. I traded in about 30 records ... Chuck Berry, 70s movie soundtracks, obscure R&B ... nothing very good. For an even trade, I got four or five really great LPs ... Wes Montgomery's Incredible Jazz Guitar, Grieg's Peer Gint, Amacord Nino Rota (a jazz take on Fellini scores) and a few more I can't recall. What I do remember is the middle aged lady behind the counter looked at everything I was trading in vs what I was taking away in trade and stared me hard in the eye. She seemed half amused and half annoyed - presumably, at losing so many collectible LPs at once. She said, "You - have - very - good- taste, kid."

Fast forward about ten years and I'm in Tower Records. I go up to the clerk (who has about a million tattoos and and as many piercings in some truly painful-looking places) to try to get some help. I had a question about Lee Jeffreiss and Big Sandy. She smiled, walking me over to the right spot and gave me a mini-education in old honky tonk and western swing players (not to mention taught me a good lesson about pre-judging people by the way they look.)

Those were the kinds of interpersonal moments that made record stores so damn great. The internet has been a great place as well but it's not quite the same.

The Steel Guitar Forum

Portraits of forty closed record stores

Portraits of forty closed record stores

Closing Record Stores