How fitting that “R” should fall on April 20th, as it happens to be the 6th Annual Record Store Day! I couldn’t imagine the A to Z Music-Fan Connection being complete without a mention of record stores.
CAN YOU IDENTIFY THIS?
If so, you undoubtedly remember the glory days of The Record Store. Row after row of inviting cover art, of gleaming jewel cases. Tunes cranking over the loudspeakers as you meandered through the music landscape. Sales people who were just as gaga and geeked out over bands as you were.
You probably spent many an hour, as I did, sifting through bins at your local shop. You might’ve even had a system as you mined for LP or CD gold: I would always hit the misc. I, M, and S sections, before skimming from A to Z. New, used, imports – the thrill of the hunt and the Holy Grail moment when you would come upon a rarity, a long-searched for favorite. It was such a magical feeling to walk out with a brand new release the day it hit the shelves. Those were the days, right?
Now we have a day, singular, devoted to those glory days. A day when the last vestiges of brick-and-mortar music stores stand as proud as veteran warriors who survived the battle. Today is the day they rise, decked out in their finery, as we the people salute and applaud them. Ambassadors bow to them. And hundreds of artists humbly offer up their exclusive, limited releases and pay homage with in-store performances. Viva la Record Store Day!
But a moment of silence for the fallen. We lost Bleecker Bob’s last week. This Greenwich Village landmark was in business for over 40 years. Making way for a frozen yogurt store, rumor has it.
RIP, Bleecker Bob’s
Do you have a favorite record store? A great record store memory? Your most amazing record store find? Feel free to spin a tale and share here! Want to re-live the glory days? Search for participating stores near you!
Thank you for the reminder of many a youthful day spent enjoying the ambiance of the old record stores. It really is a shame.
You’re welcome, and thank YOU for stopping by. I agree, it is a shame…yet inevitable, I guess.
Oh the record shop .. what a lovely post I enjoyed reading thank you from a fellow A to Zer http://www.talesfromtedium.wordpress.com
Thanks for stopping by – glad you enjoyed it! Little daily dose of retro for “R”!
I hold on with tattered finger tips to the pleasure of flipping through crates of discarded basement collections and yard sale detritus…:)
Sounds like poetry to me, Fran! 🙂
Yes, i remember those. Yes, i had a favorite, any record store not in a mall was a favorite. They are all gone now around here. The only stores left around here are the ones that also sell DVDs and comic books. Or the small music section of a large bookstore.
Jack White, this year’s RSD Ambassador: “Years ago someone told me that 1,200 high school kids were given a survey. A question was posed to them: Have you ever been to a stand-alone record shop? The number of kids that answered “yes” was … zero. ” How scary is that?