Proper music shops |
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lazland
Prog Reviewer Joined: October 28 2008 Location: Wales Status: Offline Points: 13372 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 12:30 | ||
I started off in the true vinyl era, and still cherish these and fondly remember browsing through LPs in my old local record shop. In fact, I have recently started converting a pile of them to digital files.
However, I buy the majority of music these days as downloads. The end result that is important is the music, not the format, and, anyway, I fail to see how buying a metal disc in a plastic case can be remotely romantic. Turning to a couple of other points regarding generational issues, by and large this is true. When television started, old farts condemned it as inferior to radio. Of course, radio itself was condemned as being the precursor to the death of live concert music. Vinyl records of jazz, blues, and rock & roll were condemned as heathen music designed in a format purely to corrupt our poor innocent kids. If you live in Britain, you will still see the Daily Mail & Express spouting such bollocks in the form of gaming machines and the internet. We move on, and I'm glad we do. |
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Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org
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harmonium.ro
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: August 18 2008 Location: Anna Calvi Status: Offline Points: 22989 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 12:11 | ||
It does make a difference when what you see in a shop at a price of usually around 20 euros can be bought online for 9.8 euros.
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questionsneverknown
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 22 2009 Location: Ultima Thule Status: Offline Points: 602 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 12:04 | ||
Gosh, is music expensive in Kobaia? That's depressing. I would have thought that cosmic apocalypse would have really helped adjust the pricing index. |
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The damage that we do is just so powerfully strong we call it love
The damage that we do just goes on and on and on but not long enough. --Robyn Hitchcock |
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questionsneverknown
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 22 2009 Location: Ultima Thule Status: Offline Points: 602 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 12:01 | ||
Interesting article. Fascinating study of the power of touch. I have to say, though, that I get a little bugged (and this is now the crotchety collector in me speaking) by all these anti-clutter nutters. Having stuff doesn't necessarily make one a hoarder. I think I'm still all twitchy from watching an episode of How Clean is Your House?, or a show of that ilk, when the host said, "Why do you have all these books? Once you've read a book, get rid of it." Does that strike anybody else as criminally insane? Being a hoarder is a neurosis, but so is being a compulsive neatnik. (Boy was that a digression!) |
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The damage that we do is just so powerfully strong we call it love
The damage that we do just goes on and on and on but not long enough. --Robyn Hitchcock |
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Pelata
Forum Senior Member Joined: January 04 2010 Location: NC-USA Status: Offline Points: 364 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 11:59 | ||
I love browsing...but yeah, I always end up buying stuff I wasn't necessarily looking for to begin with...
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harmonium.ro
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: August 18 2008 Location: Anna Calvi Status: Offline Points: 22989 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 11:48 | ||
Browsing in stores is great fun, there is no question about this. And some stores sell not only music and books, but more: lifestyle. Some such places have marked my life for the better.
Browsing in stores is bad because it makes you buy stuff you weren't initially interested in. A direct attack at the wallet. Buying online is good because it always provides cheaper options. This is important, especially when living in a place where music is very expensive. These are my main thoughts on the matter. Based on them, I prefer having both options available. |
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A Person
Forum Senior Member Joined: November 10 2008 Location: __ Status: Offline Points: 65760 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 11:41 | ||
Here is the article I was talking about.
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toroddfuglesteg
Forum Senior Member Retired Joined: March 04 2008 Location: Retirement Home Status: Offline Points: 3658 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 11:33 | ||
I believe this is a generation thing. I am from a generation (middle age & putrid) where some of the highlights of our social scene was going to a record store and meeting new friends there. Some I am still friends with, two-three decades later. I gladly admit that one of my daydreams from that time was going into a record store and buying 100 new records....... make that, cassettes. That daydream would probably be my nightmare now, with well over 300 albums stacked up against the walls and on an external hard-disc, waiting to be reviewed. Yes, the internet scene is so much easier now with Myspace and their listening samples. Due to storage space problems, I also prefer my albums bought as downloads. Then again, I do not have time to go to a record shop these days. I believe both the new more hectic lifestyles and the digital downloads, on a 50/50 percentage wise basis, has killed the record stores. The world are a changing. I have yet to decide if I like these changes.
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A Person
Forum Senior Member Joined: November 10 2008 Location: __ Status: Offline Points: 65760 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 11:24 | ||
I don't understand why browsing a physical store is any better than online, but there are no music stores locally so I'm not really an expert. I have read that the more you touch things the more attached you become to them, maybe that is why I'm so indecisive shopping for things in a physical store. |
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WalterDigsTunes
Forum Senior Member Joined: September 11 2007 Location: SanDiegoTijuana Status: Offline Points: 4373 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 11:06 | ||
Sterile digital illusions on a pixelated screen are a waste of time, and until the postman delivers the circular object that contains the music, no experience has taken place. This dire substitute is unfortunately becoming the norm. Unless you're privileged to have access to the real deal, it's pretty much the only option you have. What a crummy substitute...
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verslibre
Forum Senior Member Joined: July 01 2004 Location: CA Status: Offline Points: 15453 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 10:58 | ||
I'm not a vinyl collector, and I don't think it's over. Vinyl's been enjoying a nice, if limited, resurgence in the last few years.
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verslibre
Forum Senior Member Joined: July 01 2004 Location: CA Status: Offline Points: 15453 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 10:56 | ||
I think you're merely too used to the "convenience" that online shopping has misled everyone to believe is standard. Browsing through music in a store, or doing the same for books or whatever your passion is, well, "doing it online" just isn't quite the same. There is but one independent music store that is surviving in my region, that has been operating for over three decades. Even the chain stores are gone (Best Buy and Walmart and Target don't count).
I'm sorry you think realtime browsing is a tremendous waste of time. Everyone else I know, online or offline, thinks otherwise.
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Lozlan
Forum Senior Member Joined: December 09 2009 Location: New Mexico Status: Offline Points: 536 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 10:38 | ||
When I was a kid, the best part of any family vacation was finding the local music store and spending a few good, solid hours browsing through their selection. Stores in different towns would carry different albums, I remember; it took me two years to find a shop that was actually selling Queen's Innuendo album. I also remember stumbling across the double-disc package of Styx's third and fourth albums, The Serpent Is Rising and Man of Miracles. Really the best was when you could go to the store and 'discover' that one of your favorite bands had released something new; that was how I found Somewhere to Elsewhere, the last Kansas album. It was a VERY happy day.
Be that as it may, I too grew up in the wake of vinyl, and have only recently discovered how wonderful it is. Thankfully we have two incredibly excellent, incredibly old-school record shops here in Bloomington. I also love digging through antique shops - found a pristine pressing of Love Beach once. However, concerning the wonderful sensation of dabbling through a used album section, and every once an a while stumbling on a diamond in the rough...yes, I do miss that, very much. I have far greater access to the music that I love nowadays, but I do get achingly nostalgic for those old cross-country album hunts. |
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Progosopher
Forum Senior Member Joined: May 12 2009 Location: Coolwood Status: Offline Points: 6402 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 10:34 | ||
I used to peruse the local shops almost on a weekly basis when I was a teenager. My college years compelled me to be less active, but I still went down frequently. Fortunately, I live in an area where there are a number of good stores left, which offer both new and used selections. I can also order virtually anything I am looking for from them. At the same time, there was a period of time not too long ago when a lot of the local independents went under. I took advantage of their clearance sales, but it was still sad. The biggest tragedy was loosing Tower Records, especially the flagship store which was second only to their store on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles. Now that was a store that offered selection! At the moment, there are three locals I go to regularly, one a small chain, and the other two stand-alone, one of which has a separate prog section, albeit a small one. The owner is a prog fan, so he knows what he's talking about.
As to browsing, I think it's fun, but it does take a lot ot time, (But isn't that always the case? Even browsing online takes time, even if you know what you are looking for.) especially when you're as obsessed as I am. There is a certain joy, not appreciated by everyone, in finding that rarity you hardly expected to see, or to take a chance on something that looks good only to find that it is. There's a risk, of course, because sometimes it's not good, which is why I appreciate it when the stores allow you to listen. Before my time, in the 50s and 60s, a lot of record stores, selling vinyl of course, had listening booths, so you could sample the wares. Those disappeared in the 70s, but of course listening stations have returned. I also have a couple of prog buddies I go shopping with on rare occasions, making those trips a nice treat.
In a nutshell, I am fortunate enough to have local shops, but I do live in the 21st century, hard as I try not to at times, so I do get quite a bit online.
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The world of sound is certainly capable of infinite variety and, were our sense developed, of infinite extensions. -- George Santayana, "The Sense of Beauty"
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questionsneverknown
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 22 2009 Location: Ultima Thule Status: Offline Points: 602 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 10:14 | ||
Nicely put, and I completely agree. To add the obvious, one of the great advantages of actual stores is the potential community. Talking to knowledgeable clerks, getting recommendations, chatting with other shoppers--that's all been part of some of the best experiences I've had.
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The damage that we do is just so powerfully strong we call it love
The damage that we do just goes on and on and on but not long enough. --Robyn Hitchcock |
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questionsneverknown
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 22 2009 Location: Ultima Thule Status: Offline Points: 602 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 10:09 | ||
Oh I can't tell you how much I miss the days of record shops. I grew up surrounded by great shops, both in England and the US, and, like the OP, I spent hours and hours of my most valuable formative years in those places. Whenever I have traveled anywhere I always thought I could get a real taste of a town by checking out its record shops and bookstores. Nearly impossible to do now. Although I am doing my best in trying not to get too depressed about it all these days, I still can't quite believe that I would live to see the death of music stores and book stores. I rarely buy downloads (so deeply, deeply unsatisfying), and the experience of shopping online, for me, is a poor, poor substitute. Ah well, it's the world we're in. Luckily, for now, I still have a few good places left where I live now.
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The damage that we do is just so powerfully strong we call it love
The damage that we do just goes on and on and on but not long enough. --Robyn Hitchcock |
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The Hemulen
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 31 2004 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 5964 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 10:02 | ||
Ever the iconoclast, eh Henry? I know I shouldn't bother, but here goes...
Some people enjoy it. Is doing something you enjoy a tremendous waste of time?
Not true. A decent record store will always have a CD player and some headphones at the ready for a customer wanting to check something out. I spent a very pleasant afternoon in a little store in Newcastle a few months ago working my way through a pile of Japanese oddities, some of them recommended to me by the store owner, before settling on which ones to purchase. Additionally, often a record store 'discovery' comes from noticing an album you've already seen other people mention favourably (on PA, for example) and taking a punt on it. Yeah, it's a bit of a gamble, but not a huge one and it's a great way to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, which is a healthy thing to do now and again.
Nor am I, I'm just acknowledging that the internet has certain limitations. Buying music in a proper record store is a unique experience which a lot of people enjoy. Let us have our fun, you tedious misanthrope. |
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thellama73
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: May 29 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 8368 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 09:55 | ||
If I want to order something, I'll generally order it from the record shop directly. They can usually get it there within a day or two. I can't always do that and sometimes do turn to amazon, but I prefer to support my local brick and mortar stores if I can.
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Slartibartfast
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / In Memoriam Joined: April 29 2006 Location: Atlantais Status: Offline Points: 29625 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 09:54 | ||
I love the internet for sampling stuff. But if you've never experienced the sublime pleasures of browsing at a local store and finding something unexpected I feel sorry for you.
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Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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TODDLER
Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: August 28 2009 Location: Vineland, N.J. Status: Offline Points: 3126 |
Posted: September 29 2010 at 09:53 | ||
I personally miss it. The beauty of calling a shop by phone, asking for them to hold a copy of a Gong cd (for example), and walking or driving ten minutes to pick it up. It's a very quick method of obtaining a must title unfortunately, that concept of speedy delivery is not realized today. Amazon has taken over. The few independently owned shops in my area advertise and sell on Amazon. When you walk into the shop, there are packages on the counter that are being mailed out and are part of Amazon sales. It was a bit of a drag in the 70's when the shop's policy was to not hold items and then someone would get there first,....which would leave you with the only option of special ordering the item. Apart from that, I miss record shops.
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