I can still remember the overwhelming feeling of awe & excitement the first time I walked into HMV in Oxford Street, in the West End of London as a teenager, then the biggest Music store in the world. It was four or five huge floors of what looked like millions of albums, mostly L.P. records. that I wanted to discover.. an Aladdins cave of gleaming attracting treasures I wanted to hear & own. Saving up & being able to afford to buy even only one LP of either AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath or Motorhead, as I queued up to pay for it in my black leather jacket & band patch covered denim waistcoat with my friends, then investigating the artwork in detail as we opened the gate-fold sleeve LPs to discover the hidden pictures and track listings inside. I can still remember the captivating scent of the brand new, newly printed cover, as I travelled all the way back home again by train just to buy an album, hardly being able to wait to get home and listen to both sides over & over, staring at the cover photos.. We were fortunate to grow up in those times, if you have experienced what todays youth will not..when music was so appreciated and its artists and albums revered.. now kids just download or stream music through the air in an instant, while sitting on the toilet if they want.. Its just not the same any more.. no understanding of the value of music, its process of creation. the sacrifices needed to acquire it or the respect it once commanded.. Now this HMV store, this enormous legendary institution packed full of alluring musical jewels I wanted to discover, is closing after 30 years of business to make way for a sports store.. another example of how music and the world that expects it to so easily be attainable with far less worth, has lost a seemingly irretrievable part of its soul.. sad really... :)
Posted on: Tue, 14 Jan 2014 22:34:25 +0000
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