Joliet had a fabulous independent record store when I moved here 10 years ago. Crows Nest was located in Crest Hill just right up Rt 30 from where I live. I bought The Hives Walk Idiot Walk as a limited 7 from them when I first moved here and I was giddy that I got a Hives plastic bag for it! I also bought several music DVDs as gifts for other people and countless albums. I remember thinking that it reminded me of the Music Millennium store in SE Portland because the shelves and racks of CDs and DVDs went up to the ceiling. You were surrounded by music when you were in that space, and it was sorta magical. Now its a Once Upon a Child store. I love the convenience of my iPod, but I rarely buy music as a digital download. I need a physical item. I love records and CDs. I love the size, I love the art, and I love being able to hold the music in my hands. I love buying a CD the day it comes out, and it is still my habit to sit down in my living room and listen to a new Morrissey CD all day long while I read the liner notes over and over like I did when I was a teen. I dont think I will make it to Record Store Day today. Crows Nest closed within a year of my moving here. We dont even have the FYE store at the mall anymore. We have Walmart and Target. We have Best Buy. We have stores that only sell the most mainstream and popular releases. It is the definition of homogeny and hegemony. Offer the kids only what you want them to buy and they will because its the only thing they can. Then chastise them when they get a little bit older, discover theyve been duped, and download it Illegally. But what option did you give them? They dont think of it as stealing and they dont think of it as hurting anyone because they never met the folks at Crows Nest, Reckless Records, Amoeba Records, Music Millennium, Cheapos, Ernie Novembers, Let it Be Records, Tune Town, Northern Lights Music, The Electric Fetus, or Manseaus Range Music--the stores that introduced me to incredible music over the years. All the kids know today is the nameless, faceless, characterless big box retailers, iTunes, and Amazon. Im so fortunate to have grown up with amazing independent record stores and I miss having one close to home. I would be at Reckless today if I didnt have to drive 85 minutes to get there and pay $10 to park. I even miss Musicland, Sam Goody, Tower, and Virgin. Even though they were corporate, their employees were music lovers like me. They were knowledgable, and passionate, and they made sure there was variety and we had options. They didnt reduce us to the lowest, most popular, and most profitable denominator.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 16:10:20 +0000
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