Record Store Day - False Nostalgia?
It's not often these days that the NME writes brave and thoughtful pieces, but Luke Lewis's blog post this week about Record Store Day qualifies. Today (Saturday) is Record Store Day, an international collaboration between independent record shops which will include in-store performances and exclusive releases to try to encourage music fans away from their computers, and back into their shops. By now you're probably thinking - surprise surprise, this Amazon guy's going to say he prefers buying music online! But please hear me out - I write only as a music fan who buys music from a variety of places, some online, but often not. Record stores are great to browse in, and it's always exciting to be able to take a CD home and play it right away. But I think Luke Lewis is right when he says there's a lot of "false nostalgia" about record stores.
The regular story goes that record shops are more than just shops. Geoff Travis, founder of one of the UK's most famous record stores Rough Trade, told The Skinny this month that "A record store is a meeting place for the exchange of music, fanzines, ideas and culture. I believe that people like to leave the house and have somewhere convivial to go where they meet kindred spirits and share some music and some life." Kevin Buckle, founder of Scottish indie shop Avalanche, said in the same article: "There may also be other ways of discovering music but none are as effective as getting a good recommendation from a shop."
(there's a bit of swearing in this clip, and a wholly unnecessary flash of Jack Black's backside over his trousers. Eugh.)
Well, I've never had a recommendation from a shop, and even if I did, why would I trust it more than a recommendation from a friend, or from any other music fan? Online I can browse music blogs and forums, fanzine reviews, newspaper reviews, even review aggregators like Metacritic, to find a multitude of opinions about a multitude of records. Moreover, I can listen to previews of the songs, or even go somewhere like MySpace or YouTube to listen to full tracks. It's always easy to take a "things were better in the old days" attitude, but music fans have never been able to make more informed decisions about their purchases than they can now. And, of course, you can shop around for the best price now without having to cross town several times.
I suspect Geoff Travis is just remembering his own shop in its 70s heyday in that quote. But there's a reason Rough Trade has such an enduring reputation - because shops like it are few and far between. Mostly, if you want to meet like-minded people, you go to a bar or a gig, not a shop.
Of course, I don't want record stores to close down. I've spent many happy hours trawling through endless boxes of records, or flicking through CD racks looking for that specific album I really need to hear right away. Clearly, online and offline music stores have different pros and cons and I really hope, despite the economic downturn and the fall in CD sales, that both can continue to serve music fans. But let's not get too misty eyed about a romantic notion of what record stores are when it isn't very close to reality.
The NME blog post was also discussed on Idolator.
Peter Hilgendorf on April 21, 2009 at 05:02 PM
Follow-up:
According to first-hand reports from shop owners I communicate with, the only nostalgia going on will be remembering April 18th, 2009 as their most successful ever. And one store in particular has been in business since 1989.
RSD II. Mission Accomplished.
Ally Brown on April 20, 2009 at 05:29 AM
Hey Peter, points taken, I really didn't mean to rain on anyone's parade. It's just my own personal opinion, that's all, I had read the other articles mentioned and thought it was an interesting discussion. And then I got told off by a friend about this on Saturday night, so I know it's not an entirely agreeable point of view! But then, I did say a few nice things about record stores, and I visited one yesterday and came out significantly poorer, so some of them are doing things right!
Dave W on April 20, 2009 at 02:48 AM
The record store experience is/was subjective. Even within the same shop over a period of years. Granted it has been quite some time since I have set foot in a record store but I, and many times several friends would take road trips to record stores outside of our area. Not only for their selection but the experience. Stores with huge used/cut-out sections, racks of "zines" that you would otherwise find. Also the employees who would turn us on to stuff we wouldn't necessarily find or think to pick up.
Yes, the standard smug record store staff could be a factor. But that was fun too. Luckily over a period of years the local store had some good people who were nothing of the sort, at least to me. Maybe I spent enough cash, maybe I had the right smug about me...
Maybe it's my age, maybe it's my tastes in music or just the convenience of the internet. But I, nor anyone I know has any use for a brick and mortar record store...
Benjamin Lukoff on April 19, 2009 at 09:47 PM
Goodterling, there DID use to be these things called singles. Labels killed them, not indie retail. Now, if your feelings about record stores are based on your experiences this decade and in, say, the second half of last, I can understand that.. As for the "Music Meritocracy," I guess that explains Miley Cyrus, the Black Eyed Peas, and Lady GaGa being atop Amazon's MP3 charts right now.
Oh, and back to the original post — you wouldn't necessarily trust a random record store clerk's opinion. But if you were a regular patron of a store, you might — just like you wouldn't necessarily trust a random blogger's opinion, but you might trust that of a blogger you've read enough to drop in your RSS reader.
goodterling on April 19, 2009 at 07:30 PM
Paying 12 bucks for an album and finding out there's only 2 good songs on in later...yeah, I'm aching with nostalgia for those days. It's INFINITELY better now to buy just the songs you want, and with interactive lists, to find other new music you like through the recommendations of others. I used to be a lot more loyal to bands mostly through lack of options. Now bands have to put out good songs or I keep looking. Viva the Music Meritocracy.
Andy S. on April 19, 2009 at 03:07 PM
While I used to love shopping in record stores, I find shopping at places like eMusic has its benefits. What I'm really nostalgic for, though, is not so much the return of the store, but the return of a time when there was a lot of great new music being made that I wanted to buy.
John on April 19, 2009 at 02:02 PM
you are all monkey
get free music on teh interweb
Michelle Dulak Thomson on April 19, 2009 at 01:24 PM
Well, as someone who logged a lot of hours working for a terrific classical record/CD store (Tower Classics in Berkeley, CA, which shed almost all of its unbelievably knowledgeable staff within three months of the chain's decision to fold it into the "main" Berkeley store in the mid-90s), and who probably spent even more hours browsing it before I worked there, I do miss decent browsable classical music CD departments. Tower had two other first-class classical music departments in the Bay Area (the one at Mountain View and the Classical Annex in San Francisco), and those fell into steep decline at about the same time; they were all basically useless long before Tower proper went belly-up.
The last decent selection in SF proper was at Virgin, and that, of course, is gone too; so we go online and make do. (And as a partial reward for our labors, generally pay less, once the pluses and minuses of everything from shipping to sales tax to currency-conversion charges are factored in, though if you were to bill your own labor at even minimum wage I'd concede that that might not be true. But we never thought of browsing the aisles at Tower as "labor," either -- it's just a pleasure that has become less pleasurable, because now you mostly do it sitting at a desk and staring at a screen.)
At least our online alternatives, if you're willing to seek them out, are decent; ArkivMusic has a good drilldown search, and has reprinted thousands of deleted CDs besides, while a couple of online British outfits can get you the ever-increasing percentage of things that aren't issued here at all.
But then, most of the kids and high school and college now don't see why anyone would bother with physical recording media anyway. Digital storage is cheap and compact; CDs take up room; and they're such a bother to purchase anyway, even if you do it online. I know a lot of savvy teenagers with an intense interest in music, and almost every one can't see the point of waiting for a CD to be delivered when you can just buy an mp3 (or, of course, "share" it) and have it in minutes for less money.
elhefe on April 19, 2009 at 01:05 PM
What's a record store?
Greg on April 19, 2009 at 12:47 PM
One benefit from record stores "back in the day" is those that would have listening stations with new CDs; I've bought a few after listening and liking. Even better is the store that would open CDs for you to listen, so you could do some serious browsing.
Now, the Internet is a better resource for listening to music before buying, even if it's just the 30 second snippet on iTunes or Amazon.
Ever since record stores (and record labels) stopped stocking singles, I have less reason to browse.
Morgan on April 19, 2009 at 12:31 PM
Here's a fun thing-- I doubt that many people that love the physical experience are going to be swayed by this article. So nobody on either side needs to get so antsy about it. Good grief.
Personally, I think physical stores have more opportunity now than they ever have. They can hedge on suboptimal locations by selling on the Internet as well, they can do better research on what's selling, they can get buyers directly from local searchers on the Internet that don't want to wait.
So there's no need for either false nostalgia or false pity. Everybody just keep on keeping on and do what you do best.
Emily on April 19, 2009 at 09:43 AM
I definitely don't feel a get a "more informed" position from shopping on amazon. There's nothing but ad content here from the labels, with an occasional fanzine type puff piece. Give us a break.
Peter Hilgendorf on April 19, 2009 at 12:07 AM
Congrats you read the NME.
Now I rant on you.
Put a sock in it Chordstrike. Nobody is getting misty-eyed. Nobody is getting too nostalgic. Those are your words. You and NME are making that up. It doesn't go down like that. It really doesn't. It's just a day to stop and smell the Nag Champa. And what is your point? You win 364 days a year. Your long tail. Your great prices. Your algorithms. Your '2 CDs for $10' sale. Your MP3 store. Your image server that feeds cover art to the Internet. Your Bela Fleck and Enya 'World Music' chart toppers. Your Your, your, your halfbaked search engine, You dominate!!! Kill. Stores. Dead. You want today too??
But today you are not invited to the party Amzon.com/music.
Don't let it bug you. (clearly it did -- you posted on a Saturday!)
I agree that there is a myth surrounding the 'recommendation from your favorite record store clerk.' I never believed it when I worked in record stores, when I worked at Amzon, and I still don't. Those folks are underpaid and bummed about it. They can be fun to look at tho! And they tend to do a great job hanging up posters in the windows, hiring bands to play inside, playing bass, painting sloppily, hanging up calendars/posters for local shows, and creating an undeniable audio-visual tribute to music. If you're lucky you'll even find a shop one that smells bad!
How about those Amzon cliches of 'cross town several times' or myths about how much information, time and effort it goes in to making a purchase decision. Really? You research your music purchases? (I know you get YOURS free by the mail-tub full.) Studies show time-and-again that most other people don't research their $9.99 items. Plus, it's not like going to the record shop in April is going to the mall in December. Leaving the house is just not that big a deal--especially on a day like today where people are voting with their feet. It feels right. And speaking of feet, a simple scan of footwear revealed a clear majority preference toward Converse All-Star's Chuck Taylor model....the "like-minded" phenom you snub was in full force.
How about this. All of the people who bought into the idea of Record Store Day, who bought music in a store today are also YOUR customers. Those most excited by music are uniquely responsible for Amzon success. You should attempt to show you understand them--maybe even go so far as to cheer them on. Certainly don't whiz in their parade. Why not post about all the great music that YOU are not able to sell today? You give NME cred for being ballsy. That would be gutsy! Blogworthy for sure. Good info for the music lover who happens to also have 1-Click enabled.
Oh, and I'd like to see you merchandise LP, 10" and 7" records and ship records (those boxes you use with excessive and ineffective packing materials are awful -- I suppose you gripe Earth Day this week too??) a bit harder. You could really own that too if you wanted it. Could be decent margin there. Prices are nuts on the new stuff.
Amzon alumni, top-tier customer, and proud owner of RSD exclusives from Slayer, Gaslight Anthem, Whiskeytown, Raphael Saadiq, and a dozen others. Oh, and I grabbed that very first Queen E.P.re-issue thing. Wow!
-Peter Hilgendorf
West Seattle
p.s. You cannot get a quad Americano and a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on toast delivered to you and your kids when you shop at Amazon. Even if you have an awesome partner or parent in your house who brings you food...the chances that you have Texas Toast in your place are ZIP.
Easy Street Records in West Seattle FTW!!!
Benjamin Lukoff on April 18, 2009 at 10:34 PM
Those whose nostalgia for record stores is "false" probably never patronized them too much in the old days anyway — and when they did, it was more likely a mall store than their local indie shop or even Tower Records.
As for community and discovery, yes, the Internet is great for that. But one does the risk of, as Emily White put it recently in Seattle's City Arts magazine, "drift[ing] into separate, solipsistic twilights." It's too easy to find only things similar to what you already like. That's another story, though.
Back to the record-store issue: I don't think the discovery-through-recommendation thing is the major selling point of the physical experience. I think it's the discovery-through-random-browsing thing. That's how I found out the other day about a newly released album by the Pretty Things with Philippe DeBarge. I completely missed that news on the Internet, but found it in a bin at a store on University Way. Back to recommendations, though — Yeah, there's no particular reason to trust a recommendation from a clerk over one from a friend, or from "anyone else on the Internet" — but, at least at a good store, that clerk is likely to know quite a bit. At least you know who they are. On the Internet, as they used to say, the person talking about how much they like the new Neko Case album (which I picked up today at Sonic Boom) could be a canine, for all you know.
I have no nostalgia for the mall shops or other places that treated music like a commodity. I do miss Tower and the multitude of shops that used to be in Seattle's U-District. I am grateful that Golden Oldies, Silver Platters, Bop Street, Second Time Around, and Al's are still here, and that Easy Street and Sonic Boom arose.
(Would it have just been simpler to say: why record stores? Same reason as for book stores and sales. Amazon is great for finding all sorts of titles, and the prices can't be beat, but you can bet the only way I'd have found "Trolley Days in Seattle" by Leslie Blanchard today would have been where I got it — at the Friends of the Library Book Sale. Just like I wasn't looking for that vinyl copy of XTC's "Nonsuch" when I found it at Second Time Around last decade.)
Excuse the rant ——
Ben Lukoff