Rant for music retailers Written by Jyn Radakovits

I read this article today and felt ancient.But this woman has a big point.Music should be sold by people who love it.It makes a diffrence when you can have help finding things you didn't know about before.It makes me feel sad to know those days are gone forever.

Buying music as a kid was a much different experience.



As the announcement for Virgin Megastore to pull out of the US after a decade where most music retailers of its type have gone the way of the dinosaur, those that still want a CD either make an online order, download, or face the humiliation of a music section in a Wal-Mart type place without proper categorizing of music. Often at my civil post a.k.a the night job I can’t stand but bills have to be paid in a recession- trying to re-segregate the genres.

I am one for the separatism of music. A free thinker that hates the idea of Taylor Swift nuzzled up on a shelf below Talking Heads and shoved in front of Taking Back Sunday. That’s not right. I like my genres of music on a shelf the way I like my food on a plate-not touching each other. Never mind it all being internalized in the same place. Give me back those old stores that actually had sections!

Nothing is more annoying than the Best Buy type groupings with “rock”, “rap, R&B, jazz, hip hop, soul, other” all of which many others can chime in are like trying to take all precious stones and throwing them under the heading of “rocks.”

Then for no reason there is the “country and soundtracks”, most often the same section again. Whoever sets up the displays for the corporation is often an idiot too. Under these generalized headings you get such bungles as Carrie Underwood in the “rock/pop” area.

Long gone are the chains of yore like Threshold where there would be aisles and aisles of not just “rock” but it was broken down into your very important sub-groupings: “punk”, “metal”, “ska”, “alternative”, “new wave”, “gothic”- bless them they had a section called gothic that was mostly Marilyn Manson, Jack off Jill, and all The Cure b-sides.

I remember pouring out lunch baggies of change I had saved from starving myself all week at lunch to pawn through the imports. Sigh, oh the job of a subheading that actually read “imports.”

Coconuts had an equally impressive section to the young mind and like the employees of Threshold that often reeked of Marlboro Reds and cheap beer; they knew everything there was about the music they sold. It was those types of stores that turned kids on to the important bands. Often enough the employee specialized by his own certifications of going to concerts would blow dust off something stashed behind the counter and add it to the pile that I was buying for a price I couldn’t pass up. “Kid, if you love Echo & The Bunnymen, this The Best of The Church is gunna blow your mind.”

These guys and gals of the record stores of yore knew their stuff man.

The idiots now staffed at these chain stores half the time don’t even knew who the bands are anymore. Those days of walking in singing a verse to a song you didn’t know the name of and the post modern hippie behind the counter walking right to the album in question are long gone. Now someone in a vest tries to punch it into a computer and still doesn’t know what you are talking about.

Even if I’m not scheduled over in that area, I find myself lingering to help the kids. No one deserves to buy music from someone wearing a freaking vest!

Music is one of the most personal choices you can make and it needs someone that is a specialist and will treat it as such. Young kids buying music need to be nurtured and not fed whatever was on sale this week because corporate calls it “safe” and “sellable” and “drives sales.”

Music should never be safe. It is to be imagined and lusted after and satisfying as a first romp under the bleachers with Johnny Football Player in high school.

The end of music stores have changed the way kids are listening to music and how artists are finding their fans. If one wonders why the industry is struggling it is because music is not getting into the hands of those it needs to and being shoved back in a convenient corner of a store between the flat screen TV’s and at check stand nine.

As where download sites do the best to highlight the artists kids need to know about, the undiscovered artists that can’t afford the advertising are being left a best kept secret. There needs to be a way to dig out these undiscovered and draw them back into the light the way record store chains had done with employees that really love music talking them up.

I miss employees in the music department that live for the albums they are shelving and not counting down the minutes to their smoke break. It should be a crime to handle music and not have a passion for it.

I miss you record stores.

Such a good article and so pointedly put. I also miss those days as well. I have one record store by me that is still ran the same way it has been for 30 years. Its a used record store but I know I can walk in there at anytime and find EXACTLY what I am looking for and the people who are employed there are a wonderful resource at helping you find that special Cd or Lp .

[Often at my civil post a.k.a the night job I can’t stand but bills have to be paid in a recession]

Are they just actually refering to the people they personally work with as idiots and are upset with them? If they're just talking about random employees it's not that they are idiots, but people who are also working a job if not two that they can not stand perhaps or at least are not thrilled with. They want to do their job, get done and either head home or off to their other job and get done there.

[Even if I’m not scheduled over in that area, I find myself lingering to help the kids. No one deserves to buy music from someone wearing a freaking vest!] ....

Um so that means if a customer is looking for help in the department that this person is scheduled in they should go look in the music department for them?

[I miss employees in the music department that live for the albums they are shelving and not counting down the minutes to their smoke break. It should be a crime to handle music and not have a passion for it.]

I think someone wants to switch jobs.


You know... if this is that important to them they should get together with a few other people if they can't do it on their own and get a place... a music shop and run it as if it were back in the days of old.

Everything seems to be moving out of the US. I'd be more concerened with that. I think who decides what kids are really listening to are the big record companies and who ever it is that decides on the 2 or 3 songs playing over and over again on the radio. I remember Karma. I was a great place. And had the coolest people working there. But small music stores have a hard time finacially. There are shops like Fye that are better than the music section of Wal-mart for non-mainstream.

My brother feels the same.
Sure you can download music. But it's not the same as owning it.
I hope that never happens.
I like owning it too. Actually looking at the sleeve and reading what's inside or looking at the pictures.

This person shops at the big name stores too much. (and why would you ever shop at Walmart?!)

Record stores will never be obsolete. If only because there are those like me who NEED to own the actual disc with art work.

I miss vinyl so much The smell and the look of it when you first buy it is priceless. There used to be a couple of really old fashioned record shops in the Bay but they've since gone.

And the person responsible for closing down Kavern Records should be knee capped

My brother still buys vinyl.
Even if he owns the CD.
If he happens to find it in vinyl, he'll buy that too.
I think the most he has spent on a record was a Samhain one. $600 I think.
Can't remember what was so special about it because he already had 2 of them.

Vampira's right,I am jealous of your brother.
And kind of sad that I no longer own my old Misfits and Samhain vinyl .Glenn's voice sounds great with the pop and hiss of vinyl behind it.

The vinyl itself?? I'm not sure.
Because I remember asking him, "Don't you have that already??" Then he pulled it out to show me the color but i can't remember.