Friday zone, early Thursday edition

Hey all, sad times over here. Since I have my Friday post mostly ready to go, I'm posting it now. I'm going to have some CoKane time, then I'll post about today later.

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I feel better this week. Im busy, I have lots of ideas that I'm acting on, and getting results. And great things are in the future, like travel abroad! I actually feel grateful that I can work from home watching and listening to the outdoor animal clownshow all day. (According to our bird feeder which looks like an attack scene from The Birds, we throw the best bird party in town.) The tree in the view from here seems fuller than I've ever seen it and it's a pretty time of year.

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The independently-owned record store, like the independently-owned everything else, is under siege in this time of big-box stores and ever-consolidating retail chains. But it's especially an issue for the category of music sales, what with all the new ways to get music that cut out the bricks-and-mortar middleman. And here's a story about how the last record store in Chapel Hill--CHAPEL HILL, you guys--closed. Schoolkids Records, RIP.

So, in celebration of the good old record store, Saturday is Record Store Day. I thought I'd open up the comments to the theme of record store memories: do you have a favorite? Did you work at one? Stalk a cute guy at one? (Not me! Never!) Baton Rouge has a shop called the Compact Disc Store that I've only been to once or twice but which has a comforting authentic record store vibe to it. i.e., a bunch of dudes standing around talking about music. Is anybody reading from there?

I worked for the bad guy, a chain called Sam Goody in the Livingston Mall, at the beginning of college. (Goody got it!) Yes, Goody had it, if by it, you meant Ace of Base. They did a land-office business in bad music. Literally every customer for about 6 months purchased The Bodyguard Soundtrack. This was also in the time of longboxes. For you younguns, when shops transitioned from vinyl to CD they found themselves with bins that were too deep for CDs, so in an extremely wasteful move by the music industry, CDs grew boxes that were three times their height. Those were replaced by the also-wasteful plastic adapters, and then the shops eventually updated to display cases that were made for CDs. Actually I should leave this up to former Goody coworker Therese, she remembers the era much better than I do. (She's on vacay so it'll be awhile.)

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The following song came up on my iPod's shuffle mode the other day and I remembered that we used to do an exercise routine to it in gym class when it was a current song. And then I thought, "I'm old!"

But more important, this song kind of rules. This is the clean version of the video that was directed by Andy Warhol, one of the most awkward guys to ever hit MTV. (I remember later hearing that he died via MTV news, possibly from Kurt Loder.) (And many years after that, I sat behind Kurt Loder in a movie screening and giggled audibly about his presence with my friend.)

The song was played to our gym class on an industrial gray portable record player. The beginning of our exercise routine to it required jogging in place, and I remember feeling embarrassed to have to do this (I was easily embarrassed). The rest was probably jumping jacks and squat thrusts and the usual, but that initial jog was the most uncomfortable to endure. Our gym teacher who had a white-lady short afro, was definitely a lesbo,  even though we kids barely knew what that meant (and come to think of it many of our gym teachers seemed to be gay), and wore a navy track suit with white stripes down the sides. And that's what I will always think about when I hear this song. Awkward gym class tymes in 1983.

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Finally, I found this item from the NY Post interesting. Can you say, clam chowdaaaaaaaa?

BRUCE Willis is not being warmly welcomed by the anarchists, Marxists and counter-culture riffraff of the Lower East Side now that he's opened the Bowery Wine Company on East First Street. "We want to show our opposition to right-wing Republicans opening yuppie wine bars in our neighborhood," activist John Penley told Page Six. Penley, who is organizing the August celebration of the 20th anniversary of the riots in Tompkins Square Park, said, "We're getting a pig and we're naming it Bruce." The whole, roasted pig from Chinatown will be served while folk singer David Peel serenades with his anthem, "Die Yuppie Scum!"

 

Comments

[meanieT]

Was that Gina Gershon??

[JDizzle]

I used to love a CD store named Camelot. They had a pretty cool selection.

On the bird side of things. Spring has now sprung in PA and I have some great activity at my feeder: cardinals building nests, nuthatches, tit mice, woodpeckers, you name it! Bye, bye winter.

[Therese]

I went to Amoeba on Haight Street yesterday. I spent a good amount of time flipping through the used CDs and eavesdropping on the employees speaking their dorky record speak. It totally ruled.

I'll come back later w/ memories of Sam Goody. And of the adorable adorable boy who worked in the Alwilk down the hall. Sigh... And of Tower, where I also did time.

And speaking of record stores- BarnGirl and MaineMan met in the Bull Moose in Portsmouth! But that's their story to tell.

[Lioux]

I still sometimes shop A VV®™©™ for my music needs.

And my band Sister Kisser®™©™ played Chapel Hill once.

Once.

[Lioux]

I still sometimes shop A VV®™©™ for my music needs.

And my band Sister Kisser®™©™ played Chapel Hill once.

Once.

[Lioux]

I still sometimes shop A VV®™©™ for my music needs.

And my band Sister Kisser®™©™ played Chapel Hill once.

Once.

[Ellen]

I used to love going to Ridgewood Books. They had a little record shop in the basement that had all sorts of stuff I'd never heard off. When I was in 7th or 8th grade I wanted to buy something, anything out of the punk bin. I ended up with the Circle Jerks album, Golden Shower of Hits. I loved it.

[CajunKate]

In my childhood we lived 45 minutes from the nearest mall, so we'd always go to the Music Machine (how original). It didn't have any really cool music, but I could gaze adoringly at the Duran Duran and Prince covers, and I totally bought a pair of fake RayBans there that I thought made me look just like Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan and therefore I thought I looked really cool. The only thing approaching cool music I ever bought there was a Depeche Mode tape. I don't even think this counts as an independent music store story. So..sorry.

[ecs]

I worked at Repeat the Beat in Royal Oak, Michigan. Since I wasn't nerd enough to work up front, my job was to put the free promos the labels sent in up for sale on eBay.

That was totally Gina Gershon.

[sunta73]

Hey Colleen! There is a fantastic record store in Bangor, Maine, BULL MOOSE, that say they started Record Store Day. They still sell records & are a great shop!

Back in my time in NJ, Alwilk was my fav record store! Was able to buy a limited edition Motlue Crue picture disc there, something I still proudly own! :)

[sunta73]

Check out that typo in my comment! Too funny! I meant to type "Motley Crue", OBVIOUSLY!
LOL.

[amy]

When i was at LSU i worked at this indie record store near campus called Paradise Records for a couple months. It used to be in the spot where the Varsity is now on Highland Road, then it moved over to State street.

It shut down soon after the emergence of chains such as FYE and Blockbuster. I was in charge of display windows until someone stole all my markers and I left.

Paradise used to be the place to camp out for rock show tickets as well - as it was conveniently located near all the bars on Chimes street.

Christy and I used to spend our weekends there in high school scoping out the cute college-aged record store employees. Haha!

[Amanda]

Therese - you're in SF? Hit up Cokane for my number - I live in Sausalito.

[Chloe]

I used to go the House of Guitars in Crochester, NY. It was so cool to me but I couldn't put my finger on why it was so cool. I remember in early middle school getting laughed at bc I asked for the new Bangles tape and I mistakenly said the title of the older Bangles tape.