Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Monsters of Rock Retail

Our old friend Sal Nunziato, formerly of NYCD, the greatest indie record store in history, weighs in on an interesting event over at the Huffington Post.

Saturday, April 19th has been declared "Record Store Day." The idea, according to Eric Levin, an Atlanta retailer who heads the 32-store Alliance of Independent Media Stores, is to dispel the perception that "record stores are something of a joke; like we are all dinosaurs stuck in the tar." Big names such as Metallica, Steve Earle, and Panic! At The Disco have signed on to participate and to spread the word that the record store is alive! I think this is a fabulous idea. I just wish I was a little less bitter about the whole campaign. I feel like Don Mattingly. "Donnie Baseball" gave his all as a member of the New York Yankees. He did everything right and earned the respect of everyone around him, both fans and players alike. But it was only after his retirement, that the New York Yankees went on to win 4 out of the next 5 championships. Don Mattingly had a passion for his craft, yet the World Series' ring has eluded him.

Read the rest of it (and perhaps weep) right here.

3 comments:

dave™© said...

These guys in the Bay Area are also promoting this. In fact, they've got Metallica lined up for an in-store at one of their outlets.

Interestingly enough, Rasputin's seems to be faring pretty well. They've taken over nearly all the old Tower Records stores in the Bay Area, at least, and maybe So. Cal. as well. In fact, the Metallica appearance is at the store I used to work at way back when (and I do mean "way"!)

The other "independent" that's doing well is Amoeba Records. They've got stores in Berkeley and SF, and at least one in LA.

Kid Charlemagne said...

I will commemorate Record Store Day by making a pilgrimage to Joe's Record Paradise in Silver Spring, MD

Noam Sane said...

I don't know. I'm kind of tired of this guy whining about how life isn't fair. My 6-year-old understands that, why can't he?

The world is a maelstrom of change. Deal with it. Move on.