During the recent holiday school break, which was extended by arctic conditions in the Northeast, my family and I returned to my hometown for a visit. One of the hidden gems in the area is a small, cluttered record store with a very distinct odor, musty with a trace of incense. The dated wall paneling, reminiscent of a suburban basement of the 1980’s, is mostly hidden by posters, all of which are for sale.
Unlike big box stores that stock popular CDs as loss leaders to get people in the door, this small record store uses every inch of its limited real estate to stock unique offerings that cater to fans of all genres. From rare concert CDs to classic vinyl, both new and used, this little oasis serves as a nostalgic reminder of days gone by, when music was viewed as a valuable commodity.
Music is so readily available to today’s youth in a digital form that they no longer value it in the same way as those of us who grew up before the Internet existed. For the most part, the younger generation views music as something that they are entitled to enjoy for free, like broadcast television or terrestrial radio. It’s hard to blame them when most have never set foot in a record store.
The time that I spent with my son in this local record store during our visit was not planned. We happened to be in the shopping center because my daughter was shopping at a girly retail store with a gift card that she got for the holidays. Knowing full well that my daughter’s decision-making process is time consuming (to say the least), we knew that we had plenty of time to kill.
Rather than walk around the store with my son, I decided to let him explore on his own while I checked out the variety of hard rock and metal albums in the ample vinyl section.
I came across a brand new copy of Metallica’s Master Of Puppets, and nearly fell over when I saw the price tag – $51.99! All of the vinyl in new condition was very pricey, proving that the format still holds great appeal for the older generation. Some of the used vinyl, housed in tattered sleeves, was much more reasonably priced, and brought me back to my teenage days when I would go to record conventions at local hotels.
On more than one occasion, my son came up to me to show me what he had found. His genuine enthusiasm for the record store experience was something to behold. A great sense of pride washed over me when he said that he would go to the store all the time if we lived in the area. While he may not be able to go as frequently as I did when I was growing up, I will make sure to spend some time there each time we go back to visit so that my son will continue his appreciation for the record store experience.
NOTE: The photo above was taken by my son.
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Thanks for sharing this moment! Very nice to hear, that you could have that experience with your son. There is nothing else like it, being able to get lost in an indie/used record store. What did you buy? I would have bought that Black Sabbath poster! LOL!
Where I live, south of Dayton, Ohio, I am fortunate that there are 3 indie record/CD shops. There just aren’t enough of them everywhere.
Thanks for your comment Stone. I had my eye on a couple of things, but since the store is so far away, I was afraid to buy something in case it skipped. I don’t plan on being back there anytime soon, so I would just have to keep damaged goods if that happened. There was an even cooler poster than that, with tons of metal legends drawn in black and white, but it didn’t photograph as well. Unfortunately, my wife doesn’t like the idea of me recreating my childhood bedroom in our room. LOL