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A few days ago, I was on Facebook, and ran across this link, which led to a photo essay called 40 Sad Portraits of Closed Record Stores. The shots are, indeed, sad, and speak to the state of the economy in general, and the music industry in particular—especially the opening shot, which features a shuttered store in Detroit with a hand-lettered sign in the window reading “technology stole my record store.”
I reposted the link, as one does, without thinking about it much. But among my friends’ responses was one that struck a chord. “How about they run an article about the birth of new stores in the last 5 years?” it read. “St. Louis could be represented there, and it would be a bit more positive. Tired of the ‘death of the music industry’ narrative a bit.”
The author of that response would know. He’s James Weber, the former St. Louisan who now runs Euclid Records’ sister store in New Orleans, which opened last September.
And he’s right. St. Louis has long been lucky enough to have several large, independent record stores that each provide an atmosphere that simply can’t be duplicated at a chain store, or online. The employees are knowledgeable, the selection is great, and there’s probably something playing in each of them right now that you need to hear.
Record Store Day is Saturday, and there are some wonderful events—live bands, deejays, etc.—and special deals lined up at Euclid Records, Vintage Vinyl, Apop Records, Phono-Mode (the latter two among those new-ish local musical Meccas Weber was talking about), and other stores. Check their individual sites for details.
And next week, someone please send me a link to a photo essay titled Record Stores Are Still Alive and Well.
Image above courtesy of straightedge217.
