Hopelessly Outdated...Soon

I've never really claimed to be on the cutting edge of anything other than, perhaps, lunacy, but the latest news from Tower Records might just send me over the edge into the vast blackness of insanity. My world is changing forever, and if I'm not careful, I could end up like the bison...celebrated every 200 years in a bicentennial celebration. (I know you got that...that's why I'm not explaining it.)
By the end of the year, Tower Records will be defunct...gone...history...closed for good. Of course, there will still be the Virgin Superstores, but I wonder, for how long?
Tower is receding into memory because, quite frankly, in-store sales have been less than brisk. Too many of us buy or steal digital music over the internet so there's little profit to be made. For me, it wasn't about the profit; it was about the experience. For those of you who don't have a frickin' clue about what I mean, go rent "High Fidelity" on DVD...or download it on your computer (Jack Black before he became famous). Record stores were fabulous microcosms of the world of cool. I could spend hours flipping quickly through stacks and stacks or bins and bins of records (OK, so I'm old) looking for the rare release of Elvis Costello's first album. Disappointment often followed, but when I found it in Sweden one summer, you could have heard me shout back in the USA. Never mind the price was 57 kroner, and I had no idea how much that was! I threw all my money on the counter and let the clerk take what he needed...or wanted. The excitement was a real rush. THAT'S what music stores were about.
They also were about a sort of musty smell that made me wonder what went on when there were no customers. Did the clerks import grime from outside just to give it an air of authenticity like these were REALLY rare recordings? Did the clerks ever go anywhere else? They always seemed to be at the store. Was that just a faint whiff of MJ in there? (no, NOT Michael Jordan)
The clerks, too, knew everything about a band and could find a particular piece of music without having to hunt for it. Most of the time, I wanted to hunt for it. The thrill of the chase, much akin to my wife looking for that "perfect" sweater at J. Jill. I recently visited a music store in Green Bay looking for a soundtrack to a musical my wife and I had recently seen and enjoyed. The clerk asked what I was seeking and found it within two minutes of my entering the store. I really just wanted to look for it and, possibly, discover something else that I din't know I wanted. Instead, I felt like I had to leave or look dorky in front of real music people. Not as much fun. Of course, I was a bit embarassed about asking for the soundtrack of "Mama Mia" out loud. Even asking for ABBA's greatest hits would have been better. At least then it might seem like I went to real concerts and not "performances" at which I got a comfy seat and a bathroom inside. He was probably thinking "We've got to do something to the store...old geezers are now coming in for this stuff."
Searching high and low for picture albums was really fun for me, too. The only real "art" I am allowed to buy involves picture LPs of great bands or musicians. I frame them and hang them on the wall next to my Krispy Kreme art. Currently residing there are Buddy Holly, Sam Cooke (I really wanted Marvin Gaye), Jackson Browne, Elvis costello and The Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper's." No Ramones yet...too pricey thus far.These can only be found by spending hours searching every last bin at a music store. Sadly, this won't happen at Tower Records any more.
As long as The Exclusive Company ("Say it with me")is still in business, I can return to the halcyon days of youth when I visit...but I'm not asking for any more musical scores, that's for sure!