The Day When The Music Buying Stops

As I prepare for my next bargain hunting trip up to the right wing republic of Wisconsin this week I was reading this.http://musicindustryreport.org/?p=31377&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

And it got me to thinking about the plight of the music bargain hunter that goes to the music stores to find things.  I don't take into account of the downloaders out there who download music, I don't do that myself, I have many options to choose from but it got me to thinking that ever since Rootkit copy protected CD fiasco which eroded sales since then that the CD is on borrowed time and judging from what I seen at the Wally World and Best Buy section will never return to what it used to be.

The internet has been wonderful in terms of chatting with like minded folk that love music and the obscure and you can find just about anything on You Tube in terms of old forgotten music of my years and yes if it wasn't for the net, I'd be a dateless old person.  The internet also has killed off most of the bricks and mortar Mom n Dad record stores that I used to know and used to go to.  But the major labels never did us any favors either, with overpriced and over recorded LOUD cds (and still are today, the new Saliva has got to be the worst recorded album ever, songs were pretty good though).   Killing the original Napster may had something to do with poor sales but the big slit in their throat remains the copy protect Rootkit CD to which consumers had enough and stop buying and started their illegal downloads in droves.   Leaving the majors to drown in their own bile.  So be it.

Vinyl has always been around, although the majors gave that format just about up in the height of the CD era (Early 90s) and although they are making a hairline comeback, the problem remains that the LP is much more higher cost than the cd itself and paying 50 bucks for a 2 LP Best Of Neil Young is not cost effective unless your a audiophile with a pile of cash an a record player to boot.  The only reason why I bought the 36 dollar Le Noise was that I didn't want the digipak set to which i would find that on jewel case at Target for 14 bucks earlier this year.  Although the independent labels has their LPs around 12 or 15 bucks, back in my days you could have gotten Physical Graffiti for 11.98.  And even if the new stuff is on 180 gram Virgin Vinyl, I have enough complaints about Tom Waits' reissues to buypass them, or least go seek out the original 2 record Nighthawks At The Diner, a record I once had but ended up traded that and about 40 others to get that 4 cd Led Zeppelin boxset that I don't play too often.   It's not that we can't buy vinyl in town, but problem is our town doesn't have no more the record store that has the new vinyl, we have to fucking drive 45 miles to Iowa City or Dubuque or save up extra money or time to head to Madison to which they still have 10 decent stores for music.

And if there's no decent music stores in town anymore, then we have to go to the net.  The advantage to this is saves wear and tear on the car and you don't use gas.  The flipside is that you don't get the thrill of anticipating what your going to find when you walk into a store and see what they have for music.  But then again things do come into an end anyways.

When I turned fifty this year, I basically made it a point that I wasn't go and seek out each and every record store like I did.  The Arizona trip was it, there's no more coming up.  Vegas has been discussed from time to time but in a era of high gas prices returning and the lack of enthusiasm of flying  I don't see that happening either.  My GF talked about maybe St. Louis and there's a remote chance of going, the only definitive bargain hunts is Madison, 2 and half hours away from here.  Minneapolis while sounding good is not a place I'm familiar with and at my age I'm more inclined to go where I at least know where things are at.  Perhaps the next time I'm up in Michigan with my GF, she'll take me to the local FYE (if they're still open) or to further shut me up return me to Encore Recordings in Ann Arbor and leave me there for about 4 hours.

Habits are hard to break and even though I said I would retire from bargain hunting for the lost recordings that's easier said than done but I have been cutting back a lot more than last year.  But I do a lot more hanging around Half Priced Books in town.

I don't forsee any shortage of used cds and albums.  I'm still surprised of what has been turning up but for new music and the way nobody knows how to record it, the newer cd's still sound like overloud bullshit.  And the majors have no intention of breaking new acts rather than the single of the day.  I'm still surprised in this day and age Saliva remains on the Island roster even though the last two albums didn't sell a whole lot.  Which is why going to Madison is fun, they still have enough music and enough turnaround in the bins at the Pawn America store to keep it interesting.  I never know what I'm going to find, that's the fun of it.

But the day when the music buying stops is the day I won't be around.  That's what I think.