The writing’s been on the wall for years, and it has finally happened. Tower Records, once the only place in some cities with a decent classical selection, is gone. Stephen Brookes of The Washington Post has an upbeat take on it.
Yes, as good as the selection was, it’s nothing compared to that of online stores, and increasingly, download services. Personally, I rarely buy CDs anymore, and if I do, it’s online. On the other hand, in the past year or so, I’ve done a lot of spontaneous buying on iTunes, because it’s so easy and inexpensive. Plus, this way, I can get that Symphony of Psalms without having to own yet another Poulenc Gloria, which is something that has always bugged me about CDs.
Not being much of an audiophile, I’m not even bothered by the supposedly degraded quality of MP3 and similar files. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything.
So, yeah, I’m happy with all that. But, being the nostalgia nut that I am, I have to say it is a bit sad. I was in my teens when the first Tower in D.C. opened, and I have fond memories of hours spent hanging around in there. Then, when I was in college in Philadelphia, a magnificent Tower “Classical Annex” opened at 10th and South, and this became a major hangout. (My lack of a social life is a subject for another post. Or not.)
But, progress is progress. The fact is, I don’t ever go into record stores, so there’s no point in mourning Tower for nostalgia’s sake. As for the future, I expect that the download services will continue to improve, as they have so far, in terms of selection, pricing and ease of use. I also predict that more record stores will close, and that eventually CDs will be the domain of used book and record stores. That’s fine; I would like to see places like that thrive.
P.S. — I’ve added Stephen Brookes’ blog most of the shebang to my “Other Blogs” list. He’s one of the Post’s classical music critics, and a deeply experienced journalist and photographer. There’s a trove of great writing on his site.
P.P.S. — There’s a related post on Dog and Pony Show, another interesting blog. This writer is apparently from the Sacramento area where Tower Records originated.
Photo credit: Original Tower Records Sign by Tom Spaulding via Flickr.
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