Flip Side Records in South San Antonio!

I remember the days back in the early 70’s. At the time it seemed like a harum of records all over the walls in a carpeted area and music from some new pink floyd album quietly but filling the aromatic air of petullio.

Then came Sam Goodie. Some of the old things should have stayed the way they were.

Thanks Flip Side.

Music industry deserves to go out of business.
Let’s save the Long Playing 78 record while we are at it too.

Isn’t this a little late? I mean “record” stores have been going out of business since the 90’s! I used to go to the record store, even when everyone had started to buy ipods. We have a few locally owned music stores, but not sure how long they will last with digital music downloads, increasing in frequency. Someone should have thought of this a long time ago! Too bad, I have always liked the small town record stores. They were always interesting and had interesting and smart people working in them. Now, all we have is these “smarmy” kids, who make fun of the music you purchase. If it’s not “cool” in their warped little minds, than you shouldn’t buy it! Great sales tactic!

ERROR-IN-FACT! There is no such thing as a “first annual” anything. You can call it first-ever or innaugural, but not first annual.

Brilliant! Half of my music would never be available at a major chain, we’d all be the poorer if the mom and pop record stores went out of business. Now if we could only get the same troops to rally against McDonald’s and their like!!!

The music industry is going to have to learn to find another way to survive. The days of the big music production giants and music stores is over. EVERYBODY is getting their music in a digital format, downloading it. Some people pay, others simply download for free. I have an extensive digital music library, but it’s been nearly ten years since I’ve actually paid for a CD or even a song. Hopefully by bypassing the industry, the music can be given back to the artists, and creativity and integrity can once again be a part of music. Too long has the industry dictated what the artists can and cannot produce. Those days are drawing to a close.

@ Jim — You’re right and it’s been fixed.

Sadly, we have no Mom & Pop record stores where I live. They’re all gone, replaced by corporate music pushers. I worked for one of these behemoths and now, due to my knowledge of how these places works (NO, that CD ISN’T that good, the company that put it out PAID to have it put in that spot) I now shop Amazon if I must have the physical CD, but I prefer the ease of iTunes. I’ve had great luck with iTunes and the recommendations they make. They don’t push the latest crap down my throat just to make sales.

Wish I could participate–but all of my local record stores are already gone. Just a few years ago in Reisterstown and Owings Mills, MD, we had 3 record stores (Sam Goody and The Wall [obviously 2 large chains, but at least they were MUSIC stores], as well as Record and Tape Traders). Not long before that we also had Aural Sets, Waxie Maxie’s, Record Town….now they are all gone. The only places to buy music in my town are Target, WalMart, and Best Buy. It’s not the same….

I used to visit local small chain and mom/pop record stores regularly throughout the 80’s (high school), 90’s (college & post college) and early 2000-01. I’d spend anywhere from 1-3 hours per visit, and truly enjoyed digging through the bins.

With the launch of the original Napster (how I miss it!), my record store visits slowed drastically. Within 2 years began to notice some of the indi and chain CD & record/CD stores closing in NYC and California.

I must admit, for someone like me, who has over 12 crates of vinyl records and used to have over 300 CD’s, I don’t miss record/CD stores. I don’t buy 12″ singles anymore, and not a lot of artist make solid complete CD’s anymore. So, I’m happy to buy from iTunes and other online stores and load up my iPod. Why pay $12-15 for a CD I only want 2-3 songs? Even if I want the whole CD, why but it when I’m just going to rip it to my computer and load on my iPod and never pick up the CD again? I love my records, will never sell them and will never sell certain CD’s I own, but almost nothing is worth buying in CD/vinyl form to me anymore.

Even if you’re a DJ, they have quality DJ mixers that mix using iPods or mp3’s on your computer. My friend is radio and club DJ and he only uses mp3’s to mix now.

I’ve thought to visit a record store just to see what it’s inside, but I know I wouldn’t buy anything and don’t know when that visit will occur.

Sorry “mom and pop”, but the record store along with the newspaper is a dying service. We all loved them and will wax nostalgic from time to time, but times are a changing.

I live in Northern VA and record stores are all but extent. They have all been replaced by massive store chains!! I must say that buying music is NOT what it used to be. Speaking from the perspective of a 40 year old — going to the record store to buy a new album was the perfect solo date — you could listen to the music and browse the aisles in pure bliss flipping through the vinyl. I MISS THOSE DAYS!!

Thanks CNN for a sip of nostalgia!!!

The hand-painted sign in the now-empty store window says it all:

“Technology Killed My Record Store”

———

RIP Record Time in Ferndale, MI.

We have a great local store called Waterloo Records in Austin, but even they can’t compete with the benefits of online sales.

To visit them, I’d have to drive 25 minutes in traffic to their store, then find parking. When visit, the “vibe” only works if I like the music that’s playing, the aisles are wide enough that I can stroll down them, and the other patrons aren’t being rude. Then I’m limited to buying only music in full-album formats; if I just want a few songs from an artist I’m out of luck. Then I have to drive back home, rip the music to my computer (something the RIAA sometimes claims is illegal), verify the ID tags, find and download cover art to attach to the files, and finally synch it to my music player.

Contrast that with buying online, at Amazon or Apple, for example. I pick the song or artist, click a few times, and have the some on my computer, 100% legal with no RIAA hijinks, all tags and artwork done and attached, ready to synch. At the end of the month there’s a few bucks in charges to pay off on a credit card.

I don’t understand why stores haven’t moved towards “build your own CD” kiosks. Let customers pick exactly what they want to buy, then put it on a disc in both audio CD format and in DRM-free MP3s with meta tags complete. Charge the same as online, and carry a large collection as with online stores, and maybe the “vibe” will be enough to draw me in. I can only assume the RIAA wouldn’t allow this sort of thing.

This would be fine… if there was a local record store. Since all there is here is either (Short) Circuit City, Worst Buy or Mart du Wal, there isn’t much choice available. If I throw in the local Fie! (Fye) in the mall, then your choices remain slim to none.

What I miss are record stores like Leisure Landing or The Mushroom, both of which are long gone… where you could go in and find almost anything that might interest you, instead of what the so-called experts think the public wants to hear.

It’s too bad most people want to get all of their music from an online file with far inferior sound quality and no artwork. It’s almost like music is an afterthought, something to put on while driving or doing something else. Record stores celebrate music as an art, and a form of entertainment to be listened to. Hopefully when everyone who goes tomorrow gets home, they just dim the lights and sit back and listen to something they bought while flipping through the artwork, and reading the credits of the people who worked hard to bring it to you.

Hey Bupkiss, what do you propose the artist lives on? Love of their music does not pay the bills. Speaking for the artists I work with, I can tell you that it’s not just a labor of love…it is their profession, hence also how they survive. It’s a tragedy that you have not paid for a CD or song in the last 10 years.

I am now going on 34 years of being in radio & I have seen so many changes regarding music & how one buys it. Yes, I miss the days where you could buy an LP for a mere $3.98 & 45’s for a $1 ! Nowadays, the local record store is just about extinct except for a handful of retailers or specialty stores. Last I checked in Tucson, there are a few stores that sell records, or tapes, or CD’s still but until I die, I’ll allways continue to buy LP’s, 45’s & YES, 78’s. Long Live Records ! ! ! !

Even though I have all the music I need I still love to browse the local shop for cd’s or anything music related. The new generation doesn’t know what they’re missing. In a sour note related to this topic…RIP Slipped Disc Records at the end of this month.

If you can find all the music you want on I-Tunes or at Walmart, you don’t like music enough. Good luck reselling those MP3s you downloaded and recovering them when your Ipod crashes or hard drive melts. Long live the independent record store, vinyl and music geeks.

I like the letter from Bupkiss, “it’s been ten years since I’ve actually paid for a CD or even a song”. I hope the day that deadbeat ever runs a business (probably never) that everyone steals from him. What a loser….

The problem with this is that most people like mainstream music, which is available online. Even if you don’t want to purchase a digital version, there’s always Amazon.com where you can buy the CD. Or, if you don’t do the whole “online ordering” thing, Best Buy, Circuit City, Walmart, and Target have pretty much unbeatable prices. I understand the concept of wanting to keep these small stores open, but I can’t understand paying more to do so. I’d only be helping them. What do I get out of it?

I miss record stores. Even giant corporate owned ones. I used to love going to Tower Records and Record Bar and Disc Jockey and all the like. That was the outlet to purchase music. Now with the advent of the internet and i-tunes, it ran even the big ones out of business. You can purchase anything on the internet now. And if there is a CD I actually have to have and can’t wait for Amazon, I’ll go to Best Buy or Target.

I can’t argue the poplularity , convenience, and portability of digital music downloads. However, I prefer CD audio quality music for my collection. I can hear the difference between these two formats. Another thing lost by digital downloads is the “concept” album (Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd comes to mind for example). I really used to enjoy the experience of the record stores. I am hoping we can keep them around for a while longer.

I still love, purchase and play records. Long live vinyl! I will always support independent record stores over another format or vendor. I adore Amoeba Music (in the San Francisco Bay Area - also in L.A.) and Aquarius Records in San Francisco… love dancerecords.com…. love The Mad Platter in Riverside, CA… and when I was a teen, I loved Plan 9 in Richmond VA… I have much love and respect for these independent stores. I want to echo that comment that swalker327 made earlier about the bliss of browsing through the aisles and flipping through the vinyl. I still get that feeling every time I go to buy records! That’s one of the reasons I will still buy and play them!

I would much rather browse through the dusty bins in a new or used CD/record store then just download music from the internet to a PC or MP3 player. The music itself has more meaning and depth when you know something about the artist(s); information that can be retrieved by reading the liner notes on the album covers or CD jackets. I think that you feel more of a connection to the music when you can actually hold something in your hand. I’ve also found that the people working in the small, independent stores usually have a wealth of knowledge about the more obscure artists, and I’ve found some incredible music through these people.

Sorry, but you can’t compete with free. maybe there will come a day when the industry is completely shut out of the process, and there will be music that is actually worth paying for again. But for now, most of the dismal cookie-cutter garbage the industry is forcing the artists to produce isn’t worth a dime to me. And many others. Things are the way they are for a reason, I’m merely a product of society. And the times, they are a-changin.

Artists don’t make money from cd sales, they make money from concerts and selling the rights to use their music for comercials and movies. the way of the future is to give the music to the fans and keep the copyrights for themselves. Let the record companies go out of business but give the fans what they want. it’s the new business model of music. follow The Charlatans UK as an example.

Actually Steve, I can’t find the music I like (Jazz, Electronica and Jazz/Electronica) in a brick & mortar store. At least with iTunes I can sample the song or the whole CD before I buy and not just the CDs the store wants me to hear. I had much better luck finding my music online than I EVER had finding it in a store. The ONE, ONE time I found a salesperson who liked what I liked and made a recommendation I liked and bought, he and I were laughed at by the mainstream employees. Nope, gimme Steve Jobs any day.

Check out this trailer on You Tube. This is a Hampshire College student’s graduating film project. Awesome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OePVFP7NJrQ

I remember being in high school and buying any of those amazing vinyl imports from labels like 4AD, Creation, and Sarah that I could get my hands on. I loved the big covers - the artwork, the texture, and even the smell (which in retrospect was mainly that of record store incense) - but the best part was when I got my purchases home and listened to them with excitement and anticipation. I buy some downloads these days, but the whole culture just feels so disposable now. I still want artwork, and I want to know where the band recorded, who produced the album, and who even did the mastering (if you don’t think that stuff is important, try asking the bands and labels about it). All of that seems to be getting lost along the way, and people in general even seem to care a lot less about music than they used to. When I ask people with white earbuds what they are listening to, the two most popular answers I seem to get are “I don’t know” and “U2″. Music is extremely important to me, and so is the experience of discovering something new. For the record (no pun intended), the CD that has been absolutely rocking my world for the past month or so is a reissue of a surprisingly overlooked 1971 album by a group called Leaf Hound, and the ONLY reason why I even bought it in the first place was because of the cover.

It’s a shame there are virtually none left in my part of Canada. The problem is most of the record stores around these days are the big chains that hire minimum wagers who know nothing about music beyond their own tastes, and are hog-tied by distributors that only carry “approved” titles. It’s no wonder so many people are turning to online sources. I’m sure there are places where the “mom and pop” stores are still going strong, and long may they stay in business. But I’m afraid the Best Buy/Wal-Mart effect has pretty much rendered them dodos in much of North America.

We are lucky in the Tidewater area of VA, we have Birdland! This store has been around forever and if they don’t have it….they will find it for you. I have, at times, avoided going in if I am only looking for ONE Cd because the owner seems to know my taste in music and I will seem to walk out with 4 or 5 more CD’s than I planned to buy! Barry is awsome and I look forward to my trips to this store. I would hate to think of this place going away. I don’t like the chain stores and the lack of variety. Independent stores offer so much more!

Stereo Jack’s in Cambridge, MA !!!!!!

Let’s be honest. If everyone who claims to supports mom and pop was willing to buy from mom and pop, mom and pop would not only still be around, but also hiking up the prices further in order to make more of a profit.

I’m old enough to have seen 8 tracks, records, cassettes, and CDs sold in stores. Filler has always existed in these mediums. Downloading off the net relieves you of owning a CD that you only like 30% of. Convenience and need trump nostalgia.

As cold as it may sound, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” I don’t see record stores being compatible with the future of our economy.

There is no reason for anyone who didn’t live in the age of records and singles caring for obsolete relics. Records store will go the way of beepers, telegraphs, and typewriters.

@ Bupkiss - You’re the EXACT reason record stores suffer! The big boxes carry all the same garbage music but the small brick-and-mortar Indie shops carry a ton of music AGAINST the norm. To me, music has always been something to pay for. Sure, you can download nearly anything for free with a simple search, but how are you supporting the artist/band/musicians? They’re in debt WAY over their heads and selling records helps them climb out of that deep, cavernous trench. Also, the industry doesn’t force anyone to produce anything. One band breaks, all the labels follow suit with the same cookie-cutter junk. I agree a lot of today’s artists are garbage… but it’s not the labels starting bands and forcing them upon the world. It’s radio and MTV. Go outside of that box and you’ll find much better music and artists. Stuff you’ll never find in a Box Box corporate chain.

@ Barb - You’re obviously not hitting the right brick-and-mortar indie shops. I know of one in Orlando (Park Ave CDs) that has a TON of what you’re looking for, and you can listen to ANYTHING in the entire store. It’s the best store i’ve ever shopped for music. Great staff, too.

@ Recordzzzz - This is true, sadly. Most people only know music from their Teen drama TV shows and what’s on the radio. Most of that stuff is junk, too. Go out to an Indie shop and listen to something good and widen your horizons!

There is actually a stunning amount of amazing full-length recordings being released this year, most people are just too lazy (or cheap) to find them. I love the record store culture, it’s probably the only way I would have taken the plunge and blew a barely earned $12 on something that changed my life. Claim there is nothing worth buying? So you have the new Times New Viking, Sapat, and Black Mountain records? Of course not. Long live the independent record store, the last bastion of music as art.

shut up, jim, and get a hobby.

A large problem with albums these days is that most of the songs on a particular album are simply not worth throwing away good money for them. You’ll have one or two good songs on an album and the rest will simply be tripe. Why should I pay $15 - $25 for an album that has only one or two good songs? If companies want me to buy albums, they need to make albums that have a significant number of worthwhile songs. Would you buy a season of a TV show’s DVDs if you only liked one episode? The same applies here.

There is a wonderful place here in Cincinnati called Everybody’s Records. The place is huge! One room has every CD you could think of. The mainstream and the not-so mainstream. Heck, they even have used CASSETTES. The other room is devoted entirely to new and used vinyl. I usually go about twice a month and always come out with an armfull of vinyl. I agree, there is something about actually having the record in your hand. This may be the exception to the rule, but i always see a ton of younger(teens-early 20’s) people in the store as well.
By, the way, I am 33 years old.

Believe it or not, not EVERYTHING out there is available as a download. There’s a lot of great music (domestic, imported and vintage) that you just can’t mouse-click to access it. If this business is going downhill so fast, then why am I seeing more artists releasing special edition copies of their albums on 180 gram vinyl records? My local independent music retailer’s shop now looks like it did back in 1986! A lot of the CD racks have been replaced with vinyl bins. For those of you saying you get all the music you need from a computer, you’re really missing out.

Hey, Papa K! What the heck is petullio? I think you mean patchouli.

To me, any production prior to 1990 belongs on vinyl, especially Motown and any album from the ’70’s. I don’t care how much remastering they do, the actual song was meant to a slight imperfection groove(scratch) in order to relate to the song’s era. Albums such as “Rumours”, “Tapestry”, “Songs In the Key of Life”, have packaging that a cd can’t even accomodate. The space that albums occupy is a big factor why I switched to cds, but with them almost being extinct the digital era seems to be something we need to embrace fully……NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Hog wild records in San Antonio.. they specialize in obscure , special order , imports and most importantly regional music , esp americana ( KSYM and the Third Coast Network are just down the street)
Even though most of the stock is CD
……….The place sill even sells record players !!!
great place for true music lovers.
going by there today……… and YES… someone should have thought of this years ago.