A World Without Tower: One Year Later

Today is the anniversary of an event that few people may recognize because, as momentous as it should have been, it went by rather quietly. One year ago today, the last remaining Tower Records stores in the United States closed their doors forever. Sure, the announcement of the buyout and subsequent liquidation of the once-mighty music retailer made plenty of waves when it first broke, but the closure of the chain's 89 locations in the U.S. ended up being somewhat anti-climactic; the few stores that still had something to sell by December 22, 2006, seemed to fade out of the urban landscape all too quietly. Perhaps it was too painful an event to bring a lot of attention to, so the final day of the stores' existence was deliberately ignored -- not out of callous indifference, but with bittersweet nostalgia.

There are plenty of people who hated Tower Records (accusing them of aggressive marketing strategies and overpriced merchandise), but there were just as many who loved the stores. As if you couldn't tell by now, I fall into the latter group. By the time I really got into music full-bore, I was living too far away from a Tower location to visit it with any regularity, but I have nothing but fond memories of all the Tower stores I visited ... in Southern California, where I grew up (Brea was the one we went to most often, I think); in Las Vegas (a 70-mile drive from the podunk town we lived in); and I got to make a precious three pilgrimages to the Portland, Oregon, store before it shut down (I've included an image of the receipt from my last visit ... kind-of pathetic that I've hung onto it for this long, let alone scanned it, eh?). Sadly, I was never able to visit the legendary Sunset Strip location in Los Angeles ... not the largest store, but the one with the most history. She looks pretty sad now, doesn't she? (I wonder what's there now ... probably something of great cultural significance, like a "Bob's Discount Mattress Emporium".)

What really saddens me is not the mere fact that the Tower store chain is gone (although I will forever miss going there), but that it's just a symptom of the larger problem of disappearing music stores. I mean, sure, the convenience and simplicity of buying music on the Internet just can't be beat ... but there's really no comparison to being inside a shop, surrounded by racks and racks of CDs (or records, whichever your preference), leisurely browsing through the A-Z rock/pop section, having a mental list of what you're looking for but still having that subconscious desire to be distracted by whatever was playing through the speakers and being flipped through by your hands. More often than not, the chain stores (Virgin Megastores, FYE, Sam Goody, etc.) are staffed with barely-helpful, marginally-attentive clerks who have a minimal knowledge of music (outside the sub-genre or two in which their listening habits are confined during that particular month), so I personally can't be too surprised that they're disappearing, since the experience of shopping there is about as cold and impersonal as shopping online.

But the true jewels in the retail music world are the locally owned independent stores. Maybe they don't have the most impressive selection of titles in stock, but any reputable store is more than happy to special-order whatever you're looking for, usually at no extra charge. And maybe they don't mark their merchandise down below retail, or even have sales very often, but that's only because their nature as a small retailer makes them unable to afford to do so. But what makes up for it is the staff: friendly, knowledgeable people who are eager to help you find what you're looking for -- because they're there not just to earn a paycheck, but because they love music as much as we do. And let's not forget the used CD section! Not only do you never know what you're going to find tucked away in there, but used discs are cheaper and they give the store a higher profit-margin (which helps keep them in business and bring you more of the music you love), and if you do happen to take home a defective disc, most stores' returns policies are very accommodating.

So, do yourself a favor and look in the phone book or online, see if there are any independent record/CD stores near you, and try patronizing them once in awhile (or, better yet, more often). My guess is, the experience of doing so -- especially if you've never entered an independent store before -- will make up for any inconveniences in your buying experience.