The Decline of FAME (and the modern record store)
Hi all. Well, this will be a rather short post (as I've just left the Netherlands, heading back to the US for a bit) but I *did* want to chat about my recent FAME experience, as well as some sad news regarding other 'local' record shops .
So, as I've mentioned before (and even blogged about), I love this store called 'FAME'. It's probably the last great record store around, anywhere. For years, I've been going there (and dropping mucho Euros!) and they've ALWAYS come thru. Every bizarre, esoteric thing I've ever looked for, I've found (at least 9/10 times)...but my last two visits did NOT reflect this average. What *is* happening??
The weird thing was...the selections I was looking for weren't even terribly 'bizarre'...these were some fairly standard things by some pretty common artists...and they just hadn't re-stocked their catalogs. ;( This is sad, and more sadly, probably a preview of things to come. I mean, let's face it: the record store concept is old and tired...and dying slowly. This saddens me to no end -- but that's just the way it is. That being said, I *did* manage to pick up a couple of re-issues that I've been waiting on for sometime (all Jazz, all MCA/Impulse or Atlantic Jazz remasters, including John Coltrane, Coltrane Jazz - incredible remaster, had the old version and it was STILL great!, Ellington & Coltrane, another classic, and one that I knew (and owned on Vinyl) in the Berklee days, Billy Cobham's Spectrum (another fusion classic, with the late Tommy Bolin on axe), and a few more.) All in all by no means a depressing experience (and FAME once again redeems itself!) ...but again, things have changed.
And that brings me to the other sad news. A good friend of mine from Amsterdam, Leon, just hipped me to the fact that two classic, independent record shops were closing...one of them was closing this weekend!! NO!!! Now, I don't know what's going to happen to them (ie, if they'll continue as on-line businesses, etc) but I figured I'd post the URLs, and maybe we can spread a little love, and perhaps keep them from disappearing entirely. You never know. (and thanks, Leon for the tip! Good seeing you the other day, btw, at Dutchview!)
Here they are:
BOUDISQUE, Amsterdam
&
GET RECORDS, Amsterdam
Well, that's about all I can say at this moment. As someone who has only recently begun purchasing download music through iTunes (all due to the availability of iTunes Plus, AAC 256 codec) I STILL buy way more 'physical CDs' than downloaded music. (Amazon.com is like my second 'online' home, frankly!) Long live the CD! Long live the record store!! LOL. Geez....I'm sounding old. ;) I think I need to watch HIGH FIDELITY right about now!! ;)
So my friends, I'm off to snack on some un-refrigerated, pre-packaged & processed Cheese (here in the United Lounge) and I'll be back on in the next few days. No time to waste, however, as the evangelists will be meeting up (well, most of us) in San Francisco/San Jose this week. I'll try and ping you from the road with some pics. And, Mr. Deuchler will be joining us as well! Alright! We've missed you, Ruf!
Until next time,
Blog on.
Comments
Blog on! Thanks for the updates and pictures. More pictures of you, please.
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Thanks for the kind words, Ronda. ;) I hate making blog posts w/o pics, so I'll try and keep them 'fresh and updated', as often as I can. ;) Blog on. ---JL
Posted by: Ronda Voorhis | March 31, 2008 09:44 AM
Have you hit Amoeba Records, at Haight near Stanyan in San Francisco? The jazz section is middling-sized, but they stock a wider selection of our phonographic heritage than most stores I've seen.
jd
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Hey John. Oh yes indeed...I've spent many a day at Amoeba in SF (I still like it better than the one in LA, though that one has it's charms as well).
I can remember going into Amoeba about 10 years ago (I was part-time living in El Cerrito at the time) and I had a list of 10 LPs (vinyl) that I was hoping to find & purchase...I walked out with 12. ;) Those *were* the days. ---JL
Posted by: John Dowdell | March 31, 2008 01:58 PM
Baaaaaaddddd bad blogger :D
Please update soon :)
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Wow... only ten days and 'already' a bad blogger?? Thought I had to exceed 15 days... ;) LOL. In truth, you're right...I've been meaning to get back online. So, there's a new post today, and more to come! Thanks for reading, Kitty. I'll try not to be so badddd. ---JL
Posted by: KittytheHousecat | April 9, 2008 12:28 PM