CHRIS WALKER VS. SEARCHING FOR THE STOOGES AT LOCAL RECORD STORES

When Tower Records closed its doors to business, after bankruptcy and purchase by a company that didn’t want to keep the iconic chain alive, I felt it might be time to move to a new city. Tower was all Reno had left in terms of a traditional music store and once it was gone my options (lest I go completely digital or order online) became Best Buy, Target, or, god forbid, Walmart. Hardly ideal for the musically obsessed. Visions of the five-story Rasputin’s in San Francisco filled my mind however; I opted to stay in the “biggest little city in the world” regardless. It’s where I work, after all.

This weekend I developed an insane desire to rediscover 60s – 70s art rock, punk rock, and as my friend Brian Johnson referred to it: “protopunk”. I’d been listening to The Stooges’ Fun House for three days straight and, realizing I wanted more, became hell-bent on finding all the Stooges, Iggy Pop, Velvet Underground, and Lou Reed I could get my hands on. This wasn’t a job Best Buy could handle and, due to the nature of the music, I refused to go digital. I wanted linear notes. I wanted album art. I didn’t want bonus tracks. Part of me didn’t even want “remixed” or “remastered”. For this mission I had to go local, and I probably had to go used.

First stop: the long forgotten Recycled Records.

I hadn’t been inside the original Recycled Records, located in the shopping center of Kietzke and South Virginia, in over a decade. Last time I was there I bought Catherine Wheel and traded in Letters to Cleo. Obviously, my tastes have changed. Thankfully, Recycled Records hasn’t. The place has retained its charm, it still feels like a dungeon or some kind of “vinyl speakeasy” you might imagine in the basement of an old building, requiring password for admission. It’s awesome and the older I become the more I appreciate it. Amidst the posters and miscellaneous memorabilia, the walls are lined with countless used CDs ranging from Anthrax to Warren Zevon. The middle of the store is brimming with vinyl from every genre imaginable. They still sell tapes. They still sell movies on VHS. Their rap section is minimal, at best. The people behind the counter are exceedingly knowledgeable and you get the feeling they really care about music – and probably hated the late 90s (arguably the worst era of music ever: Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Limp Bizkit).

While my visit to Recycled Records made me fall back in love with the store, they didn’t have what I was looking for. No Velvet Underground in stock and when I finally asked if they had any Stooges – secretly hoping there was a hidden, special section for that kind of music – I was informed there was none and that when there is, “it usually flies off the shelves”. I settled for Lou Reed’s New York and went on my way.

Next stop: the relatively new Discology.

Located on the second story of the same building as Blue Moon Pizza and Satellite Bar and Lounge, on the corner of California and Plumas, Discology is what you might call the last of an all but dead breed: the independent music store. Discology is very small; the selection is scattered; in the age of iTunes and Amazon.com they cater to customers who make special orders. Not exactly cutting edge but, as much as the deck may seem like it’s stacked against Discology, the store shines in other ways. For one, they have a frequent buyer’s program (buy ten and get one free, or something like that). They support local artists by treating the walls like a gallery and hosting art shows. They also have regular in-store performances. On top of that, owner David Calkins (who worked at Recycled Records, previously) promotes the store through a blog and MySpace profile which keeps customers/potential customers up-to-date with the store’s happenings, as well as provides links to featured artists/performers. David is also into Egyptian art (Discology’s logo is a scarab beetle), which is cool.

Even though Discology didn’t have much of what I was looking for either (through the large amount of Pearl Jam and Britney Spears I was able to find Velvet Underground’s self-titled album and Loaded; no Stooges, sadly) everything the store represents makes me want to support it. I like the fact Discology is locally owned, independent, and involved in Reno’s art scene. I like the idea of special ordering albums, special ordering vinyl. To me, it makes the act of buying music exciting and personable again – the whole experience of going to a store, developing camaraderie with the people who work there, having them learn your tastes and look out for you when and if something they think you’d like comes along. I relish the thought of making music, and ways of obtaining it, truly matter again.

It seems like the days of appreciating and being enveloped by an album are fading. Downloading music (especially illegally) has made it so impersonal; music, in general, has become so single-oriented and disposable. Being the music nut I am, it bums me out. I won’t get too philosophical or preachy, it’s just nice to know worthwhile record stores have not completely gone the way of the buffalo in Reno. Not yet, anyhow. And I think it’s up to us, as consumers, to make sure they stick around. Now, if only they’d keep some Stooges on the shelves.

Links:

[Official] Recycled Records

[MySpace] Discology
[Blog] Discology

Posted: August 14th, 2007 | Author: Chris Walker | Filed under: Discology, Recycled Records, The Stooges, Velvet Underground | No Comments »