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On Thursday I'm going to
London for a few days and for some time now I've been dreaming of (once again) doing a bit of CD shopping in
Berwick Street. Nothing wrong with that dream, but
Chris did his best to crush it a few days ago when he sent me this
link along with
this one. I probably should have seen it coming when
Chromewaves voiced
his concerns about the number of CD stores closing down in
Toronto. Or perhaps the day I spent on the shopping street in
Flensburg this summer with my wife should have rung a bell, as not a single CD store was in sight. I know that my
local CD store has been grasping for air for years now, but at least they have managed to keep the boat afloat, by turning a large part of the store into a (damn fine) café.
Cannot say that I'm surprised that the stores in smaller cities (like ours) are struggling to stay alive, but it certainly is quite frustrating to learn that they are becoming endangered species in the metropols as well. What really strikes, and worries me at the same time, is the quote that no one under the age of 35 is buying CD's (which the owner of my hometown CD store verified, when I told him about the article). I've always looked upon music as something tangible; meaning that when I bought music I received a physical good that I could carry home, store on my shelf (and then re-find 5 years later) etc. But with the current trend in mind, it seems like I have to get used to people considering music as something intangible, which is being stored on computers, iPods etc. and thrown away, when they no longer find it interesting!
Like every other music fanatic, I’ve always enjoyed going through people’s Music collection when visiting new friends for the first (second, third etc.) time, but as I see it, I'm facing quite an obstacle now. Somehow it just doesn’t sound right asking them to turn on their computer or asking if it's possible to borrow their iPod for a minute. And since I will now be unable to gather any information on the music taste of my host/new friend(s), I could end up discussing music with some Robbie or Justin fan(s), which certainly is quite a frightening thought!
The good part is that people still have great interest in music. If nothing else the booming concert industry certainly is the proof of that. But the CD stores are dying and soon the 2nd hand shops will be gone as well, meaning no more dusty shops like the ones in High Fidelity. A sad end to all the hours music geeks like me have spent searching for limited editions, rare releases, out-of-print albums etc. And what exactly are we supposed to do now? Did any of you young people think of that you selfish bastards?
But on Thursday afternoon I will, as a salute to a dying era, take a walk down Berwick Street pretending I'm on the cover of an Oasis album. And then someone please wake me up and put an end to this dream turned nightmare!
+ Tower of Foil - End of the Story
+ The Poems - The Ballad of a Bitter End
Beirut was one of the most popular artists in the bloggerworld last year and now the track A Sunday Smile from the forthcoming album The Flying Club Cup (to be released October 9) is available as a free download from his webpage. Time will tell if the world needs more Balkan inspired trumpets, mandolins, accordions etc., but for every listen I certainly like his music more and more (thanks Jonas!).
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