Nerd or Geek High Holiday number two! Also the oldest of what many cynics would call a Retail Holiday unlike oh…Christmas Season. Well, I want to praise and not attack as I celebrate one of my favorite memories growing up during those soon-to-be, über awkward teen years. Man I can’t believe I’ve never waxed nostalgic about how much I loved going to the dedicated record stores like Waterloo. I’m not jabbering about the soulless chains that died off nor the mythical places Hollywood promotes, aka Empire Records is utter crap. In defense of chains, there was a time when Tower Records was considered cool in some circles.
My first really dedicated store experience was AppleTree Records next to the AppleTree Stereo Store in Springfield, IL. It was 1982 and I had discovered the joys of FM radio before Lee Abrams ruined it. I had picked up records before, just 45s (what the Hipsters call 7″ records) in the late Seventies but my interest in music waned with The Empire Strikes Back tapping my primary interests. Now I was graduating to albums…whoa; thanks to my grade school frenemy Jimmy Valentine taping a copy of the Police’s Ghost in the Machine for me. Brian needed a birthday present so Mom took me to AppleTree which was way more outside Springfield’s mainstream, aka Sears, Ward’s or K’s Merchandise Mart. There were posters of bands I had only remotely heard of through Don Kirshner’s syndicated show, Solid Gold or HBO interstitials. A surly young woman often worked there, Mom complained about this employee only playing “Punk” records (Adam and the Ants). I scored Shake It Up by The Cars for my brother but regardless I knew I had to be back. Queen’s Greatest Hits!
I managed to make it back a few more times until we moved to Houston. The city’s enormity prevented me from ever finding anything equivalent, ditto with Indianoplace; the malls and Target had to do. Still can’t believe the treasures I found at the latter. North Dakota obviously had its own obstacles yet I did find a dedicated place in Bismarck during a day trip with friends. When I had the opportunities in Winnipeg, I definitely took advantage of the exchange rate to find good stuff that was alien to my classmates and restocked via Christmas money at the Bloomington-Normal AppleTree in 1985.
Discovering Milwaukee’s numerous indie stores was thrilling and odd because it’s such a culturally conservative place. A paradise for Jazz fans, not much for fans of anything past 1981 in my opinion. There were awesome locations: Radio Doctors and Mainstream (the local chain/distributors), Eastside Disc, The Exclusive Company and (when they didn’t have pricks working at the counter, a rarity, namely upperclassman Dave Breen) Atomic Records. Ask my friend Helen about the last one on the list. It’s a textbook example of how not to treat even a casual customer.
Budget issues kept me away from AppleTree when I moved back to Bloomington-Normal, I was only by during sales otherwise it was the Co-Op, Best Buy and this interesting place in Peoria I wasted my lunch hours on.
Reconnecting with a record store was on the top of my list when I moved to Austin. Initially I was taken in by the opulent Tower Records at 24th and Guadelupe. Then I struck up a better relationship with the used store Technophilia while scouring ABCDs, Cheap-o, Encore and another place way down the Drag I can’t remember. Waterloo was “too far” away for me, I didn’t have a car for two years. It worked out in the long run. Waterloo was poised better than the rest. The majority of stores in Austin were pretty wrapped up in used stuff and as college kids in the Aughts stopped buying thanks to their “everything on the Internet should be free” mindset, they collapsed. Nobody shed any tears when the Tower on 24th liquidated.
Today, RSD isn’t exactly a magic day since there’s always a line around the corner with many holding lists of things they want. It’s really a financial boost to the remaining stores because fewer younger people consider recorded music to have much value. I’m good with it if keeps the lights on. I only wish I could bottle the joy and excitement I used to have in 1982 when going to AppleTree, then finding a way to share it with my nieces and nephews. They can try it once, make up their own minds so they can see what the old fart uncle is babbling on about, then move on. I won’t ram it down their throats since I hope they discover their own bliss or magic.
Oh yeah, before I was navel gazing and inflating “the good ol’ days,” I did get up early this year to bring coffee and kolaches for my friend Chip. He’s a major player in helping RSD happen at Waterloo. It was the least I could do for him because he helped me attain the cherished Dave Grohl ambassador pin to join my Jack White. What did I buy? I was looking for the Stephen Hawking thing but I guess it wasn’t for the States. I did score Felt Mountain by Goldfrapp which was never produced on vinyl being a 2000 release.
If you loved music, even briefly, go visit your local record store if you can over the next month. Maybe you’ll have a reconnection.
Onward to holiday number three in two weeks…Free Comic Book Day!
