Yes, it's the end of the world (as we know it). This may sound like an extreme overstatement in regards to my hearing of the news that Virgin Records in Union Square was closing down--like the one in Times Square did a few months before. Like Tower Records did, a couple years before that--and so on. This pattern of loss in record stores is definitely signaling the end of an era (Sam Goody, anyone?). No one is buying music, they download. No one is buying DVDs, they Netflix. And while I feel the i-pod is probably the greatest musical invention since the...drum, I am still sadden by the disappearance of record stores.
There's nothing like browsing a good record store--seeing album covers, posters, running into music lovers and having philosophical discourses on the love or hate for a particular band or album. Even if I wasn't necessarily partaking in the conversation, just hearing those conversations being had always warmed my heart.
With every loss as we know, there is rebirth. There will be other avenues and channels that bring music lovers together. Most likely on the Internet, satellite radio, social networking sites, or some other new innovation. Record stores will soon be remembered as ancient artifacts, relics frozen in time. I'll always remember what it felt like, sounded like, smelled like to wander the aisles with excitement and glee on Tuesdays when all the newest music was released. Or browsing endlessly through CDs in search of a new discovery. And despite the slick, new advances in technology and all the wonders that accompany it--truth is, some moments just can't be downloaded.
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