Music & Memories

When I got my first job one of my vices was music. I would go a local record store, Recordsmith in Richmond (RIP), and spend some portion of my paycheck. The guys there got to know my taste and turned me on to some great music; Rev Horton Heat, SCOTS, and many others. I spent a lot of time at concerts, listening to local bands and searching for new and different songs. I rarely, even now, listened to radio stations higher than 92 on the dial. These independent stations and stores were so much fun in my quest for tunes.

Now, Internet radio, online stores and MP3 players have replaced most of that.

I was reminded of this when I stopped in to Phil's Records and Tapes in Southgate. Well, Phil's Music and Memories now. That should tell you how long the store has been around, Records and Tapes!? When I moved to Newport the store was just a few miles away. I would stop in and go straight to the used bin, then to the new rack, and before leaving a check of the dry erase board to see what new releases were coming soon. Phil's moved to Latonia, then Erlanger, now to Southgate. It's considerable smaller, but the telling (I was gonna say odd) thing is, half the store is records. I guess now they're a niche store for audiophiles that love albums. It felt like a walk down memory lane. The whole time I was there I kept getting this feeling that, 'This is the last time I will ever be in a record store'.

I would use my iPhone to check net prices on the used CDs. Why do I need to buy it in the store? For the jewel case? The Album art or liner notes? I can check all that out on allmusic.com. Now there is myspace. I listened to all of Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears before I bought it. How great is that? There are tunes on LaLa for ¢.79 songs. That's almost as cheap as a single play on a jukebox. Amazon has full albums for $7.99 and some for $5.00. I got Neko Case- Middle Cyclone for five bucks!

I've almost stopped going to concerts. I hate audiences. I didn't pay to hear you scream the lyrics or, worse, not pay attention at all and talk throughout the shop. At one Steve Earle concert he started talking against the death penalty. Two idiots yell, “Shut up and play!” If you don't already know about Earle's views why did you show up? Did they pay $40 just to hear Copperhead Road? My iPhone has almost replaced my radio. Old tunes, from my CDs, pop up unexpectedly like friends to say hello. I'm still a member of WKNU and WVXU. They do a good with local music an news. My new car has Sirius, but I don't think I'll subscribe. The quality isn't there, especially on the talk channels. I might as well stream it from my iPhone, as long as, of course, I have cell reception.

But there is a tinge of guilt. Phil's, and all the others, have giving me great direction for music. I look at my CD collection and can see their influence. I did buy one used CD: a Dwight Yoakam great hits. I still haven't replaced music from my cassette days. My direction now is the net, but thanks for the music and memories.