I Thought They Were Cool…?
As I walked into the local Sam the Record Man or what ever the local record store we had, I can remember how it even smelled cool. I would take my 4 foot 2 frame through the aisles filled with bands I had never heard of, posters of half-naked Heather Locklear, and rock memorabilia from all over. It was a magical place, the place where all the cool kids would go, where you wanted to be seen, and the place where the envy of all part-time employees worked. The kings of the after school job market - The record store employee.

These people were the coolest of the cool. They dressed cool, had piercings, and obviously knew way more about music than I did…I mean come on they were surrounded by it all day. I would make my way to the modern rock section to pick up the new Corey Hart First Offense tape, thinking I was cool. Hell it's new isn't it? I'm on the cutting edge of rock. I would carry it up to the front desk to pay, only to be scoffed at by the big kids behind the counter. It was almost like checking for approval by the kings of music, the all knowing seeing eyes of modern rock. 'When I grow up, I wanna work in a record store.' I would tell myself. Hoping that I would someday be able to survive what must be a grueling interview process, hoping I was gonna be cool like that one day.

Yeah…that was when I was a kid. It's funny how your perspectives are different when you grow up. I went into the mall the other day, looking through the big conglomerate music store. Yeah these guys are nerds. What the hell was I thinking? Maybe it's the fact that all of the big chain stores took over, but I am so glad I didn't try out to be a part of that team. It's probably all of the years of them looking down their music guru noses at my purchases or maybe it's just because when you're a kid all the big kids look cool…?

Now when I walk into my local CD store it just smells like every other store in the mall. Sure it's filled with tons of CD's from bands I don't know but most of the time when I'm looking for something specific I just get a blank look and a 'I dunno let me check the computer' from the 'music expert' behind the counter. 9 times out of 10 they don't have it. There are still posters in the stores but now they're of N'Sync or Nelly…yeah give me two please. There is no magic left in these places and I couldn't care less if I'm seen there. Sure it might still be a cool job to have while you're in high school but mostly because you can listen to music all day, do nothing, and hang out with the other nerds that aren't really sure who the Beatles are and can't remember when Michael Jackson was black.

Sure there still are some cool stores out there, and there are some cool people who work at them but if I want to remember what it used to be all about I just go out and rent High Fidelity. It's funny I sometimes still get that feeling of guilt when buying a record that might be pretty old or cheesy. I still feel like I'm being judged by the music gurus, then I realize that they're just idiots who work at a record store full time and I feel better. Boy I better cut down on the angry sandwiches before writing these things…

 

What do you think? You know where to find me.

or mail to: andrew@boldopinion.com
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