The Day The Music Died

Today I walked by an HMV store in Sydney, and obviously couldn’t resist walking in. It’s a store in the process of being shut down, with their entire stock piled randomly onto large tables with people digging through. A very depressing view. I had spent a better part of my youth in HMV stores in the UK listening to music and learning about the latest trends and artists, and now all that was reduced to piles of CD cases nobody seemed to want anymore. Is that how things will look like the day the music dies?

Tokyo was a more uplifting experience. They still have a Tower Records store just outside the Shinjuku metro station that seems very well frequented and still has the deep catalogue the chain had been known for in the past. I found the only ever official solo release by Neil Innes from the Bonzos, Ruttles and Monty Python, an early live CD by I Am Kloot, the first CD by Jamie Cullum and yes, my guiltiest of pleasures, a remastered version of ELO’s 1981 album Time. I know …

Obviously, the decline in music sales is a global phenomenon, so it’s no surprise that record stores are affected everywhere. But as someone who’s spent part of their youth getting thrown out of record stores for listening to too many records before buying one, it’s sad to see such an integral part of my formative years slowly die away …