we don't touch anymore

i’ve been hesitant to drive over to the local tower records store. ever since i read that the retailer was shutting down its 89 stores, i just haven’t wanted to watch the process of it slowly turning the lights out for good, or watch workers sealing off music sections or watch the store’s concrete floor turn into a skeleton of where the cd and record shelves used to be.

i think mine was one of the last generations to spend at least part of their childhood knowing what vinyl was. my parents had a great record collection. unfortunately it dwindled with every move across country we made, but i still have specific memories of album covers and needles and that popcorn noise the record player made.

i even have certain smells i associate with record store memories. there used to be a record store in springdale, ohio called record and tape outlet. it always smelled like onion bagels. i never figured out if it was because of the bagel store next door, or if it was because that’s what the cashier was eating everytime i went inside. but i distinctly remember that store closing down soonafter 1992.

we could debate all day on the devolution of traditional record stores. did it all start with the cd? or did it start with the cd retailer? well, some would argue the cd itself is now in its last days because of the mp3.

when cd prices started getting sky high, people looked for an alternative. at first, that was found in cd trading stores. but i guess people got tired of all that touching and leaving the house to buy music, so the internet took over. besides, who wants to buy a cd for 18 bucks, when it can be found on half.com or amazon.com for two bucks or less?

tower is just the latest casualty in the war on touching. there was a certain satisfaction in putting your hands on albums...and even cds, flipping through them until you found the one you wanted. then spending another 15, 20 minutes looking at the artwork. people actually walked around a record store with their pending purchases in their hands. i personally used to get a rush out of doing that--excited over getting home to listen to new music or ripping the plastic off a new cd and listening to it during the drive home.

nowadays for the most part, the only thing we touch, is the keyboard to download or purchase. there’s no human cashier to exchange money with or talk about your purchases with. i miss that. what will be the alternative when we get tired or mp3's and want to read liner notes again or walk through record stores again? what happens when you can’t touch nostalgia anymore?