Back to the Mall Record Shop Future

/ Ray Van Horn, Jr.

And this still isn’t vintage enough, but the point’s made plenty hard. Mall record stores and megashops were horrendously overpriced even by today’s inflated economical standards, but there wasn’t a single time I didn’t not pop into one of these on a mall outing. For all of you indie record shops still hanging out there, I love you. Keep the faith.

–Meme courtesy of the public domain

12 thoughts on “Back to the Mall Record Shop Future”

      • This is going to sound bad, but one of my favourite ‘other’ things at the downtown record stores were the posters. As a youngster in the 1980s (pre-internet era) the poster section was the only place to get a glimpse of Samantha Fox in all her glory. I definitely worried my mom when I came home with a poster of RHCP with wearing only gym socks. I just thought it was hilarious.

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      • LOL! I get that and nothing wrong with that. I had Heather Thomas in my room, nipples pushing through the bikini top and all. My mom was incredibly cool about it. Ahh, the memories, LOL! Yeah, I had that same RCHP poster! When the Chilis played shows in nothing but the tube socks, I was roaring at it.

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      • Yup, the record store was a great place. We had three big ones in downtown Toronto; A&M, HMV and Sam the Record Man. If you were a teenager looking to re-invent your suburban self into a cooler kid, head to the record stores to see how punks and goths and metal-heads and new wave kids dressed and what they listened to.
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        Plus… those posters if you got bored people watching.
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        P.S. I stayed up till midnight to watch RHCP play that Fire Aid show last night. I can’t believe that band (with all the drugs and such) lasted this long.

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      • These are great comments and so true. It was interesting watching culture clashes in the subcultural elements, but eventually we all learned to get along and start sharing the music. I personally went on a hunt for all genres before I got into the music industry. It made me a much stronger critic and I crossed genres to cite influences where I heard them being blended. I was praised for that in my reviews, but I just loved and still love music across the board. I missed the Chilis doing that Fire Aid gig, but I heard it was emotional. Of their modern albums, “The Getaway” is my favorite. Deep, introspective, heartfelt, mature. Something they weren’t until pieces of Mother’s Milk.

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