I Gave Thurston Moore A Moist Towelette

A new documentary is in the works. Something that will undoubtedly hit a little too uncomfortably close to home...





It's about the indie store, of course, and not so much the mega corporate monstrosity that I work for -- although in a sense it probably is more about my store than theirs, putting theirs out of business I'm sure will be said.

But I gotta say, from the inside looking out, I think it's just more than the Wal Marts and the Trans Worlds puttin' the hurt on Bleecker Bob's. In fact what I'm hoping this does is reveal the real status of independent record stores everywhere, and how the ones that still stand still manage to stay standing. It's no secret that my huge megastore is not meeting its goals in the music department. But I have talked to two local music store owners that claim that they are doing fine, and yet when I look around their stores I see less and less product, fewer and fewer customers... what is the truth, really? Is it really just the record store industry that's dying? Yet, why did my friend get laid off from the Caroline Record label after 15 years as a faithful representative and now works for UPS in Manhattan? Why did Joe's video rental store company go out of business even though they were the third largest chain in the country? Why is it that I only ever get to see independently owned book stores, video stores, clothing shops, and restaurants whenever I visit Nags Head on the off season?

Not like I don't use iTunes these days myself. Woot! I'm part of the problem!