Tower Records Files for Bankruptcy

actually, both of the above songs hit me real hard, real deep. The moment 7:01 into WGTH(TSII) is one of my all-time favourites.

will fuck with you

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3a/Toptop.jpg

oh well

this is true, the Pasadena Tower has a killer huge jazz room, which is in turn dwarfed by Amoeba's jazz wing. Sorry I brought it up.

I wish Jason would release the full Glastonbury 1993 live set. They also played a terrific version of "Good Times" (one of the only times they ever played it live).

Rockaway was better when it occupied the entire building instead of the one-quarter or one-third that they have now.

Elvis stole my Rockaway comment, and I'll miss the Pasadena Tower. I drive by it on the way home (always easy parking) and their DVDs are well-priced when they're released. Lately they've been having 20-25% off sales on CDs, which would make the prices good if I bothered to look around hard enough. It's probably been a year since I went to PooBah's, also a shadow of their former selves.

OTMFM

Bankrupt yet still in business! Whatta country! I guess the idea is to just keep going farther into debt and tack that onto the purchase price for whoever buys them up?

It's a bit like downloading porn, mate.

Seriously, that's sad. I really loved Tower Records.

thank you Hank (and Ned, and everyone else with good words)

yes, a huge promo display for esp-disk reissues.

Tower's brand is used by 144 international stores, but those licensees will not be affected by the bankruptcy process.

"The industry wants it to survive," he said. It got a standing ovation from the crowd when it recently won retailer of the year from the major recording merchandisers' trade group, he said.

Then again, I'm guilty (like a lot of Angelenos) of choosing Amoeba first...

Sunday nights often bum me out. After 6:00, nearly everything is closed, and the work week is looming ahead. There's been many a late night Sunday run, walk or bike ride, when I'd end up at Tower, dependably open when no one else is. Even when I don't have the cash for an impulse buy to boost my mood, it's just soothing to be surrounded by a hundred thousand albums. Sometimes I'll just check for good deals on albums I want for later, or just randomly browse and soak it all in, or skim reviews in their well-stocked magazine section.

Many blame Tower's second bankruptcy on the decline in CD sales and downloading, but that's all bullshit. Businesses close all the time, even when conditions don't seem adverse. The truth is that Tower has been obviously mismanaged since at least the 80s, from what I've heard from former employees. It's a miracle it made it this long. Even though it's had an online store for about a decade, and started doing MP3 sales recently, the execution was half-assed. Not to mention the wildly inconsistent pricing. By employing a smarter online strategy and learning from successful independents like Amoeba, Tower could have lasted longer. As it is, I'm guessing one of the two interested buyers is Virgin. It'll be interesting to see what happens, but I doubt the changes will be effective. Corporate chains have simply lost touch with what music consumers want.

But dang, I'll miss those late hours. This excludes the downtown Chicago location, which was good for a few years after buying out Rose Records' inventory. The Lincoln Park Tower had a vastly underrated Imports section. For the last couple years, Paul Kennedy, the Imports Coordinator, has written blurbs about great bands like The Associates, Section 25, Dome, Scriti Politti, Mark Stewart, Gang of Four and punk poet John Cooper Clarke. They get some of the UK releases about a week or so after their release. Some of the albums seem to be permantly on sale for five dollars under the normal price (then again, some are inexplicably $35). They even imported and displayed Simon Reynolds' Rip It Up And Start Again, nearly a year before it was issued in the U.S.

I went to Tower last night, possibly for the last time, depending on how long they keep their doors open. The current sale was typical of their odd sales -- in addition to the usual discount bins, all albums priced $12.99 were on sale for $9.99. For that price, I found these, all in the import aisle:

Soft Machine - Fourth and Fifth
Sparks - Indiscreet
Strawbs - Ghosts [Remastered]
Ultravox! [New remastered version]
Ultravox! - Ha! Ha! Ha!

Farewell Tower, R.I.P.

I still sometimes catch myself dreaming about taking a time machine back to then, and buying up every single one.

as for the store itself, kinda sad. the music mags seemed to be a month or two behind. about 10 people in the store. counter help picking their finger nails...