Happy In Bag

Sunday, January 04, 2009

The Needle










I'm an addict. My habit isn't drugs or alcohol; it's music. I've never been able to go more than three or four days without acquiring new albums and CDs. Thanks to sites like Blip.fm and a thinner wallet, however, I'm learning how to manage my compulsion. Yet I still can't help myself from hanging around Kansas City retailers 7th Heaven and Wax Factory. The insights they offer into the local scene can't be gleaned from message boards, blogs or filesharing services.

posted by Happy In Bag @ 11:43 AM  

5 Comments:

  • At 9:01 PM, Blogger bgo said…

    Gone are the times when I was character in one of the better known haunts in town for finding that rare gem of a sound recording. I have dreams of being buried in an avalanche of vinyl. There is just too much to digest in a lifetime.

    I keep trying but I do not visit the places you mention, though knowing Jan, I read in the funny papers about his legal problems with 7th Heaven.

    These days it is TV, Radio and especially the Internets.

    Consider me blipped.

    And tune into WWOZ when you find time.

     

  • At 9:03 AM, Blogger Happy In Bag said…

    It's no secret that one of the keys of a successful retailer is the ability to offer something that isn't available elsewhere.

    By focusing on local artists that are virtually invisible everywhere else- Fat Tone, Sliccs Gotcha, Ron Ron, Rich the Factor, etc.- these stores on Parallel and Troost have a nice little niche.

     

  • At 11:20 AM, Blogger bgo said…

    I agree on all points HIB. It is a beautiful thing that 'the hood' does not keep you away from finding out about local talent and promoting it to anyone with a set of open ears. The last of independents can still thrive if they set forth with something this world of capital ignores. Jan has done that for years. I've never been to Wax World but perhaps that shall change sooner than later.

     

  • At 11:28 AM, Blogger Happy In Bag said…

    You'd like Keylo (sp?) at Wax Factory, BGO. He "gets it." And by the way, I bumped into Jan at his store about three weeks ago.

     

  • At 1:53 PM, Blogger Don't Need Anything said…

    man, i miss record stores. i live over an hour from the nearest one (at least one that i know of) and its making it harder and harder to find new music worth a crap. ive been using a couple of different sites, but yer right, its not the same.

     

Post a Comment

<< Home