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I eat play dough
Every true music obsessive knows well the joys of the indie music store - flicking through endless vinyl and CDs; being dragged gleefully off course by some obscure gem you had no idea existed but just have to hear; working out exactly how much money you can spend without completely bankrupting yourself (or is that just me?). The archetypal record store may be a sadly rarer sight these days, and certainly doesn't provide the lifeline for music fans it once did, but these havens are still important. Crucially, in the era of downloading and file-sharing, they offer, along with gig going, the tangible experience of being part of some sort of community, a subset of people who will gladly stand for hours rummaging through plastic disks. We still need them, and they need us. A new film takes a look at the role of the indie record in 21st century Britain. Last Shop Standing: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of the Independent Record Shop, as the title suggests, acknowledges how much the number of record stores has decreased since their heyday in the 70s and 80s, but takes a more optimistic view than some of those that have come before it. The film, inspired by the book of the same name by Graham Jones, features talking-head contribution from a host of notable musicians including Johnny Marr, Paul Weller, Billy Bragg and Richard Hawley. Directed by Pip Piper, tries to answer the alarming question of why, on average, three record stores are closing per week in the UK. It looks back at the history of the record store, the highs and the lows, and celebrates it continuing relevance to music fans across the UK. Last Shop Standing was shot between December 2011 and June 2012, visiting 28 independent record shops the length and breadth of the UK, speaking to their owners, capturing the stories of these culturally hallowed music spaces. It's sad to think of the last indie record store standing along. As Johnny Marr says: "The independent record shops are true gems of our culture. Who would want them thrown away?" |
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Comments
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brownstone27 on Wed 29 Aug 2012 @ 11:40 said:
Looks really good. Record shops must be struggling at the moment but nothing beats browsing the racks and finding something special. There used to be an amazing record shop in Edinburgh called Avalanche but remember the last time I looked it up I found out it had closed- their not invinsible and thats kinda worrying. Jumbo and Crash have been in Leeds for years and years- would be awful if they closed. You can't really replace stores like that...........
soundbunny on Wed 29 Aug 2012 @ 18:15 said:
You can't, although their doing well to outlive the mega stores.
bobdobelina on Wed 29 Aug 2012 @ 19:50 said:
I could do something other than the day job it would be to run a record store. That's just the geek in me though, I suspect it's hard to make a living. Somewhere like Piccadilly records in Manchester looks like it's a well run business though.
soundbunny on Wed 29 Aug 2012 @ 19:55 said:
I love Piccadilly Records. I was there yesterday in fact.
Disfordangerous on Wed 29 Aug 2012 @ 20:02 said:
Avalanche records have moved to 5 Grassmarket, still in Edinburgh.
sidewalker on Wed 5 Sep 2012 @ 21:44 said:
Resident Records in the Lanes, Brighton. My favourite indie in the UK. Decent mix of records and CDs and everything really well priced. I would dream of running a record shop. Wish i had the cash to do it now however I would ensure I didnt use it as a parody of High Fidelity