It's Still Rock and Roll to Me

I think it would be great to work in a record store. I love music and usually have some type playing in the background whether I'm at home or driving in the car. Although I don't spend as much money on tunes as I used to, I love digging through the bins and finding something I've been searching for, or buying the CD of an unknown band and having it turn out to be a real gem. I don't do digital; I can count on two hands the number of times I've downloaded a song straight to my hard drive.

My music collection has a predominantly '70s feel. I've replaced many of the albums I had as a teen with the same title on CD, or bought greatest hits compilations of the bands I loved back then. However, classic jazz artists are well-represented in my cabinet, and I have a pretty good selection of vintage country and musical soundtracks. There's also a small collection of releases from local artists that have sold their wares at shows we've attended.

Sadly, there aren't as many independent record stores in my area as there used to be; they've been replaced by big-box stores, Internet purchases, and music downloads. When I heard that today was Record Store Day I decided to participate by going to one of my local stores.

This is the second annual day, although somehow last year's slipped by without me noticing. Participating stores were listed by state on the Record Day Website; filtering out the ones not in the St. Louis area left just a handful. Slackers, (which is a small Columbia-based chain), had the closest choice--a store in Chesterfield Mall, but that didn't have the ambiance I was seeking. That left two convenient choices: Euclid Records in Webster Groves and Vintage Vinyl in University City. Both stores were having special events in honor of the day--live music, refreshments, and giveaways. They both had a similar selection of exclusive Record Day merchandise. However, Euclid Records won out because it's a bit closer to our house, and fit into the evening's plans better.

I'm sure the store's plan to have an outdoor stage sounded great on paper, but Mother Nature didn't care about their plans. It started drizzling as we got close to the store, and the drizzle turned into a more steady rain as we walked from the car. Although there was a small display of merchandise on sale outside the store, the majority of the action had moved inside. It was quite crowded in the store. The stage was set up by the cash register area, and a band was tuning up and getting ready to play.

One thing that's notable about Euclid Records is the large selection of vinyl records, both old and new, that they stock. They also have a good selection of new and used CDs and a small amount of DVDs. I managed to find a few CDs to add to my collection, paid for them, then stayed to listen to the live music for about 10 minutes before it was time to leave for the next event.

I'm looking forward to listening to my new music in the next couple of days.