DaveG Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So . . . was the original Tower Records in San
> Francisco or Sacramento????
>
> ryanpow and timbernardis, the puck has been
> dropped!!


Timbernardis wins. I stand corrected! the first store was in sac. and the 2nd store was in S.F. plus I was wrong about the street. Its on Columbus Street. there is no Columbus Ave in SF. thats in new york.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-11-23 03:15 by ryanpow.

There is only ONE reason why they are in trouble - it HAS to be Bush's fault, right?

Very sad - same thing happened in the dairy industry. Supermarkets cut the price of milk, doorstep deliveries now practically non existant.
However, the consumer wins hands down - cd prices now at an all time low - who needs to download inferior crap when you can get the real thing for not a lot more (except Beatles stuff which remains ridiculously priced for some odd reason).
I mourn the demise of the cassette tape.

GW BUSH did it!!!!!!!!!!!

ryanpow Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> DaveG Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > So . . . was the original Tower Records in San
> > Francisco or Sacramento????
> >
> > ryanpow and timbernardis, the puck has been
> > dropped!!
>
>
> Timbernardis wins. I stand corrected! the first
> store was in sac. and the 2nd store was in S.F.
> plus I was wrong about the street. Its on Columbus
> Street. there is no Columbus Ave in SF. thats in
> new york.


O Dave G, my heart is warmed by your reference to a puck which is used in a hockey arena and do you know what surrounds the hockey playing surface ??

YES, IT IS plexiglass which should remind us all of THE PLEXIGLASS !!

One other thing that started in Sacramento - if anyone remembers SHAKEY'S PIZZA, the original Shakey's was only about a mile and a half from my childhood home.


tim from Plexiglass montana, formerly of the Capital City of Sacramento

harlito1969 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> CDs are too expensive, simple as that. The $18.99
> asking price is ridiculous when the other options
> of aquiring music is easier and cheaper.

Who pays for that? amazon.com sells that at half the price.

micwer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> harlito1969 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > CDs are too expensive, simple as that. The
> $18.99
> > asking price is ridiculous when the other
> options
> > of aquiring music is easier and cheaper.
>
> Who pays for that? amazon.com sells that at half
> the price.

CDs costed 28 dollars where I live, for years. Now, it's only the so called "top40" store left, and they are cheaper...but have un-usable selection.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-11-23 05:59 by Erik_Snow.

look, if you own shop and want to carry a wide selection, you need money to finance this, so you need profits. in past most profits were made with huge selling charts material so shop owners were able to carry wide selection of titles which dont sell every day like blues titles or similar music genres. but when big supermarkets came into game and offering chart titles for discount prices, this took profit margins away from smaller shops, so they were not able anymore to offer wide selection. situation like this forced many out of business. supermarkets dont need to make much money on chart titles, they instead use them often to get people attracted to their supermarkets by offereing them cheap and hoping that people will also buy something else in the market. its more of a promotion for them to sell chart CD cheap, whereas a true record shop has to make a living from selling music.

CD and now the downloading of equally poor quality compressed music files are responsibe to large degree for music no longer being the cultural driving force that it used to be in my opinion.
How can folks expect to get a real buzz from recorded music when the standard formats are so crap !
Most young folks today are more into computer games and comedians than they are music !

ryanpow Wrote:
>
> Micks Brain, do you have Rasputin Records where
> you live?

i think the first was in berkeley (where i went to college) and it expanded there and ameoba moved in too - both record stores each take up half a block! the tower in berkeley is out of business.

but it appears are are now multiple rasputins (one in vallejo too - and more?) and i know there's a big amoeba in san francisco too.

the big corporate stores (tower is corporate mainstream to me) are being taken over by the independent(turned corporate) records stores.




>
> THeres also a record store in SF called Amoeba
> (speeling?) records, and im pretty sure theres one
> in Hollywood. They have hard to get stuff, but
> theyre too inconsistent. for one thing, they
> hardly have any stones cds at all. its like theyre
> saying "were so cool, we dont have to carry the
> stones"

little queenie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ryanpow Wrote:
> >
> > Micks Brain, do you have Rasputin Records where
> > you live?
>
> i think the first was in berkeley (where i went to
> college) and it expanded there and ameoba moved in
> too - both record stores each take up half a
> block! the tower in berkeley is out of business.
>
> but it appears are are now multiple rasputins (one
> in vallejo too - and more?) and i know there's a
> big amoeba in san francisco too.
>
> the big corporate stores (tower is corporate
> mainstream to me) are being taken over by the
> independent(turned corporate) records stores.
>
>
>
>
> >
> > THeres also a record store in SF called Amoeba
> > (speeling?) records, and im pretty sure theres
> one
> > in Hollywood. They have hard to get stuff, but
> > theyre too inconsistent. for one thing, they
> > hardly have any stones cds at all. its like
> theyre
> > saying "were so cool, we dont have to carry the
> > stones"

Rasputin is still in Berkeley, though moved a few blocks down from its original location on Telegraph Ave.

Do you remember RATHER RIPPED records on the north side of campus? A small but cool shop, first place I ever heard punk rock -- whatever happened to them? I am a Cal grad as well (and I am disgusted over last Saturday's loss to USC, no Rose Bowl again for the 49th or so year).


timfromPlexiglassmontana

i definetly grew up with tower... but they lost the thread about 10 years ago.. i never forgave them dumping the vinyl...in dc their main store had loads of empty space as cd sales decreased..but they refused to carry any vinyl..

i know to old record store owners the death of tower is sort of the end of the record store.. if the biggest record store goes under whats left for them seems to be thinking.... tower has been replaced by non record stores such as best buy and amazon etc...

i don't cry too much bout tower going under but it made an impression on me to see the shock/hurt on the face of the owner of orpheus records in virginia when we discussed the end of tower.. i thought he'd see them as the bad big competitor but far from it i think to the indie record store owner tower was sort of like the god of record stores.. for them to go under is a big deal..

i do think their prices are too high.. even now with their clearance prices many of their cds i can find cheaper elsewhere..thats amazing..

I agree Stoned_in_dc, I think the big problem is the CD prices....Too late now but they should have dropped to below $10 a long time ago. The thing I liked about tower the most was their deep stock in BOTH CD's AND DVD's...my indie places around here only do CD's, It will now be AMAZON for DVD's.....

The single biggest reason for Tower's demise is downloading music digitally.

It does look like this Internet thing is gonna be big.

timbernardis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> Rasputin is still in Berkeley, though moved a few
> blocks down from its original location on
> Telegraph Ave.

yes, it's huge now and a suitable competitor for amoeba

>
> Do you remember RATHER RIPPED records on the north
> side of campus? A small but cool shop, first
> place I ever heard punk rock -- whatever happened
> to them? I am a Cal grad as well

small world. i don't remember it well, if it all. i want to say it was on hearst ave, west side of euclid st. but am probably making that up. i was at cal between '86-'90 and did live in the co-ops on the northside for 3 semesters in the early years...great school. it made me who i am today.

.... eminem just stalled the laborers from plywooding the windows of 'record' stores in america........ before that, maria carey at least paid the light bills an gave the propriotors ammo to take to the bank,,, will, the banks got strung out and there stuck now.....

tower on sunset was an interesting place in the early eighties,, ya needed a snow shovel to find the front door....

.... i cant believe anyone buys a 'cd' anymore..

x



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-12-05 05:42 by Beelyboy.

This is useless info to about 99% of you, but we've got what I consider a great regional record store called Newbury Comics in the Greater Boston (and to a lesser degree other NE locations). I really dig browsing in there listening to what is usually great, often obscure music being played (though I rarely do anymore).

I used to be a loyal Tower shopper until I realized that Newbury Comics consistently beat their prices by $1 - $2.

when you like a cd buy it

Life's just a cocktail party on the street