A couple of months ago, I decided to kill some time in Borders. Only problem was, when I walked in, there was nothing on the shelf. Because Borders was closing.Was someone going to tell me that Borders was closing? I mean what the hell is going on? Borders? There were two Borders in downtown San Francisco, and every time I walked into either one, the place was always packed. Sometimes there were chairs in which I could sit. I didn't have to worry about looking like a douche if I wasn't buying something. Where am I supposed to kill time now? A park?
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to purchase a CD. I did not want to order the CD online. I wanted to purchase it in person. But I couldn't think of a store that still existed where I could actually go and do that. Borders? Closed. The Virgin Megastore? Closed. Tower Records? Closed. Was it now impossible to buy a CD in person? Suddenly I remembered a store that had probably not closed and that probably still sold CDs: Amoeba. I went to Amoeba, and no, they had not closed, and yes, they had the CD I was looking for.
Circuit City, I didn't really miss. No love lost over Mervyn's. But every time I turn my head, some major company is disappearing. It's like the day I looked at an atlas and wondered what the hell happened to the Soviet Union. What were all these little new countries? I could have sworn there was a moment in the '90s where I honestly thought, "Everything that's here right now is still going to be around forever, right, Chris Farley?"
When I first received consistent home internet access, I thought it was a cool new thing. I didn't think it was going to destroy newspapers, record companies, bookstores, and porn theaters. I should have made the connection. But I didn't. I mean, couldn't we still have the internet ... and Blockbuster too? Can you imagine a time when the Postal Service no longer exists? I can. Because it might be next year.
Yes, Paula Cole: where have all the cowboys gone?
Borders closed because it didn't compete well enough in the e-book sector. Speaking of which, I got my wife an e-reader for her birthday. The e-ink technology is pretty amazing. It truly looks like real ink is printed on the screen. I don't think she plans on buying paper books again.
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel about music stores though. I prefer to buy music in person when I can but there aren't many places left to shop. Luckily there's a Rasputin and Streetlight Records near me, otherwise the only corporate place I can think of that still sells music is Best Buy. Welcome to the new world order.