This is a photo of one of the last record stores on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, MA. Weirdo Records closed its doors on May 21, 2015, leaving Cheapo Records in Central Square the only record store I pass on my long walk to work. We all know this is happening, and I am too young to have owned any records, but I can’t help but feel sad as I watch history disappear before my eyes. I know, I know, vinyl sales have been up in the past few years, but that seems like a strange, desperate trend more than a significant signifier of the future of music sales. All of the music I own and all of the music I don’t own is kept online as little bits of information. I like scrolling through my albums and seeing all of the artists I love, but I imagine that having a physical collection in my home would be a greater pleasure to look through, and I imagine how much fun it must have been to walk into someone’s house and automatically find their record collection. I like the idea of judging people based on how many and which records they own. I’m a music elitist. It just seems really fun for a music elitist. On the other hand, I like spending almost no money on owning music. What are your opinions?
