how many of you have ever set foot in an independent record store....? i'm guessing most of you buy online, .mp3 or from a "big box store".... am i right....? well, you're missing out.... it's not just a shopping trip.... it's an experience.... something that you can't achieve anywhere else.... but sadly they're dying off.... one by one they close down or get run out of business by bigger and larger places that they just can't compete with.... so if there is still one left in your town, go now before you can't go ever again.... that's what this wonderful love letter of a documentary is about.... and, me personally, having worked at and managed a real record store for 6 years this is something near and dear to my heart.... and the store i worked at, Val's Halla Records in Oak Park, IL, was forced out of their original locaion.... but has moved and is still alive.... thank god for that.... because i loved every minute of my time that i worked there.... and learned more in those 6 years about people, music and life than any other place i've ever worked.... hell, i learned more than in my everyday life.... or school....! i can't explain it to you.... but if you're a music lover or junkie, a record store is your dream location to be.... i know it was for me....
this is a documentary so again there isn't really a plot.... more of a narrative about the current state of the indie store and the how's and why's of what's killing them off.... it's very in depth and pulls no punches.... it also touches on the slow demise of the record industry and the rise of the internet in making both regular and indie music easy to find and buy for everyone.... but part of the joy of the record store was having to search for that one thing that you've been looking for.... if you can just get whatever, whenever where is the fun in that....? it makes collecting boring.... granted, you can more than likely find everything you've ever wanted.... but true collectors want the thrill of the hunt.... the joy of the find and that's it.... this documentary was bittersweet and made me realize that the trend of indie stores is happening here just as much as anywhere else.... and it's not just record stores, but anything owned by someone, not some corporation.... i don't expect that i can save the world or the independent retailers and i doubt this documentary can either.... but it stands as a record (no pun intended) of a soon to be extinct kind of place to go.... a sad reminder of where we've gone as a country.... it's on Netflix OnDemand and i highly recommend it.... 4 out of 5 stars.... to all those who own their own business, no matter what it is, i wish you all the best and commend you for living your dream.... godspeed to you all.
don't watch anything after this.... grab a phonebook and visit your local independent retailers
