Bleecker Bob with Debbie Harry
SPIN has a wonderful tribute -- complete with a fun slide show -- about the soon-to-be-defunct Bleecker Bob's Records, where my friends Greg and Nina and I cleaned up on our inaugural trip to New York back in 1985. While I certainly lament the end of the record-store era, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I was a contributing cause of it, even though I still buy CDs today. When there was no Internet, scouring stores -- even planning vacations around record-shopping opportunities -- was the ultimate hobby. But it was also essential for building one's collection. But now that you can do it all in the comfort of your own home -- and way more efficiently -- it just doesn't make sense anymore. (Plus, bending over those CD racks hurts my back too much!) I still love going to bookstores because it's still a great place to get ideas, and it's nice to flip through books to see if they're of interest. But with retailers being forced to charge considerably more than online outlets, even there I almost always end up purchasing online, which means it will be my fault when the last bookstore in America closes, too. RIP, Bleecker Bob's. Read HERE.
P.S. There's also a documentary called "The Last Days of Bleecker Bob's":
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