If a book about record stores sounds like sentimental spin, Gary Calamar and Phil Gallo respectfully suggest: Pull out your ear buds, log off MySpace and rediscover the joys of an old-school networking site.
The authors of Record Store Days: From Vinyl to Digital and Back Again (Sterling, $19.95), published to coincide with Saturday’s third nationwide Record Store Day, ponder the past, present and future of record shops through the views of musicians, industry executives, store clerks and fans. The pair discovered that, while record stores have dwindled in the digital age, they remain a vital hub for music fiends and collectors who find the downloading experience a tad lonely.
“I love iTunes, and I’m not fighting the future, but there’s an excitement, a community in record stores,” says Calamar, a DJ at Santa Monica public radio station KCRW and music supervisor for TV’sTrue Blood, House and Dexter. “Clerks are knowledgeable about new music that hasn’t hit the mainstream yet. There are usually pretty girls and boys there. It’s just fun.”
