crying hey man this is babylon

I came to Soul Coughing at almost the same time I came to Burroughs, Kerouac, Ginsberg, Underworld, and jazz that went beyond Kind of Blue.

See, this is why the loss of Tower Records is going to seriously hurt a generation of young artists, because it was in a Tower Records that I found all of these things. Sure, it's great to have the convenience of buying and instantly downloading records and stuff, but the damn kids today who will grow up without ever setting foot in a record store or talking to a hardcore music geek who works there just don't know what they're missing.

And they're missing a lot.

It was one of the most inspiring and eye-opening times of my life, and whenever I listen to Ruby Vroom (which I'm doing right now) I'm reminded of that time. I can feel it in my brain and in my bones. I remember staying out all night with my friend Dave just because we could, not really doing anything more than listening to music and being "artists" -- whatever that meant.

We had no real responsibility other than getting home alive, and it was when I really started writing. I filled up tons of thick spiral-bound notebooks with my efforts to figure out who and why I was. When I read them now, they just make me sad.

It was a great time. I miss it sometimes. Okay, I miss it often.

I miss it right now.

Comments

[Patty]

I remember the first tape (!!!!) I bought was the Joshua Tree album, which I had to order from the local record shop cos they didn't stock it. I know, travesty! I popped by every day to see whether it had arrived yet, and got a lot of amused looks from the shop keeper. We never talked though. Shame.
Oh, and the painful fun of reading old diaries. I can never decide whether I miss the days or not. Good to laugh/cry from a distance, but I wouldn't want to repeat those days for anything in the world. Glad you had some good memories there. :)

[Steve]

Somewhere along the way I forgot how to find new music. I honestly don't remember how I found new things back when I was in high school/college. I think I may have had more musically oriented friends then. Anyways, Muxtape.com is my new place for finding new stuff.

[ech]

I filled up tons of thick spiral-bound notebooks with my efforts to figure out who and why I was. When I read them now, they just make me sad.

Don't be sad, be .... wistful. Be glad that getting to where you are now didn't land you on the front of the tabloids. As Socrates said: "An unexamined life is not worth living." You figured this out earlier than most - and continue to this day, in a very public way.

And as Bill and Ted showed us, SoCrates was a cool dude.

[Apprehensive]

wilw, you broke Twitter today, didn't you? ;)

Man, I miss Soul Coughing.

[Wil]

@ech: I get sad because I see how unhappy I was. I wanted to be a writer and an artist SO BAD but everyone was telling me I was supposed to be a big celebrity actor guy. I was only 21 or so, and really flailing around while I tried to figure out who I was.

Reading that reminds me of that struggle, and how tough it was at the time.

[Wil]

@Apprehensive: yeah, it looks like I put Twitter right on the Bus to Beelzebub.

Well, I helped, at least.

[angie k]

Wow. I think it's really cool you have those notebooks still and that you're willing to open a vein and read them again. I've got old notebooks like that (God, I realize that I've not journaled on paper in YEARS!) and it's always sad and weird to read about past events and want to be there even though it was hard but know that time travel doesn't actually exist and you can never go back. I do that with my old journals from that time period (19-22)and even though I'm only just a few years older I seem like such a different person. At least you're willing to go back and read them instead of ignore them. *awkward internet pat on the back*

I used to find such good music tooling around my local Tower store. I used to be able to spend hours in there. Now I have no idea what music is out there and what's good. (You know, except follow the links you and other bloggers who know more about music than I do post.) Personally I remember the days when there was no such thing as buying books online. When I was a kid if I wanted something that was hard to find I had to go to the bookstore in the mall, place a special order, wait for them to call me (on my home phone with no answering machine) when my paperback book came in, and go back to the mall to get it. Yeah buddy, you had to really want something back then to get it.

Thanks for sharing.

[TheLoneIguana]

The Tower Records here was bought out by Rasputin's Records (mostly a Bay area chain, apparently). They have a great used clearance bin ($2 and $3 CDs!) that has yielded some great finds. At that price, I'm much more willing to take a chance on something I've barely (or never) heard of.

They have a pretty wicked vinyl section as well.

(Why do I use so many parentheses?)

[Big Chris]

Soul Coughing is great, no doubt about it. Have you heard any of the solo stuff Mike Doughty has done since they broke up the band and he got sober? He has some really great albums - very different than Soul Coughing, but excellent stuff anyway. His newest isn't my favorite, but Rockity Roll, Skittish, and Haughty Melodic are all hard not to love.

[Max]

I have a two-year-old son, and I am making it my mission to expose him to as much (and as wide an array) music as I can as early as possible. Once I've updated his firmware to include a really eclectic mix of music, he'll be much better able to seek out new music for himself, instead of relying on record store guys.

Either that, or he'll realize that I'm right about everything and we'll just hang out and listen to old Marvin Gaye albums. Either way, I end up happy.

[Mr. Fantasy]

Don't lament too much--between Amazon's recommendation service, last.fm, online forums of bands I like, and blogs such as this one, I have found more new artists and music than I ever did in a record store. Not that I still don't love a good one (Vintage Vinyl in NJ rocks!) but I don't have the time to wander around in one like I used to.

[onegirlmanyideas]

wow. that album wooooshes me back in time, too. i played it last month actually. it's almost hard to listen to because it's so good and it brings back so many yoothful memories.

spiral down down down down down down down - she cracked now they call me mr. bitterness

[onegirlmanyideas]

oh - and it's funny you mention tower records - i just did a photo essay about the one on sunset last week.

Tower on the Strip

[onegirlmanyideas]

crap. sorry. try that again.

Tower Records

[jadeddo]

I was lamenting the loss of record stores last year when I needed to buy my mom a birthday gift and I didn't have time to order the CD I wanted to get her online. My husband pointed out that there was a "real record store" in town - I had never noticed it because the name is "Soundstation" and I thought it was a stereo store. The outside matches the rest of the strip mall... but inside is a time warp back to 1990 when my boyfriend was introducing me to Pink Floyd for the first time at the Tower near my house... 11:00 at night, everyone in the store sang along to the lyrics of "The Wall" while shopping.

This place had real records, CD's, posters... but it's the smell of the concert t-shirts that really hits home.

They were playing Elliott Smith's "New Moon" and I couldn't walk out without buying myself a copy.

[Matthew J. Sanderson]

On the flipside though, Wil, if it wasn't for the internet and blogs and downloading, I wouldn't have even heard of half of the great bands I've discovered. I sympathize with what you're saying, but downloading is a great blessing for those of us who live in a sucky, music-impaired area.

[merindab]

Man, when I was 15 or so I hung out a the music store in town (Bluebird Music). I've no idea why Dana, the owner/operator put up with this teenage girl just hanging out for like 2 years, but he did. And he put a lot of good music in my hands in the process. I was so sad when he sold it and the store left town.

[FarmerDave]

While the intertoobs are an invaluable avenue to finding "stuff," I for one miss the serendipity of the record store, the book store, and the local library - I don't even go there as often now that they have audiobooks online.

While pandora, Amazon, etc. are great, I guess I like my serendipity to be less "engineered." For example, finding out about Lord Buckley via RFB was a completely cool and random happenstance - it didn't happen because I fit the same purchasing profile as 8 million other a-holes.

Oh well, I'm going to go have a piece of Buddha Rhubarb Butter pie....

[Wil]

I absolutely love Skittish and Rockity Roll. Watch me drop a name: Lazlow turned me on to Doughty's new solo stuff when we did GTA: Vice City together.

Doughty e-mailed me once, and I was so intimidated I never replied. I really regret that.

[Mike Cohen]

Chris, I really love Haughty Melodic, but so far I haven't really been able to get into Golden Delicious. I still prefer Soul Coughing to all of his solo stuff.

I was pleasantly surprised when I heard "27 Jennifers" playing on the stereo at the Mexican place I went for lunch today.

Wil, do you read Mike's blog? It's always interesting.

[Rob]

You realize those damn kids are cruising this 'log via RSS, and following on twitter. You are now Teh Geek. Wear the mantle irresponsibly.

[annie]

Wil.

In a quick honest post, you remind me of a part of my youth. The part that spent days at used CD stores and off the beaten path music huts to find that rare copy of Hayden, or dare I say, The Cranberries. There was nothing to compare to the sweet find, and the huge victory you felt when you indeed found a used CD of B sides or a LIVE version of your favorite band. Things are so much more available now, that the hunt is lost, and kids have to get a bigger thrill. I'm okay being the age I am.

I think.

thanks.

[nwc_orca]

I looooove Soul Coughing and was lucky enough to see them several times. Mike Doughty is going to be playing at Bumbershoot here in Seattle over Labor Day weekend, I was thinking of going, but the festival can be so freaking crazy...

[starshine_diva]

I often wonder what I'd save if there were a fire in my place.
Apart from my computer, I'd save the box full of writing and drawings and other creations from when I was a kid.

[casbar]

I grew up at Tower Records, man. Started in their indie warehouse in '93 and stayed on for the next 13 years but moved on to computers by then. Without Tower and the music influence I picked up from all the amazingly wonderful people I met while working there, I would only be half the person I am today. We lost something special with Tower Records.