I've just returned from a two week swing through Budapest, Prague, Salzburg and Vienna. The latter 3 places had shops to buy CDs and ops and while my purchases were limited due to lack of space in my luggage I still landed some goodies. Moreover, spending some time browsing through shelves made me nostalgic for these kind of shops. I live in the 3rd biggest Metropolitan area in the US, and there are simply no shops where one can do the same thing here since Tower Records and Borders packed it in. My shopping now is online, and the experience simply doesn't compare. When I attended University in the 1970s, in a large college town, there must have been at least 10 large stores that sold classical lps, and I had part time jobs in a couple of them. I whiled away many an hour reading the backs of album covers while I carefully decided which budget lp I could buy that week. As a working adult I visited shops less frequently (although I would spend quite a bit more) but I always looked forward to such an excursion. What a pity this world has migrated to computer screens, and what a joy it was to discover that at least in some part of the world shops still exist.
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I was in Salzburg in February and found two very good classical cd shops. Both quite expensive but I managed to pick up a couple of CDs that had not been released in the UK. -
rfg
In some ways I agree with you, though I also wonder whether such nostalgia is misplaced. Re Budapest, last time I went there I think there was still at least one CD shop, though things were changing fast, and there may be none now.
We can look back, perhaps fondly, perhaps with amusement at some things from the past, but some things were a pain. I don't miss having to go into banks, which in the UK at least were organised so badly that at the times when many people might actually use them, or be able to use them, they were either undermanned (because the staff were on a lunch break - at the same time as the customers) or closed altogether (Saturdays).
On line shopping does also, in many ways, make life a lot simpler, and takes less time than having to travel to shops. Of course some people may enjoy having their time taken up with things which are not very effective/efficient, but there are still enough of those activities surely to keep many "happy" enough, such as driving cars and sitting in traffic jams, which have perhaps got worse over the years, despite better roads, and the development of the Internet, which should really have reduced the need for travel considerably, but may appear to have had the opposite effect.Comment
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Shopping for CDs in CENTRAL LONDON!
Where can one do that now??????Comment
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I doubt that Harold is personally but i'm sure that the shop bearing his name isOriginally posted by richardfinegold View Post
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You make many good points. However, ATMs should eliminate the major complaint that you made.Originally posted by Dave2002 View Post
One problem with shopping on line is the distractibility. I get a beep telling me that I have an email. I check a review of a CD that leads me to something else and I surf aimlessly. All the distractions of being with other family members intrude. If I order something the online service suggests 20 other things. At a store I would be alone, no other distractions, simply lost in the pleasure of investigating what is in the bins, frequently discovering unknown composers, etc.Comment
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They were last time I was in UK in March, but I've more or less given up on them - far too expensive, now, and not really that much stock. But in terms of major stores, there is nothing! Unbelievable for a city the size of London.Originally posted by richardfinegold View PostComment
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There's always Les Aldrich in Muswell Hill, followed by a fish & chip lunch at the superb Toffs plus the pick of several charity shops inc. an all-books OxfamOriginally posted by visualnickmos View Post
Why, that's nearly a day out!
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Toffs, I know of - often enjoying fish 'n chips with a bottle of red wine, with friends when I'm in London. Les Aldrich, I don't know; will investigate next time. Thanks for the info.Originally posted by amateur51 View PostThere's always Les Aldrich in Muswell Hill, followed by a fish & chip lunch at the superb Toffs plus the pick of several charity shops inc. an all-books Oxfam
Why, that's nearly a day out!Comment
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We are lucky enough to have a specialist cd shop in Edinburgh called McAlister Matheson Music in Grindlay Street, round the corner from the Usher Hall. A true specialist cd shop with super staff. I know people who will go nowhere else for their classical discs but they won't be open for ever and then we will be at the mercy of the re-opened HMV (
) or Blackwells who are comprehensive but, IMHO, too expensive for the level of service offered.
I find it very ironic that posters in MMM say 'also available to download' in the corners! Still you can't stop progress...
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