The Rise and Fall of Tower Records

Options
Nightfall
Nightfall Posts: 10,071
in Music & Movies
So this is coming out Tuesday, still available for preorder. It was shown in a very few select theaters so most people, unless they drove a considerable distance, weren't able to watch it yet. Just thought I'd pass this along as it deals with one of our favorite things. Music. $17.49 on Bluray

http://www.amazon.com/All-Things-Must-Pass-Records/dp/B017WLX1Q4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453093110&sr=8-1&keywords=all+things+must+pass

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAepjF6_N68
afterburnt wrote: »
They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

Village Idiot of Club Polk
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
«1

Comments

  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,071
    edited January 2016
    Options
    Just preordered it myself. If anyone is curious I'll let you guys know how it is, looks like an interesting documentary to me though.
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,057
    Options
    You know as much as technology moves forward, it really takes steps backwards.
    All young people today will not have the experience of walking around a huge record store like Tower and enjoy the experience of hunting for new music.
    I miss many things and this is one of them.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    Options
    +1 Dan

    The Tower in downtown DC had some great mini-concerts on a regular basis and TWO floors of music to wander through.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • HHStuart
    HHStuart Posts: 263
    Options
    I remember the Tower in DC and I did discover new music there. The knowledge available from the people working there was valuable.
    Front - Polk LSiM 705, Center - Polk LSiM 704c, Rear - Polk LSi 7
    Subwoofer - Epik Legend
    Receiver (as Preamp) - Sony STR-DA3400 ES
    Amplifier - Outlaw 7125
    Television - 58" Samsung Plasma PN58B860
    Blu Ray - OPPO BDP 83
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • MrBuhl
    MrBuhl Posts: 2,419
    Options
    Yep, I remember Tower, the other thing the young people of today will miss is the reasonable prices on Vinyl that could be had then. New vinyl has become ridiculously priced IMO!
    VA HT HK AVR20II, Sony S9000ES CD/DVD/SACD, Polk Audio RC80i / Polk Audio CSi3, 60" Panasonic Plasma, Nordost / Signal Cable A2 / Wireworld / Pangea / Magic Power
    VA 2 Channel Focal Electra 926 speakers, Pass Labs X150.5 Amp, Eastern Electric MiniMax Preamp (Tutay mods), Eastern Electric Minimax CDP (Scott Nixon mods), Music Hall mmf 5.1 Turntable, Parks Audio Budgie Phono Pre , Audioengine B1 streamer, MIT S3 IC's / MIT Shotgun S3 Speaker Cables / PS Audio power cables
    Noggin Schiit Valhalla, Pangea, Phillips Fidelio X1, Polk UF8000

    Polk SDA1c modded
    Polk CRS+ 4.1TL modded (need veneer)
    Polk SDA2BTL (fully modded)
    A/L 1000VA Dreadnought Canare 4s11 SDA cable
    SACD Marantz DV8300
    Sony S9000ES CD/DVD/SACD
    Yamaha YP-D6
    Soundcraftsmen PCR800
    Audible Illusions L1 Preamp
    Vincent MFA based Cocci Tube Preamp
    Pho-700 Phono Pre
    Signal Cable Silver Resolution IC's






    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,582
    Options
    Never been to a Tower but we did have a local "Appletree" records here in central Illinois. It was also two floors with wonderful hi-fi on the top floor with incredible brands I wished at the time I could own. By the middle of the 80's it was all but gone barely had any music left no audio of any kind and was relagated to 3 rows of selections. Man I miss those days. Article in the new sterophile talks about the Japanese got it going on over there with tons of shops of everything audio. They are big into physical media and the rest of the world is pushing downloads. On another note record sales are out pacing downloads I find that good to hear.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    Options
    BlueMDPicker wrote: »
    +1 Dan

    The Tower in downtown DC had some great mini-concerts on a regular basis and TWO floors of music to wander through.
    HHStuart wrote: »
    I remember the Tower in DC and I did discover new music there. The knowledge available from the people working there was valuable.

    I used to L O V E the Tower records in DC.It wasn't downtown though.It was on the campus of George Washington University.
    They had a HUGE selection of Laserdiscs!
    I miss that place.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    Options
    @honestaquarian

    Right you are! My bad. I confused the location with the book/record store on 9th I used to walk to during lunch (I worked at 9th & Mass NW). That was a great place for vinyl, too. Is it still in operation?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,372
    Options
    honestaquarian wrote: »
    I used to L O V E the Tower records in DC.It wasn't downtown though.It was on the campus of George Washington University.
    They had a HUGE selection of Laserdiscs!
    I miss that place.

    I used to walk there at lunch time once a week, but eventually started ordering things online in the years before the company went under. There was another location I used to visit out past Fairfax. I view it as similar to Borders Books. The small in store band performances were fun, and their selection was fairly wide and introduced me to a lot of different worldwide genres. But, it was a company that expanded at the expense of local stores until their business model was overtaken by another product delivery method. Would have been nice if the two ways of doing business could coexist, but that location was in a high rent area and there was no way the company could compete with online selection, pricing and no sales tax. My all time favorite record store was an independent used store near my college campus in a small town. The folks there really knew what they were talking about.

    The Tower documentary was made by one of Tom Hanks' kids who is from Sacramento where Tower got its start.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    Options
    @BlueMDPicker
    Nope
    It's gone
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Polkie2009
    Polkie2009 Posts: 3,834
    Options
    Used to go down on South Shepherd near Kipling here in Houston to the old Tower Records and Tapes back in the 70's . They had a ton of stuff in there and if you couldn't find what you were looking for, they would get it for you eventually.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    Options
    I'm originally from Hartford,CT and used to love driving to Boston to that Tower Records. For some reason it took me years to find the one in New York City.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • gudnoyez
    gudnoyez Posts: 8,066
    Options
    Me and friends use to hang out at the Tower records in San Diego the one not far from the college cafe. I still have most of the vinyl I purchased there lots of good times hanging out and meeting and making friends there. I was not living in the states when the Tower chain folded but, would enjoy seeing this when it comes out.
    Home Theater
    Parasound Halo A 31 OnkyoTX-NR838 Sony XBR55X850B 55" 4K RtiA9 Fronts CsiA6 Center RtiA3 Rears FxiA6 Side Surrounds Dual Psw 111's Oppo 105D Signal Ultra Speaker Cables & IC's Signal Magic Power Cable Technics SL Q300 Panamax MR4300 Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables Audioquest Forest USB Cable

    2 Channel
    Adcom 555II Vincent SA-T1 Marantz SA 15S2 Denon DR-M11 Clearaudio Bluemotion SDA 2.3tl's (Z) edition MIT Terminator II Speaker Cables & IC's Adcom 545II Adcom Gtp-450 Marantz CD5004 Technics M245X SDA 2B's, SDA CRS+

    Stuff for the Head
    JD LABS C5 Headphone Amplifier, Sennheiser HD 598, Polk Audio Buckle, Polk Audio Hinge, Velodyne vPulse, Bose IE2, Sennheiser CX 200 Street II, Sennheiser MX 365

    Shower & Off the beaten path Rigs
    Polk Audio Boom Swimmer, Polk Audio Urchin B)
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,071
    Options
    Has anybody bought the on sale Bluray yet? Releases tomorrow. Great deal, especially if you have Amazon Prime free 2 day shipping.
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • SCompRacer
    SCompRacer Posts: 8,352
    edited January 2016
    Options
    We had a Crow's Nest in Crest Hill, IL. Right between Joliet and Plainfield. Closed in 2005.

    179235_193483077344213_3302819_n.jpg?oh=6bec9399d30e9178c7de450bea3534a4&oe=57478485

    Every now and then you run into a used record with their stickers on the plastic wrap.

    167239_193484507344070_1506816_n.jpg?oh=e78cea24aab45e03b0ef36f7b1556ebd&oe=5707D4D6

    180169_193484487344072_7205365_n.jpg?oh=da9df6b78f5d09769b0d0fed1a8995f7&oe=574433FA
    Salk SoundScape 8's * Audio Research Reference 3 * Bottlehead Eros Phono * Park's Audio Budgie SUT * Krell KSA-250 * Harmonic Technology Pro 9+ * Signature Series Sonore Music Server w/Deux PS * Roon * Gustard R26 DAC / Singxer SU-6 DDC * Heavy Plinth Lenco L75 Idler Drive * AA MG-1 Linear Air Bearing Arm * AT33PTG/II & Denon 103R * Richard Gray 600S * NHT B-12d subs * GIK Acoustic Treatments * Sennheiser HD650 *
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,071
    Options
    I'll watch it after work and let you guys know if it's good or not.

    EAJUPLo.jpg
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    Options
    Cover draws you in, for sure.

    At least half of all the vinyl I still own came from this great shop in the KC burbs run by the brother of actor Ben Asner (who actually was the owner and, at one point, boasted he made $500k annually from it). Cool place to hang out. Always something hilarious or slightly shady going down.

    soent82pjyhu.png
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,981
    Options
    Tower was always too corporate to me, and by the time I was in college they were super expensive and seemed to be focused on mainstream music. The two stores I frequented in college in the Phoenix area were Zia records and Stinkweeds. I just looked them up and I am surprised and delighted to see they are still open (I have been in central TX for 15 years). Stinkweeds was my fav. I discovered lots of independent music there, and saw some great shows (all indie bands of course).

    Luckily we actually do still have a Hastings in Waco. I should frequent them more but the selection of used CDs is pretty lame...
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
    Game Room 5.1.4:     Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
    Bedroom 2.1    Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 16,915
    Options
    I'm still glad we have this in my backyard..

    http://youtu.be/MHcnTXMZpxc

    Twist and Shout Records is totally worth the trip when your in town here in Denver..
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • warren
    warren Posts: 756
    Options
    Another national chain is moving into the old Tower location on Keeaumoku street -- drugstore giant Walgreens. And the beat goes on, and the beat goes on...
    Some final words,
    "If you keep banging your head against the wall,
    you're going to have headaches."
    Warren
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • gce
    gce Posts: 2,158
    edited January 2016
    Options
    We had a Tower in Brea that is still there. For some reason they can't sell or rent the building. So they sale halloween crap once a year. Kinda sad driving by and seeing it.

    Nightfall, how was the BD?

    apjedruitphd.jpg
    Anaheim Hills CA,
    HT 5.1: Anthem MRX 720 / BDP-Denon DBT1713UD / Polkaudio LSiM703 / W4S mAmp's / Polkaudio LSiM706c / Polkaudio LSiM702F/X's / SVS PC12-NSD / Panasonic TC P55VT30

    2 Channel: Rogue RP-5 / WireWorld Electra power cord / Marantz TT-15S1/ Ortofon - Quintet Black MC / Marantz NA8005 DAC / W4S mAmp's / Synology DS 216+ll-4TB / Polkaudio LSiM703
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • scottyboy76
    scottyboy76 Posts: 2,905
    Options
    I really enjoyed the doc. although I never set foot in a tower.

    More than afew tears from the former employees, and stars who loved it, and a couple who started working there when young.
    humpty dumpty was pushed
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • 2-tall
    2-tall Posts: 98
    Options
    Great doc. My wife thought it was very good also.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • codycatalist
    codycatalist Posts: 2,662
    Options
    I had a tower records that I purchased from a few times before I really got into music. Bring 24 yrs old that's pretty good. I met Randy Johnson there one time (AZ Diamondbacks Pitcher), and that is where I took my change to buy Shaun of the Dead without someone carding me.
    Just a dude doing dude-ly things

    "Temptation is the manifestation of desire which equals necessity." - Mikey081057
    " I have always had a champange taste with a beer budget" - Rick88
    "Just because the thread is getting views don't mean much .. I like a good train wreck doesn't mean i want to be in one..." - pitdogg2
    "Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know." - heiney9
    "Audiophiles are the male equivalent of cat ladies." - Audiokarma Member
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Libertyc
    Libertyc Posts: 914
    Options
    just watched it.
    http://123movies.to/film/all-things-must-pass-the-rise-and-fall-of-tower-records-11465/watching.html#mv-info
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • afterburnt
    afterburnt Posts: 7,892
    Options
    Virus link
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Libertyc
    Libertyc Posts: 914
    Options
    It is not
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,132
    Options
    It does have adware malware attached
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Msabot1
    Msabot1 Posts: 2,098
    Options
    In 82 I saw Billy Idol and Alan Vega at a Tower Records in Frisco...Ended up with Vega signing a copy of Saturn Strip that had just been released..cool as heck..
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • StantonZ
    StantonZ Posts: 439
    Options
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    Never been to a Tower but we did have a local "Appletree" records here in central Illinois.

    And we had a "Peaches" records...ailes and ailes of LPs/cassettes and storage crates; they used to host autograph sessions for (most jazz) groups that came through town. Even better, there was a great used store right across the street which made for some nice weekend scavenging!
    Yamaha RX-A2050 AVR (5.0.2); LG OLED77C2 4K TV
    (4) Polk Monitor 10B's w/SoniCaps, Mills, and RDO-194 tweets (R/L F/R)
    (2) Polk RC80i (Top Middle)
    Polk CS300 center channel
    Analog: B&O TX2 Turntable, Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1
    Digital: Pioneer CLD-99 Elite LD, Panasonic DMP-UB900 UHD Blu-Ray
    Bedroom: Arylic Up2Stream AMPv3 driving Polk Monitor 4's w/peerless tweets
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter