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Every good addict knows it is important to find a good respectable dealer. The kind that will steer you away from falling prey to the bad stuff and should some choice goods come into their hands, they kindly put some aside for you to sample and possibly indulge. Most of them are not the friendliest of folks, yet they know you quite well. Sure at first, it is all just to get you hooked; after all you are their cash cow. Eventually you become such a good addict that they no longer view you as such. They look after you. You are now part of the family. Soon, you are testing the goods for them, offering up suggestions on what they should procure. They still are the same surly sods they were when you first hooked up but it no longer is intimidating, it is now endearing. That is the kind of relationship I have developed over the years with my favorite record shop owners. The truth is, as a music hound, the items that are never far away from the stereo just can't sustain your journey through life. It doesn't matter that nothing is probably going to come close to What's Going On, Forever Changes or Pet Sounds. Rarely do you actually sit down and listen to Trout Mask Replica, so you need to keep a good supply of sounds coming your way, especially new ones to fuel the addiction. One could easily pop into one of the monolithic giants like Tower or HMV and try to sustain the fix. Every store is laid out the same, plays the same music, with the same huge displays that seem to gang rape you with the bestsellers. If I spent my time in a chain store, I would turn into a cranky curmudgeon declaring the death of music. What if you want to discover something new? Odds are you don't walk into a Borders Music and hear something and say “what the hell is that?” You don't then seek out the sales girl and walk out with something like Suzuki by Tosca. That rarely happens. You want that kind of experience? I find nothing better that your independent little music outlet. Every non-chain music store is unique, they have their own special niche and discovering it can be a treasure trove of information and sonic delights. Here you can chat up other patrons over the sounds of Slade’s Sladest being cranked at maximum volume, scoff at the goateed, tattooed “hipster” who plays nothing but Slitbreeze releases when working the register and pillage thru racks and stacks filled with nifty unique sounds. It is the place where you get to know the owner and his dog. It is the kind of place where you mention something about a band called Jet (not the current Aussie band , but the one that which had the English dudes from Sparks (along with David O'List and the crazy singer from The John's Children) about a year and half ago and you pop in only to have the owner smiling at you with a big grin because he scored you a copy of the band's sole release. Many folks have supplied this sound hound with that much needed shot over the years. Do yourself a favor and stop by and visit your local little "ma and pop" music outlet. Your life will be better. Trust me! Don’t just limit it to music, substitute bookstore, video shop, restaurant, theatre....your world will open up.
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