It’s easy to wax
nostalgically about the end of independent record stores, along with
independent shops of all kinds but what is it that got us to this point is what
the filmmaker Toller is trying to address in this film. The film is pretty straight forward in that
Toller goes from city to city talking to different record store owners, one in which
Culture Clash which is in my home town of Toledo, Ohio and how they are
handling either being closed down due to increasing competition with the online
world and national chain stores or how they are trying to survive.
The personal connection I make with
this film is that record stores have been an important part of my youth and
still am. For me, and the filmmaker and
subjects in the film, it was more than just buying albums. It was a center to maybe meet and gather with
like minded individuals and to talk music.
To turn myself or others to different kinds of genres of music was
important and some of my closest friendships have been formed in those stores.
What could be seen as a weakness in
the film is that it is possibly too one-sided in which the filmmaker does not
try to get interviews with people from the big chains or executives from the
major record labels. That could also be
that maybe they declined a chance for an interview. Another problem is that he does not go all
that past just the record stores dying out and show how local independent
businesses as a whole are suffering from the same problems as well. The portions with Noam Chomsky felt kind of
shoehorned in that he did not have much to say about record stores as he does
not listen to music (which kind of blows my mind) but he does speak on the
cultural implications of local communities being diminished by globalism but is
never really built on in the film.
What is really interesting about the
documentary is how the record industry has been practically monopolized by a handful
of companies that have a hold over the means of production and distribution
over the majority of the industry.
Although with the shift in sales due to the internet and people finding
ways to find music cheaply (or totally free) has made the companies much more
frightful. Instead of finding ways to
innovate and become forward thinking, they go on the attack.
Overall, it is a fun documentary to
watch and it goes by quickly with only a 77 minute running time. It resonated with me quite a bit because of
how I personally feel about the closing of so many independent shops, whether
they are video or record stores. The
only problems are that it does not give us a wider frame of context on how it
affects local economies or the role of larger global corporations in modern
society. Although with the closing of
the major brick and mortar shops due to economy and the internet, independent
shops have been able to survive in certain cities so there is that silver
lining. This is available on Netflix
Instant.
Netflix Rating:
***/*****
