Alright, here I am lamenting the closure of Virgin MegaStore. I find myself asking why. First why I even care, but then why did this happen. The more introspectively I look at the first question I realize that my sorrow is not for the store itself, but for the world around us that could enable this closure.

Now, long-time fans of the Bliss are sitting there saying "Hey, I thought Pipes was Mr. Independent." Didn't he want the industry to plummet? Well, yes and no. I hate the fact that a guitar podcast cannot play music on it, even if we were willing to pay fair royalty's. However I also see that we are to blame for this. I mean had the record companies not taken such a huge hit, things would be all roses. Well maybe not but better then they are. Lost yet? I will try to explain...

I will be the first person to admit that the record industry has done a lot of bad. But let us not forget the years of fantastic music they gave us. Hell I am part of the MTV generation and I can honestly say that I don't know if I would have ever picked up a guitar had it not been for Hair Metal. Yeah, a lot of it was the record industry pulling the puppet strings, but I still loved it. Now, years of Napster and other P2P's have created a world where no one buys music.

Go ahead, ask a friend, or even yourself when the last time they BOUGHT an album was. Provided the person you are asking is not me you will probably get and answer like "I dunno, a long time ago" C'mon people, think about it can a multi-billion dollar industry survive when people don't ever support it? Should I be surprised that Virgin closed, no!

So now a person like me in a major metropolitan area has three avenues to buy music. Lets say for a second I wanted to buy some Guns 'N' Roses. I can spend $13 at Wal-Mart only to later find out that they have silenced out half of the lyrics because they are too graphic. I can go to an independent shop and pick up an ultra rare LP with a banned cover for about $50. Or, I can go on iTunes, pay $10 and download an mp3 with sacrificed audio quality and now cover, no linear notes, etc.

Of course I can go online and purchase a CD at a reasonable price but then I need to wait for it to be shipped, then wait for the Chicago Post Office to lose it and find it again, then by the time I forgot what I ordered it will arrive.

I want music, and I want it now. Is that too much to ask? So the way I see it, our own greediness has first hurt the record companies, then the artists and now us. Yeah, Napster was a wild ride, but it came at a price.

Now on to the independent side of life. I think independent stores and labels are the greatest. I love the labels because they give a lot of phenomenal artists a chance to be heard. I also love independent stores, they carry what the customers want not what some highly strategized piece of paper says is going to be the next big thing. But lets be honest here, the indy's cannot carry the industry. There is a need for the big guys. I want the indy's to thrive, I want the big guys to continue putting out music. And for God sakes I want the consumers to actually pay for their music. C'mon now isn't $15 worth all of the joy an album gives you? I know it is for me. So do yourself, an artist, and a struggling industry a favor, go out and buy a nicely packaged CD.

Honestly, I am not even sure if this all makes sense to me, and I am ranting here. Oh well, I tried.

Talk Hard, Play Harder! This is Pipes signing out!

Labels: chicago, music, music industry, record store, virgin

Okay, this is my attempt at going back to the world of blogging. I formerly wrote a blog on my myspace page, however I became increasingly aggrivated with myspace and I started this little thing called Six-String Bliss which absorbed most of my free-time. So why here, why now? Well I am blogging here not because I assume everyone wants to hear what I have to say (but you listen to the podcast anyway) moreso because I have the web space and figured this might be a great way to get new content on the site other then the new episodes. Now? Well, why the hell not, I have stuff to say, alot of which is not soley guitar-centric and not worthy of bringing up on the show...yet I still feel I can get it all out here.

So that is my intro. For those of you who do not know, I am Pipes. I co-host the podcast Six-String Bliss with my far more intelligent and esteemed brother-in-arms PT. The show is purely focused around the guitar. We try and cover a little bit of everything from gear to artists and everything in between. If you play guitar I strongly urge you to take a listen, if not, still give it a listen....we may even make you laugh.

Alright enough of that intro stuff and on to this blog so aptly titled Virgin Sacrifice.

For the past year and a half, I have been working downtown in the city of Chicago. Being from the suburbs, this job was my first real look at the city up close. Upon first exploring the city a very welcoming store caught this audiophiles attention. It was the Virgin MegaStore on Michigan Avenue. This store was a very comforting site and seemed to in time become my home away from home. Being completely obsessed with music for as long as I could remember, record stores have always held a certain aura to them. On one hand, it was a place to buy my music, but on the other it was an oasis from the world. Norm had Cheers, I had my record store. The best part about Virgin was not only was it a record store, it was the record store. If there was a CD worth buying, they had it not to mention a fantastic selection of books and of course import guitar magazines.

So there I was, I work all day in the city, but whenever a break came by I was only a few blocks away from my own personal oasis. A few months ago, I heard rumors from a co-worker that it was closing to be replaced by Forever 21, some crappy girls clothing store. However this warning came and went, I still loved my store and I was not about to believe such vicious rumors. Then came the day a few weeks ago when the signs went up boasting a 25% off everything sale. I knew then that the day I feared had come.

Part of me was excited for a bit, I mean here I could have my store as I loved it but only cheaper! However as the stock dwindled and prices got lower that excitement quickly died.

Last week the day finaly came. I took lunch and ran over to Virgin to see what picked over stuff I might still be able to find. When I got there, there was nothing but locked doors and black paper over all the windows. Hell, the massive sign that once held the striking red Virgin logo had been ruthlessly removed. Nothing remained but a large souless building.

My first though, albeit a bit late, was to save some artifact from this wonderous store. I sent many emails looking to see if there was anything left. From the Awesome sure condensor mic that once adorned the DJ booth to the massive red Virgin sign itself (don't tell my wife) I just wanted something. Unfortunatly I was informed that all was sold off. Frustrated I exclaimed to myself "there was never a price tag on that mic!" "why didn't they contact me when the were looking for a buyer." Alas, it was too late, the mighty had fallen and I no am without an oasis.

So now what? Unfortunatly Chicago is now the 3rd largest city in America and I think the only without a good place to buy music. About a year ago we lost Tower Records, now Virgin. All that remains are the Best Buys and Cicuit City's that carry nothing but the latest and greatest. Or a handful of overpriced independant shops that bring the movie High Fidelity into a real place.

I have heard rumblings that Virgin is not closing, but relocating to and even better location. That would be phenominal, however until I see that gleaaming red sign I don't want to set myself up for disapointment.

But what does this mean. Has the record industry fell so far that Chicago can not even support one true record store? I mean sure I can by music on iTunes, but honeslty that isn't for me. There was always something beautiful about the tatile media. The printed artwork, the liner notes. I would sometimes go through that before I even listened to a CD. Am I alone in this world that puts every respectable music store out of business?

I have plenty more to say, however I am gonna save that for my next blog, considering I have probably already bored you all to tears. But if you really do want my answer to my own questions, stay tuned, I will answer them next... as well as maybe a bit on the cast itself.

Until then my beloved friends....

Talk Hard, Play Harder. This is Pipes signing out!

Labels: chicago, music, music industry, record store, virgin