The Blog

I've taken to a store in Oak Park just off the Oak Park blue line stop--I'm embarassed to say I can't remember the name, because it's not particularly prominent anywhere in the store--but I usually stop by there after work. It's the only store in Chicago I've found that has an eclectic collection of classical music. Folk and world music is pretty good, too. Highly underrated; I wouldn't know about it if I hadn't moved there. I've also heard good things about Hyde Park Records, although, as a sign of the times, they really only have the physical store as a side business to their trade on Ebay. I think the Internet is really killing record stores, and not just because you can buy stuff on it. It used to be that record stores were the font of obscure musical knowledge, and greenhorns could rely on the arrogant yet highly knowledgeble clerks for recommendations. Now, if you live in a town without zines or good college radio (like the one I grew up in), you can tap into the scene online. Plus, if stores can make more money selling their more unusual wares to real junkies on Ebay who specifically want them (vid. Hyde Park Records), there's less chance that someone will pick up a treasure randomly in a store because it looks cool.

Here's a theory: indie labels oughta go after their own approach to the new Starbucks approach. While I've never worked in a record store, I did work in a college coffee shop, where the clerks have zero talent for coffee but serve as de facto DJs.

I'm particularly taken with Groovin' High Tunes on Belmont. The guy there knows about lots of stuff, seems pleasantly semi-interested when I ask about something ridiculously obscure that he doesn't have (he always looks it up to see if he can get it) and never looks askance at me when I'm filling in a gaping hole in my collection (early Dr. Dre, for example). The store's full-service approach (you tell him what you want and he hands it over, like a shoe store) makes it a real full-service experience when you go in wanting 2 CDs and it takes like 30 seconds to be in and out.

Wow, Margasak, good job dissing your friends at Reckless (yes, tired '90s lingo noted). I've always thought that people's feelings about recordstore clerk attitude stems from their own insecurities and desire to be the hipper-than-thou person in the transaction. Being shitty about your local indie record stores is a good way to make sure that soon Amazon.com will be your only option.

Disclosure: I live with a guy (and I mean that in the Biblical sense) who has worked at Reckless on and off for maybe 14 years(?) but I've been shopping at Chicago record stores since 1984. The list of stores I've patronized over the years includes Round Records, Wax Trax, Dr. Wax, 2nd Hand Tunes, Pravda, Gramaphone, Val's Halla, Vintage Vinyl, Dusty Groove, and others that I just can't recall. I started shopping at Reckless pretty much the day they opened back in, what, 1988? All of these joints had/have good things to offer. Some closed long ago, some maybe even put out of business by the competition with Reckless, others had the opening of Tower to thank. In my 22 years of shopping for records I have to say I've never really caught much attitude (you get what you give), and can honestly say Reckless employees put me more at ease than most--definitely superior experiences than those shops that would have the lone dude playing Hawkwind while I browsed scratched and overpriced copies of Dark Side of the Moon...but whatever. The things that excited me about Reckless from the get-go are the basics: they grade the records accurately and price them accordingly; they write funny, trippy and sometimes meaningful descriptions; and if I want something out-of-print I can place a special order. In fact, I've had special orders fulfilled YEARS after I requested the item. It took a while for that Feelies _Good Earth_ record to come in, but by God, I got the call when it finally did! And hell, most people ARE hipper than me. Big deal.

...never mind that plenty of the staff seems to know less about music than its customers. The dumber the clerk, the better the find.

Peter, if you're upset we didn't buy all your promos, why didn't you just say something then?

...never mind that plenty of the staff seems to know less about music than its customers. I've been working part time at Reckless for about 4 years. Though I have around 11 years of aggregate record store experience and a degree in music, I'll admit without shame that I often *do* know less about music and recordings than the customers. I can think of no better testiment to the quality of the store. I learn a lot about music there from customers and colleagues alike.

no matter how good the selection, if the record store employees act like they are annoyed at having to be there (ala loads of my Reckless experiences) then the store sucks - they just have a good selection. WHat does that mean? A more pleasant experience shopping online and finding exactly what you were looking for. Sad but true - wish it wasn't this way but until places like Reckless learn about customer service policies this will continue. oh wait... customer service isn't cool.

full disclosure: I applied for a job at Dr. Wax and when I didn't get it I asked why: they found someone with "used CD buying experience" hahaha!

The new 2nd Hand Tunes, now renamed Hyde Park Records, is a great new spot on the south side.

I agree -- the Reckless people can be a bunch of stuck up tools in addition to their store being so poorly organized that it makes it nearly impossible to find some things. I long for the old Ajax record shop at Leavitt & Chicago, where I could browse everything, sorted by artist *and* title while having a nice chat with Tim Adams, who had to be one of the nicest guys in Chicago music biz history.

I have to say I really like Reckless not to mention a lot of the other local stores mentioned. Though I have never had any problems with reckless employees- I mostly shop there because it is cheap. Say what you will about Reckless or any other store but realize that amazon is soulless and if you find yourself there to often you might get that way too. Also as far as local indie retailers go, they are a dying breed across the board from book stores (thanks again amazon) to grocers. We should be happy we have any left in this town as smarmy as they may or may not be. Sooner than later they will all be gone you will be alone, eating through an IV in front of your computer deleting the last IM you mother sent, while streaming clamor about the next war for American consumerism drifts through your ears. Submerged in a world of digital shopping even more boring than you remebered you continue to click away. As you wait for whatever your ipod told you best fits your musical personality to download, something will strike you and you'll begin to miss that snotty record store clerk who rolled his eyes as as his hand reached over the counter and placed the change into your hands and then you walked outside. As your fleeting dispair fades you will go back to the imcomplete blog posting you had begun earlier. Thanks.

I don't understand why pointing out the faults of a record store will hasten its demise. Seems to me that if a shop doesn't want Amazon to take over that it should improve its services.

Same goes for rock crits.

I've been in Chicago 11 yrs, 7 at Reckless. In that time Dr Wax Clark-closed, 2nd Hand Tunes (Then Djangos)-closed, Disc Recyclery (Clark/Belmont)-closed, Belmont record Exchange (Dungeon)-Closed, Discus Exchange (Clark Belmont)-Closed. Um Reckless BW....,.um hmmm, lets see, um oh yeh it's still open receiving in the last 2-3 months no less than 6000 pieces of used vinyl and at least 1500-2000 used cds a week. Hey Pete mebbe next time I see you you can tell me the Alan Silva/Tj Lax story AGAIN while going hrrrmmm in between, man way to sh@t where you eat. I realize ebay is taking over as well as Amazon but there's no better way to learn about music (customers & employees) than actual physical interaction. If we're so rude & awful why did Corbett bring Brotzman in to shop, why does Vandermark & Patricia Barber shop here.....? You know those guys right? (hint: Brotzman is NOT in Clap Your Hands Say Yeah).

Not sure where people are getting the idea that I think Amazon is the way to go. I still undeniably prefer the brick-and-mortar record store. And while Dr. Wax Clark did close, it was to relocate on Berwyn.

bitch bitch bitch... if you don't like the service then quit shopping there. and quit selling all of the free promo cd's you get there. that's a nice side business you got going by the way... do you report that income to the irs?

When you say that "plenty of the staff seems to know less about music than its customers", you yourself are acting "hipper than thou". Know less than the customers about what? Jazz? Soul? Glam? Prog? Hip-hop? Fado? You certainly may know more about the latter than anyone who works at Reckless, but there is no doubt that there are people who work there who know a lot more than you do about other types of music. Get off of that high horse you're riding.

Hi, I didn't really mean to imply that you were pro-amazon (in fact you said you weren't). Mostly just a silly commentary on globalization/ technology in general. Also Reckless ain't half bad and I think their reputation is undeserved. You are right about designer t-shirts though.

News flash! Music store clerks have an attitude! This has only been true since the beginning of time. For all of the perceived attitude one may or may not find at Reckless, I have found the employees there to be far more helpful in finding items I am looking for, as well as recommending other music I might not have otherwise heard, than the braindead drones I have encountered at the Best Buys and Towers of this world. The bottom line? Chicago would be a worse place to live if the Reckless stores were to disappear.

Where are these mythical stores of yesteryear, these golden mom ‘n’ pop oases of politeness? In the three decades that I've been record shopping, any record store worth it's salt has been staffed by overqualified weirdos and loners who are often perceived as elitist. Don't you remember the stoned out hippies of yesteryear? The disaffected punks? The dour shoegazers? The crabby prog guy? The jazz snobs? The cliquish DJs? All of whom turned out to be pretty nice people, once you got to know them. “Rudeness” in record stores is nothing new, it’s as old-fashioned as losing is to gambling. They probably didn’t hate you, they were just busy. And they didn’t call you ma’am, they said “man”. Good record stores (Reckless included) cut through the bullshit. The clerks play what they like and they're honest about their opinions. They're not beholden to any publicist or record label. There’s no carefully orchestrated marketing plan. The echo chamber of consensus ends at the record store. This is where real people meet and talk. Why do people go to bars, and endure curtness and perhaps even (gasp) RUDENESS, when they can drink at home for cheap? It’s for the community vibe, baby. People want to go to a store and hear something new, blasting out of big speakers. They want to see what other people are buying, talk with their friends, maybe bump into an old pal and have lunch. You may overhear a clerk belittle your favorite band, but don’t assume that the clerk is frustrated. They may be filled with pride at having a rare job that offers them the freedom to be honest. Unlike the Gap, Starbuck’s or Best Buy, there’s no cheerful script and no coercion to buy. On the subject of expertise, I don't think too many record store clerks have an encyclopaedic knowledge of all musics. Rather, a store is often comprised of a group of specialists, who are passionate about their particular area of expertise. And when is knowledge a legitimate substitute for passion? Customers can google their heads off at home if they want cold data. Do I have to know everybody who played on a record to know that it’s good? Sun Ra once said, “Musicians are always telling me how much they know. I’m more interested in what they don’t know.” When it all comes out in the wash, I’d say it’s a pretty even exchange of knowledge and attitude between clerk and customer. Circle of life.

Hey, anybody wanna meet up at Metal Haven later, for a little nurturing and self-affirmation?

Anywhere Margasack isn't, which I guess is anywhere except the Hot House merengue fest.

So let me get this straight. You freely admit to being less than friendly when you were a music store clerk. But now that you no longer do that work, you feel such conduct is no longer acceptable. By that same logic, you should instruct the successor to your current job not to write such pointless drivel on this blog.

1) "Service industry" or not, I echo Frustration Mask's comments above when I note that as a customer you aren't owed ingratiation and kowtowing. Politeness will suffice. We're all human. If you interpret that as snobbery, that's your insecurity at work. The me-first-I'm-more-important-than-you attitude is already on its way to ruining the environment and the last shreds of democracy; why not culture, too? 2) The persons at Reckless with whom I am acquainted know and love music. 3) This is not to say that we haven't all been guilty of being snobby about the things we love on occasion. You personalize what you hold dear. 4) Then again, I shouldn't be surprised at the me-first attitude from someone who fetishizes/exoticizes "world music" as a lump genre. Imperialism rules. USA #1. 5) There are plenty of great record stores in Chicago; she says, coming from a town with exactly ONE record store still in operation (a Chicago native's, at that).

it's not helpful that this discussion gets reduced to simply physical record store vs. online shopping. though I'd much prefer supporting and frequenting local indie shops (which I do when they exist (it depends on where you live - Chicagoans luckily have some good stores)) - in the end the fact is that they're falling short of the mark. times change, you have to change with them or get left behind. I'd prefer to not see the small record shops get left behind, but we know that with the way things are you end up with less and less room for the number of stores chicago used to have. Weekend Records and Soap RIP

Frankly I'm glad to see the record stores diminish, and sorry to see so much music appearing online. People listen to too much music anyway. It's everywhere...in grocery stores, cabs, elevators, and everywhere else. You have to row a mile out onto the lake just to hear yourself think. What's wrong with a little peace and quiet?

Record store employees are about as rude as your run of hte mill record freak. And by that I mean, they aren't jerks at all. It just comes off that way to people that don't know that much about music. I constantly get called a music snob, yet everyone that calls me with that title has less records than I do, likes less bands than I do, and likes less genres of music than I do. They are just frustrated that I don't like major label horseshit, the "classics", or whatever crap they love.

here's a thought - shop online at the reckless website, see if they have what you're looking for in stock, call-in to have them hold it for you, walk in, pay, and leave. you're still embracing modern technology, supporting an indie store, and avoiding the frustrating interactions with the employees all at the same time. i've been doing it for the last 3 years. it's a beautiful thing. also, reckless is opening a 3rd location downtown, so they must be doing something right!

The peoblem with many record store clerks is that they really are very rude. No one is looking for kowtowing and constant smiles but politeness, and politeness is what is seriously lacking in many record store clerks these days.