White Knight records closed
This business closing was a tough thing to hear about. When I came to Great Barrington in the late 1980s, White Knight records, and owner Ron White, were a Main Street fixture. Still, as Ron explained to me a few days ago, he's gone 29 years without a real vacation, so he has some catching up to do.
The demise of small record shops in Berkshire County and across the country is nothing new. Music fans can now download for free or a small fee just about any piece of modern music they wish. But what the elimination of record stores represents is the elimination of what I've called the "browse factor." I can't explain it any better than from my own experience. I was at a roadside record store in one of my first weeks at college. (That's a phenomenon that is also long gone: When record collectors would set up their wares near a college campus. In my case, it was Northeastern University). Anyway, I was perusing the boxes when I found this album by the Who called Quadrophenia. I'd sort of heard of this album, but knew nothing about it. What actually caused me to buy the record was the booklet that came with the album. It had some cool pictures. Plus, it was used, and thus only $4.
I went back to my Boston apartment and played this record. I was entranced, and it began a decades-long love affair with Pete Townsend and the Who.
I probably would have found Quadrophenia sooner or later, but the unexpected delight of discovering something so good, something that touched me so deeply and profoundly out of the blue is something I can't explain. But I'm not sure that music-buyers these days get that feeling. I hope they do, but I'm not sure of it. That's what I think they miss.