Tower Records documentary - "All Things Must Pass"

This documentary on the rise and fall of the once-iconic record store chain looks like a must-see. When Tower opened a store in my home town (Paramus NJ) in '89 or '90 it was like a gift from God, I practically lived in that store

The flick is out in October and is directed by Tom Hanks' son, Colin Hanks.

THE original Tower is now a Dimple Records(on Broadway & 16th). Solomon opened up an R5 records with the Tower colors, but it didn't last long and turned into that Dimple.

chewie wrote:

THE original Tower is now a Dimple Records(on Broadway & 16th). Solomon opened up an R5 records with the Tower colors, but it didn't last long and turned into that Dimple.

Nice. The site of "my" Tower in Paramus, NJ is now a Goodwill store. I usually like browsing in Goodwills but I can't bring myself to go into that one. Too many memories of how awesome it used to be inside....

Prior to it becoming a Tower Records in the late 80s there had been a Crazy Eddies electronics/music store on the same site, and I'd also bought a ton of music there in my junior high/high school days... so over the course of 10 to 15 years, a pretty big ass chunk of my music collection all came out of that one spot!

This looks cool. Thanks, Keef. Oh man, I remember crazy Eddie's. Especially the commercials. I know what you mean about former record stores. I can think of a half dozen buildings where an awesome place to purchase once lived and now it's an insurance agency or vacuum repair shop or something equally mundane.

I live in Florida, so never a Towers Record store, but they had plenty of others with plenty of killer stock, now they are gone, even gone from the local Malls, and only one music store left.

It sucks that there are really no more "Mom and Pop" shops around here anymore (RI and MA) and it's only chains like FYE and Newbury Comics. These places are okay for new releases as they are cheaper week of release. But for any hidden gems or obscure 80's hard rock and heavy metal I can't recall the last time I really "scored" something. And I have been to over half of the Newbury locations and probably 9 or 10 different FYE stores.

I loved hanging out at Tower Records in the 90s. It was where I would search for new metal releases and read magazines. It's a huge shame they're gone... I still miss it.

That will go in the "must-see" category for me. I too have very fond memories of the Tower Record locations in my town.

I spent entirely too much money on Japanese reissues of classic jazz albums at Tower Records in the late 90s. The import section at Tower was something to behold, you'd never see the depth of titles available at any other store.

S.D. wrote:

I spent entirely too much money on Japanese reissues of classic jazz albums at Tower Records in the late 90s.  The import section at Tower was something to behold, you'd never see the depth of titles available at any other store.  

so true!

Quote :

The import section at Tower was something to behold, you'd never see the depth of titles available at any other store.

Yep, I used to say that if you couldn't find it at Tower Records, it didn't exist.

the sentinel wrote:

It sucks that there are really no more "Mom and Pop" shops around here anymore (RI and MA) and it's only chains like FYE and Newbury Comics. These places are okay for new releases as they are cheaper week of release. But for any hidden gems or obscure 80's hard rock and heavy metal I can't recall the last time I really "scored" something. And I have been to over half of the Newbury locations and probably 9 or 10 different FYE stores.

We've got quite a few in the Sacramento Area:

Dimple (which is a local chain)
Esoteric
Records on Broadway (which used to be K Street Records before the city kicked them and other older businesses out of the K Street Mall.)
Phono Select
Delta Breeze (West Sacramento. Run by a former owner of Esoteric and one of the guys from Broadway))
Armadillo Music (Davis)

There's still a few indie record stores where I live, but the only two I visit are Bionic records and Second Spin. FYE has a small metal selection and Best Buy is almost worthless.

My area is completely barren of record stores. The closest thing to me is a Best Buy which I don't even bother going into anymore. They used to have a decent sized music dept., but over the past few years it's gotten progressively smaller to the point where now all that's left is a single six-foot rack full of budget line Greatest Hits discs, with a few token new releases on the end cap.

I have never been in a Tower Records - they did not exist in my area, and I never visited one in my travels.

I've never been in one as well, since they weren't located in an area where I lived. Having said that I was very fortunate to live in areas where there were well established mom & pop record stores back in the day (Karma Records Indianapolis/surrounding suburbs), Appletree Records (Rockford, IL) and ear-X-tacy (Louisville, KY). Karma was simply the best, as they used to carry an abundant amount of bootleg C.D's. Eventually the record companies told them to get rid of them (post '94), but for years I found some killer boots. ear-X-tacy in Louisville also had some boots and some really good imports. Once Appletree Records closed in Rockford, there was a place in the early 90's called Digitals. They had some really good bootlegs as well. These types of places circumvented my need to go through that of Goldmine magazine.

It probably wasn't on the level of Tower Records, but Camelot Music was a great place as well. I remember how great their selection was and they had this robust section of Laser Discs, which was something to behold. There was a guy named Sean who worked in this store in Louisville around 1990. I would always look for him, because we would always talk about metal and he would tell me about the new music that was coming in.

There were 2 Tower locations in Philly. I didn't frequent the one downtown too often, but a few years later when one opened up closer to home, I was there all the time. I had buddies that worked there and they'd clue us in on cool releases, hold stuff behind the counter for us, special order albums and on a more sinister note, ring things up cheaper than marked or notify us when security wasn't working and wear baggy clothing *wink, wink*. No illegal downloads for me. I did my music thievery in analog.

In the mid-90's to early 2000's, before the internet, Tower was a great way to find new releases from old 80's bands that were no longer relevant on MTV or music mags too. I remember discovering bands like WASP and LA Guns were still putting out new music.

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There was a guy named Sean who worked in this store in Louisville around 1990. I would always look for him, because we would always talk about metal and he would tell me about the new music that was coming in.

I used to like messing with the hip '90s kiddies behind the counter at Tower when they asked if they could help me find anything. I'd say something like "Have you got any Stratovarius, Iron Savior or Blind Guardian, or anything with Kai Hansen on it, on either the Noise or Nuclear Blast labels?"

One guy who worked there was into metal so if he was on duty they'd send him to me, otherwise I'd get that huffy record-store clerk look. You know the one, the annoyed look that sez "I don't have time for your nonsense, I don't need this job, I'm only here till my band gets a development deal." Haha

Occasionally they'd see me come in the door and say "The metal guy is off today, dude, so you're on your own."

I don't recall having many experiences like that at my Tower. There were the occasional hipster-ish guys and gals, but most of the clerks were pretty well-versed in metal and rock. Moreso than me at the time.

Now, the little mom & pop used-stores were a different story. They were always filled with dismissive dickbags that scoffed at my musical choices. The first time I saw the movie 'High Fidelity', I was filled with a burning rage of Jack Black's character that still lingers to this day. I knew that guy all too well.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Quote :

There was a guy named Sean who worked in this store in Louisville around 1990. I would always look for him, because we would always talk about metal and he would tell me about the new music that was coming in.

I used to like messing with the hip '90s kiddies behind the counter at Tower when they asked if they could help me find anything. I'd say something like "Have you got any Stratovarius, Iron Savior or Blind Guardian, or anything with Kai Hansen on it, on either the Noise or Nuclear Blast labels?"

One guy who worked there was into metal so if he was on duty they'd send him to me, otherwise I'd get that huffy record-store clerk look. You know the one, the annoyed look that sez "I don't have time for your nonsense, I don't need this job, I'm only here till my band gets a development deal." Haha

Occasionally they'd see me come in the door and say "The metal guy is off today, dude, so you're on your own."

It's sorta funny how an individual can creep into your thoughts. For all intents and purposes you shouldn't remember this individual, but you do, because he was probably the only impressionable employee I ever ran into inside of any record store. Whenever I see anything regarding Lynch Mob on here, I always think about that guy Sean, because I remember how big of a George Lynch fan he was and he first told me about "Wicked Sensation" right around its release. I couldn't even remember Camelot records this morning, but I remembered this guys name for some strange reason. I had to text my brother about it. He remembered right away, and I just remembered it started with a "C" and that they had a shit load of laser discs and how I thought I had to have them all. Then the comet hit and the laser discs went extinct.

Regarding most clerks, oh yeah I know which guys you're talking about. They were the clerks that would utter under their breath, "that guy again". Yes, I loved music and they probably thought I was a thief, because I literally couldn't make up my mind of what I wanted to purchase. So, I would peruse the isles, stare at C.D's over and over again, slide back to where the posters were (look at a combination of scary metal imagery and hot chicks in bikinis), then slide over to the magazines (Hit Parader/Circus/Metal Edge/some fanzine) to try and find out something about these albums that I so badly wanted to purchase. An hour slides by, and the employees at this point are probably calling mall security or they are dreaming of their first tackle outside the confines of the store. I then walk up, hand them two C.D's, all the while thinking, did I get the two best? Then go home, cross them off the list, blast the music while looking at the metal imagery on the wall, and then repeat the performance next week after my meager minimum wage job pay check came in...

Quote :

It's sorta funny how an individual can creep into your thoughts. For all intents and purposes you shouldn't remember this individual, but you do, because he was probably the only impressionable employee I ever ran into inside of any record store.

Yup. His name was Barry and he ran this little used shop not far from my apartment. He always had a good selection and was knowledgeable about rock & metal, but he was such a douche about it that I couldn't stand the guy and rarely frequented the place. Imagine the attitude of comic-book guy from the Simpsons, but much thinner, and balding with long, kinky hair.

I'll remember that guy till the day I die.

I worked at a used CD store in Seattle from 1996 to 1998 and mostly enjoyed dealing with the public and helping them to find music they might enjoy.

The coolest experience I had was meeting Josh Homme (Kyuss, Queens Of The Stone Age) and helping him start a jazz collection. I picked out 20 CDs for him and he bought them all. A week later he came back, asked me to pick out another 20 CDs and he gave me a ticket for the QOTSA CD release party and also a signed copy of the Into The Void single on Man's Ruin.

metalinmyveins wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Quote :

There was a guy named Sean who worked in this store in Louisville around 1990. I would always look for him, because we would always talk about metal and he would tell me about the new music that was coming in.

I used to like messing with the hip '90s kiddies behind the counter at Tower when they asked if they could help me find anything. I'd say something like "Have you got any Stratovarius, Iron Savior or Blind Guardian, or anything with Kai Hansen on it, on either the Noise or Nuclear Blast labels?"

One guy who worked there was into metal so if he was on duty they'd send him to me, otherwise I'd get that huffy record-store clerk look. You know the one, the annoyed look that sez "I don't have time for your nonsense, I don't need this job, I'm only here till my band gets a development deal." Haha

Occasionally they'd see me come in the door and say "The metal guy is off today, dude, so you're on your own."

It's sorta funny how an individual can creep into your thoughts. For all intents and purposes you shouldn't remember this individual, but you do, because he was probably the only impressionable employee I ever ran into inside of any record store. Whenever I see anything regarding Lynch Mob on here, I always think about that guy Sean, because I remember how big of a George Lynch fan he was and he first told me about "Wicked Sensation" right around its release. I couldn't even remember Camelot records this morning, but I remembered this guys name for some strange reason. I had to text my brother about it. He remembered right away, and I just remembered it started with a "C" and that they had a shit load of laser discs and how I thought I had to have them all. Then the comet hit and the laser discs went extinct.

Regarding most clerks, oh yeah I know which guys you're talking about. They were the clerks that would utter under their breath, "that guy again". Yes, I loved music and they probably thought I was a thief, because I literally couldn't make up my mind of what I wanted to purchase. So, I would peruse the isles, stare at C.D's over and over again, slide back to where the posters were (look at a combination of scary metal imagery and hot chicks in bikinis), then slide over to the magazines (Hit Parader/Circus/Metal Edge/some fanzine) to try and find out something about these albums that I so badly wanted to purchase. An hour slides by, and the employees at this point are probably calling mall security or they are dreaming of their first tackle outside the confines of the store. I then walk up, hand them two C.D's, all the while thinking, did I get the two best? Then go home, cross them off the list, blast the music while looking at the metal imagery on the wall, and then repeat the performance next week after my meager minimum wage job pay check came in...

I can totally relate to the "lingering" in the store thing! I did the same thing at Tower. Time would just seem to fly by when I was looking around trying to decide what album to take a chance on.

S.D. wrote:

I worked at a used CD store in Seattle from 1996 to 1998 and mostly enjoyed dealing with the public and helping them to find music they might enjoy.  

The coolest experience I had was meeting Josh Homme (Kyuss, Queens Of The Stone Age) and helping him start a jazz collection.  I picked out 20 CDs for him and he bought them all.  A week later he came back, asked me to pick out another 20 CDs and he gave me a ticket for the QOTSA CD release party and also a signed copy of the Into The Void single on Man's Ruin.  

Very cool!

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Quote :

It's sorta funny how an individual can creep into your thoughts. For all intents and purposes you shouldn't remember this individual, but you do, because he was probably the only impressionable employee I ever ran into inside of any record store.

Yup. His name was Barry and he ran this little used shop not far from my apartment. He always had a good selection and was knowledgeable about rock & metal, but he was such a douche about it that I couldn't stand the guy and rarely frequented the place. Imagine the attitude of comic-book guy from the Simpsons, but much thinner, and balding with long, kinky hair.

I'll remember that guy till the day I die.

Ha ha, good or bad, we remember people for weird reasons. You painted a good picture of Barry. Did he only have three fingers and a thumb like a Simpsons character?