We made a rare journey to the Music Millennium store this afternoon -- there to pick up this, this, and this. With our six-year-old assistant in tow, we saw the store with new eyes, noticing how much merchandise they have in there that has nothing to do with music. You want wind-up sushi toys? No problem. Eyeball bandages? They're on it. How about a corn dog air freshener, or some of that Violet scented candy we used to use to try to disguise the various no-no's on our breath? Whatever it takes to keep a music place alive, we're for it.
Comments (7)
I only hope they don't go too far. It's like watching the number of bookstores and comic shops that follow that path, and rapidly find out they drive off their core customers and discover the potential new customers will still go to Wal-Mart.
The MM I remember from my wasted days of youth was full of bins full of 12 inch LPs but also leather goods, roach clips, incense, patchouli oil, and Grateful Dead shirts. (damn...I'm starting to sound like Stumpy here). But I think you may be right Jack; it's easier to download.
I was in MM last month for the first time in a few years. I was looking for some relatively obscure tracks to complete a mix CD I was putting together.
I found everything I was looking for, had three $16.99 CDs in my hand and was heading for the register when I remembered I could buy all of the songs I really wanted online for a total of $2.97.
When I was younger I had no problem spending an entire paycheck on music, but $2.97 versus $50.97 is a no-brainer.
Owning a music store is the modern equivalent of owning a business in a community that gets bypassed by construction of an interstate highway.
I'm not sure who the "Stumpy" you're referring to is, but that was my camp name as a counselor at Outdoor School back in the early seventies. And your comments DO sound like something I would say! (I know you're not referring to me.)
My friend's brother was the manager and in-residence artist at Music Millenium in the 70's, responsible for all the great graphic promotions for them at the time. (I still have some of them, somewhere.) After school - Central Catholic, of course - we'd head up to the Mellenium, flip thru the vinyl in the wooden bins, head upstairs to the "head shop," then later go next door to "The Third Eye" for a look at additional fun stuff and posters. They had a great black light room, and in those days some of the posters were better than a fold-out... Needless to say, my friend had one of the most extensive collections of LPs imaginable, including many European imports with much higher quality vinyl than we were getting in the U.S.
In those days, of course, most albums were put together to be listened to as a whole. Few people I knew bought single 45s. Now the paradigm is changed, but most of the music I like to listen to is still worth buying in CD format. I like to hear other works of the artist I might otherwise miss. An online sample does not tell the whole story. And CD standard, 16 bit, 44.1k, sampling may not be very good itself, but it sure beats .mp3s at any kbps rate.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (7)
I only hope they don't go too far. It's like watching the number of bookstores and comic shops that follow that path, and rapidly find out they drive off their core customers and discover the potential new customers will still go to Wal-Mart.
Posted by Texas Triffid Ranch | October 18, 2009 11:36 PM
Perhaps the problem is that too few people buy CDs any more, much less in person.
Posted by Jack Bog | October 19, 2009 12:09 AM
The MM I remember from my wasted days of youth was full of bins full of 12 inch LPs but also leather goods, roach clips, incense, patchouli oil, and Grateful Dead shirts. (damn...I'm starting to sound like Stumpy here). But I think you may be right Jack; it's easier to download.
Posted by Jim | October 19, 2009 2:12 AM
I was in MM last month for the first time in a few years. I was looking for some relatively obscure tracks to complete a mix CD I was putting together.
I found everything I was looking for, had three $16.99 CDs in my hand and was heading for the register when I remembered I could buy all of the songs I really wanted online for a total of $2.97.
When I was younger I had no problem spending an entire paycheck on music, but $2.97 versus $50.97 is a no-brainer.
Owning a music store is the modern equivalent of owning a business in a community that gets bypassed by construction of an interstate highway.
Posted by none | October 19, 2009 7:54 AM
You've said it yourself: "We made a rare journey to the Music Millennium store this afternoon...."
If you cannot make the journey, shop the shop online.
Posted by Gardiner Menefree | October 19, 2009 7:55 AM
Hey Jim!
I'm not sure who the "Stumpy" you're referring to is, but that was my camp name as a counselor at Outdoor School back in the early seventies. And your comments DO sound like something I would say! (I know you're not referring to me.)
My friend's brother was the manager and in-residence artist at Music Millenium in the 70's, responsible for all the great graphic promotions for them at the time. (I still have some of them, somewhere.) After school - Central Catholic, of course - we'd head up to the Mellenium, flip thru the vinyl in the wooden bins, head upstairs to the "head shop," then later go next door to "The Third Eye" for a look at additional fun stuff and posters. They had a great black light room, and in those days some of the posters were better than a fold-out... Needless to say, my friend had one of the most extensive collections of LPs imaginable, including many European imports with much higher quality vinyl than we were getting in the U.S.
In those days, of course, most albums were put together to be listened to as a whole. Few people I knew bought single 45s. Now the paradigm is changed, but most of the music I like to listen to is still worth buying in CD format. I like to hear other works of the artist I might otherwise miss. An online sample does not tell the whole story. And CD standard, 16 bit, 44.1k, sampling may not be very good itself, but it sure beats .mp3s at any kbps rate.
Long live Music Millenium.
Posted by PDX Lifer | October 19, 2009 10:42 AM
If you can't go there, go here:
http://www.buymusichere.net/stores/musicmillennium/
Posted by Gardiner Menefree | October 19, 2009 12:21 PM