Music Millennium closing store on NW 23rd
Some sad news to report for those who like to support independent music stores. Music Millennium, according to a Willamette Week blog post, announced it is closing the doors of its NW 23rd location at the end of August. A decline in music sales, mounting debts and climbing rents proved to be too much for the music store. Music Millennium will hopefully continue to remain open at its E. Burnside location - there was no indication from Willamette Week that location would be closing.
I personally liked going into the NW 23rd location to find local CDs. What is the E. Burnside location llike? How do you feel about this closing?
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I have never really been a record store fan. Ever since my days going to Tower Records in Eastport Plaza and paying through the nose for items I could get elsewhere for less, I have had a sour taste in my mouth for record stores. With the recent success of Everyday Music, I now am a fan. Places where you can go and listen to anything and be turned on to something other than what SONY wants you to buy is awesome. Further, we have recently been inducted into the Vinyl fold and now love record stores. Though the 23rd store didn’t have much. Eastside is better.
MM on E Burnside is on par with Everyday Music, in my book - indie store, not about pushing SONY, highlights esoteric music, buys back stuff, and lets you listen to stuff as well.
I like both stores, and will rarely go elsewhere to buy music.
Although I wouldn’t go to the NW 23rd location of MM - I tend to stay away from 23rd on principle ’cause parking’s such a hassle and it doesn’t offer enough return to justify a mass transit round trip (if I’m going to take the time to take the bus somewhere, it’s going to be for more than a couple of CDs.)
When I lived on NW 21st back in the day I used to love to go to the 23rd MM, but that was ages ago. I haven’t been since I moved out of NW because it was just a pain to get to.
i have a lotta love for record stores, but uh. this really doesn’t bug me too much. i subscribe to emusic.com and thats all the music i need. haven’t been to a record store to buy anything in about 7 years.
Damn, damn, damn. I loved that store.
The music biz sure is changing.
I don’t know what else to say, really.
…sigh.
That’s kinda sad. I haven’t been there in years but we use to go to 23rd every tuesday night and get a black tiger shake from coffee people and walk down and check out the new releases.
Some of the my favorite CDs were employee picks that I bought on a whim. I guess I should take one more trip down there.
I can’t say I’ll miss it. They are pimped on NRK with such a huge music selection, but I can’t remember going there for anything specific and finding it. Nothing obscure and intentionally hard to find, mind you. My last four times there I couldn’t find what I wanted, asked someone who was doing me a favor by assisting me, came up empty, and twice I placed a special order and never heard anything from them again.
I’m all Everyday Music now myself, aside from the special import things I get from a contact in Pasadena. As an institution though, I’m sad to see it go.
i can’t see how in 20 years there will be more then 6 or so record stores in the whole city… probably mostly selling vinyl.
pretty soon some pay service will get everyone whatever song they want on demand for a monthly charge.
My teenage years were spent flipping through albums in the East Side Store. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that shop. Just rounding the corner of 32nd and Burnside brings on huge waves of nostalgia. The floor still creeks in many of the same spots. The upstairs has seen lots of change as has the front counter . . . .but the store still just rox my flippin sox
Sadly, record stores are a dying breed. MM on Burnside is very similar to the record store where I hung out growing up. They sold not just records, but concert tickets, t-shirts, posters, bongs and pipes, rolling papers and incense.
CDs overtaking records was the first nail in the coffin. Sure, the little booklet insert is cool. But what about that glorious cover art? And how are you supposed to clean your weed and roll a joint on a CD case?
I don’t know if MM still has any vestiges of their head shop upstairs, but to all the kiddies who download their music on the internet, you should experience a real record store before they’re all gone.
As we all know, we are a drive through society with very little patience. Could be why so many buy “Their” songs online rather than going to the music store, standing in line, seeing a goth face and buying a whole album. 3 songs outta 15 are good, but hey where is the bang for my buck?
Hence the demise of the record store. Some have not been in a record store with a worker that has been a roadie with Jefferson airplane, the gratefule dead, or the police. Experiences and tales of old are dead. We can get our music in a click and dance the night away. Anyone wonder why the CD or MP3 sounds great, but on Good Morning America or in concert they sound lousy…
hmmmm. “Sound Studio+Sound Engineer=Record deal”
I can admit that I bought my first vinyl album in the mid 70’s and it was the Star Wars I soundtrack. It came with a coupon with a poster I still have, and some great art. The second is of E.L.O. all over the world. The album art launched me into the artist I am today. I stared for many hours as a young child into those images and listened on vinyl to those songs.
Music is a living thing, it involves every beat of our lives, and we all have our favorites. True musicians will tell you tone is everything and some search for vintage tone, to make modern records. Music will evolve, but I think just like alot of fades spawned by corporate america, what’s new becomes old, and what is old becomes hipp again. Save your vinyl if not for your gratitude, but for your kids, grandkids, and maybe grandkiddies…
Josh,
Great comment. I am just getting into vinyl again, not that I was “into” vinyl as a kid. I do love the warmer sound and it is fun to make record shopping a kind of quest. You’ll never know what you’ll come across.
I think the range of comments here are a good sampling and tell us all we need to know as to why this is happening.
I have spent many wonderful hours in both MM stores, as well as EM. I will miss more what it represents than the actual store itself. As long as we have the Burnside store, we have the view to the past glories of record stores intact.
Josh, your comment has inspired me to keep my 1500+ vinyl albums right where they are. Thanks.
I’m quite happy to see so many people sharing their thoughts on the closure of MM On 23rd. I’ll admit I’m personally sad to see it close. While I do purchase my fair share of music online I also like to hit MM for their selection of local CDS (like I mentioned in the post above). It’s a great way to sample the local music scene. I also like the crazy mixture of stuff in the store. I’ll have to drop by the E. Burnside location soon.
The music millennium store on nw23rd closing has everything to do with how technology is shaping our society. Instead of the internet being a tool that provides us access to information, it is making us lazy, and apathetic. I saw a commercial for HDTV once, and it showed all of these empty baseball fields, football stadiums, concert stages, and other venues empty and void of chairs. In the final scene, it shows all the chairs gathered around an HDTV, and the message was something to the effect of, “Why go here(venues), when could get the experience of a life time here(HDTV).” Technology in a way, is pushing us into a sort of self isolation in which the entertainment industry is telling you… “Why go see your fave sports team at the colliseum, when you could see them on HDTV?”, or “Why go to the music store, when you could download your music from the internet?” They are taking away the most essential ingredient of humanity, community. Communing with people online is not the same as communing with people in person. With more and more things becoming available via the internet, people treat human interaction like dealing with the middle man on an insurance claim. In times like these we should be pushing more than ever to make sure that we show everyone that human interaction takes more presidence over covenience.
The music millennium store on nw23rd closing has everything to do with how technology is shaping our society. Instead of the internet being a tool that provides us access to information, it is making us lazy, and apathetic. I saw a commercial for HDTV once, and it showed all of these empty baseball fields, football stadiums, concert stages, and other venues empty and void of chairs. In the final scene, it shows all the chairs gathered around an HDTV, and the message was something to the effect of, “Why go here(venues), when could get the experience of a life time here(HDTV).” Technology in a way, is pushing us into a sort of self isolation in which the entertainment industry is telling you… “Why go see your fave sports team at the colliseum, when you could see them on HDTV?”, or “Why go to the music store, when you could download your music from the internet?” They are taking away the most essential ingredient of humanity, community. Communing with people online is not the same as communing with people in person. With more and more things becoming available via the internet, people treat human interaction like dealing with the middle man on an insurance claim. In times like these we should be pushing more than ever to make sure that we show everyone that human interaction takes more presidence over covenience.
The music millennium store on nw23rd closing has everything to do with how technology is shaping our society. Instead of the internet being a tool that provides us access to information, it is making us lazy, and apathetic. I saw a commercial for HDTV once, and it showed all of these baseball fields, football stadiums, concert stages, and other venues empty and void of chairs. In the final scene, it shows all the chairs gathered around an HDTV, and the message was something to the effect of, “Why go here(venues), when could get the experience of a life time here(HDTV).” Technology in a way, is pushing us into a sort of self isolation in which the entertainment industry is telling you… “Why go see your fave sports team at the colliseum, when you could see them on HDTV?”, or “Why go to the music store, when you could download your music from the internet?” They are taking away the most essential ingredient of humanity…community. Communing with people online is not the same as communing with people in person. With more and more things becoming available via the internet, people treat human interaction like dealing with the middle man on an insurance claim. In times like these we should be pushing more than ever to make sure that we show everyone that human interaction takes more presidence over covenience.