So Long Tower Records
After a long struggle it now appears that Tower Records will be closing up shop for good. Bad news for every DC-area band that ever sold self-printed CD’s through the indie-friendly chain. Good news for bargain hunters though because the vultures that bought what’s left of Tower say liquidation sales are starting ASAP. Tower has locations in Rockville, Tyson’s Corner, Fairfax, Alexandria and on Pennsylvania Ave.
I will dearly miss the Tower on Rt. 7 near Tyson’s Corner. Aside from the redheaded clerk I had a crush on for most of the early-90’s, it used to always be open until midnight and so was a great haven for bored night owls like me. On any night you could escape the surrounding suburban uniformity and enter a world of tattoo magazines, poorly painted Marilyn Manson wall displays, kitschy toys, homemade zines and a genuinely decent selection of CD’s.
Tower was overpriced, so I rarely bought anything from them, but it did have two good qualities:
1. It was open on Christmas and Thanksgiving, so it was a place to go escape the family for awhile and just browse.
2. The singles selection used to be really good, and I was able to find a lot of imports I wanted for their B-sides.