Countless online and print music publications, as well as grassroots campaigns such as Record Story Day, have extolled ad infinium the virtues of supporting your local brick and mortar music store – a seemingly altruistic notion in the presence of free and cheap music online. However, when you buy music at the record shop, you’re not just supporting them, you’re helping yourself in the end (at least if you’re a music fan). Some people, as recently demonstrated here in Louisville, don’t see the value in an influential and active physical goods music destination, so The Decibel Tolls is adding another commentary to the fray before our holiday shopping season ends. This one’s for the haters.

Just before Thanksgiving, ear X-tacy – a record store that publications like Rolling Stone, SPIN, and Paste have ranked as one of the best in the country – created a FaCeBoO!k event with this video message from owner John Timmons asking for the city’s continued support.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UmvqHfHuMo

The event page has since been taken down, as it turned into a huge squawking argument with the type of vitriol generally reserved for The Huffington Post comment section, filled with naysaying, unfounded criticisms, and general malaise. Of course, Kenny Bloggins here decided to use his hatin’/real talk prowess for good, to defend the store and my friends that work there against these clowns, rather than just incessantly rip on WFPK as I am known to do. More importantly, there’s a larger message here that needs to be discussed.

To backtrack a bit, ear X-tacy moved to a smaller storefront last summer to help cut overhead, thinking that the business would stay afloat with its (then) current traffic in a less lavish space with cheaper rent and utility costs. As one of the employees told me, the move ended up hurting ear X-tacy again, since many people didn’t even know the store had moved from its Sherwood Ave and Bardstown Road storefront – their outpost for the last decade. Recently, shorty and I had dinner at Seviche, directly adjacent to the old location. We ran into a middle aged man peeking into the abandoned building confused, and he asked us where ear X-tacy was as we passed by. This was December 8th. They moved in July.  For reference, ear X-tacy is right here, mmkay:

This week, LEO Weekly in their annual excellent tounge-in-cheek Loserville issue opined that Timmons’ (and subsequently, ear X-tacy’s) message came off as a sort of begging or panhandling. Perhaps the word “plea” might come off distasteful without proper context, but isn’t all advertising a form of begging, pleading, and/or appealing? “Please come check out the deals at Jibber Jabber Ford Mercury!” And the nature of that advertising becomes a little more urgent when a business’ existence has a far greater reach outside just the employees and neighborhood regulars. Of course, it’s impossible to convey such nuances in a minute-long video (this is how people get themselves in trouble on soundbite-driven cable news programs), so in that regard, it’s understandable why people who didn’t critically think about ear X-tacy’s unique situation were turned off. However, I think Timmons’ intent was more than clear. The store truly doesn’t want handouts, it just wants consistent patronage. More important, I think the unspoken purpose of this video was to serve as a reminder that ear X-tacy has moved to a new location, bolsters a new live stage, and offers a revamped inventory. None of these facts were true back in February when Timmons initially went public with the store’s troubles, and this move comes in the face of already battling the plights that all record stores nationwide face. I can appreciate this level of transparency. Essentially, if the viral nature of this video (and the ensuing dialogue) helps people like the aforementioned gentleman become aware of the new location and store features, that effect outweighs all the criticisms.

Some of the other arguments brought up act as a microcosm for the digital vs. physical music argument – ear X-tacy needs get with the times, no one likes physical music anymore, a local business’ merchandise tends to cost more than the big box stores, etc. Some even claimed that the staff wasn’t friendly enough to warrant their money, supporting the idea that people actually like having the shit bothered out of them when shopping for pants at J Crew. If you happen to agree with these folks, cool, whatever. Fly your flags high and storm the castle if you must. Me, I find that none of these arguments hold any water. Record stores are an institution, due to both the cliched arguments as well as points not often roused.

True story. Whenever I’m in a city I’m not familiar with, the first thing I do is find out where the big independent record store is. I’ll stop and peruse their selection – sometimes I buy something, sometimes I don’t – but a celebrated local record store in any given North American city will point you in the direction of a distinct, less corporate area of town worth exploring. This should appeal to anyone who isn’t pumped on the homogeny of, say, airports from city to city. The neighborhoods with cheap local fare, awesome nightlife, and the types of boutiques and businesses that give a community character – that remind you you’re in a totally different location – all tend to be in the same neighborhood(s) as the city’s big indie. ear X-tacy is no exception – The Highlands in Louisville is home to hundreds of excellent local businesses. Restaurants, cafes, coffeshops, microbreweries, bars, eclectic stores, some of the most beautiful historic architecture in the region, and hundreds of acres of Frank Olmsted-designed urban park are all within a stone’s throw of ear X-tacy. Travel up I-71 to Cincinnati and find Shake-It Records. It’s in Northside, a neighborhood I love, and home to awesome music venues, delicious hole-in-the-wall diners, and a community that doesn’t resemble any place else. In Chicago, choose between obscure soul/funk/blues vinyl shop Dusty Groove and psych/experimental/hard-to-find treasure trove Permanent Records. These shops bookend the Ukranian Village, on the near west side between Ashland and Damen, and you’ll find a good time at a great price. If 6th Street wasn’t already a name brand destination as the command center for South By Southwest, Austin’s Waterloo Records would help you find that killer strip. That’s just what I can think of off the top of my head. There are countless examples, and few instances where this isn’t the case – making the record store a sort of colloquial lighthouse for tourists and townies alike looking for a unique experience.

It’s no coincidence. A record store is an epicenter of culture. Timmons touches on this point, but I’ll take it a little more in-depth. With few exceptions, most of the concerts and shows you see in your community happen because of a handful of forces – a radio station, a promoter, an on-staff venue/bar talent buyer, a blog/website, or a record store. Record stores are ingrained in the fabric of a local music scene. How many shows in your city were booked or assisted in some way within the past 18 months because of (insert your local record store)? A couple hundred? Additionally, when booking agents are routing tours, they look at both the show attendance history and the Soundscan numbers in a particular market. They’re not looking at iTunes downloads or who pirated what in your city. This is specifically what Timmons means when talking about how shows and local events can be affected by the big indie going belly-up.

Yes, a record store sells music a couple of bucks higher than the big box, but that’s their bread and butter. Good deals on CDs and DVDs are a profit-loss promotion for other stores to get people in the doors who will buy countless other products that yield a greater profit, like shaving cream or whatever. At 16, I worked at the video department of Best Buy to pay off my car. They really didn’t give a shit whether I sold a TV or DVD player. Small profit. But selling accessories – cables, extended warranties, etc. – got you the back pat and a “good numbers, son.” Not so at your record store. They only make their money selling what they intend to sell – music, movies, and pop culture memorabilia. Additionally, Best Buy won’t have that NEU! box set with the vinyl, CDs, art, and T-shirt. ear X-tacy will, and that jam will be prominently displayed and easy to find.

Additionally, record shopping is an experience. You can chat with the employees for recommendations, or go exploring. The feeling isn’t the same perusing Hype Machine. When you want a beer or cocktail, do you just run to Party Mart and pick up a jug of gin and 2-liter of Canada Dry tonic water, then sit at home, slam your highball and LOL at Two and a Half Men? I mean, maybe you do. It certainly is cheaper, but that sounds like a shit time to me. I enjoy spending a couple of extra dollars to enjoy drinks with friends at any number of my favorite watering holes, and I enjoy flipping through the wax stacks at ear X-tacy. I like the experience of art in hand. I certainly have discovered new music because I found the artwork and packaging of an album intriguing. I can preview the music at home on Last.FM, and if it’s up my alley, I go back to the store next time I’m out and pick that record up. You can’t replicate that online, unless you find Arial typeface mesmerizing.

You also can’t digitally replicate the sound and feel of physical music either. Yes, this argument has been presented many times before (and one the vinyl fiends at Backseat Sandbar and We Listen For You are probably better suited to make), but it’s true. A high bit-rate digital file simply does not have the fidelity of a 180 gram vinyl record. It’s physically impossible from the signal loss of cables coming out of your computer, to a receiver, and out of the speakers. Paul McCartney’s bass knocks pictures off my walls when pumping a scratched copy Rubber Soul through the stereo off vinyl. Scratch Perry’s booty bass blasting out of my computer doesn’t do a goddamn thing. If you actually like music, physical records are irreplaceable. I understand that convenience of the MP3 (I’m a blogger for Christ’s sakes), but when actually sitting down with a record and entertaining friends, a vinyl listening party can’t be beat.

ear X-tacy’s video hitting right before Thanksgiving was no accident. It’s the holiday shopping season, and you’re going to spend money anyway. No reason to not spend it at ear X-tacy, especially considering that they, as with most record stores, sell awesome products other than music. That’s really what Timmons and company is asking, in my opinion. I will buy every item on friends and family’s wish list that I can from ear X-tacy. My dad gets The Town on Blu Ray, and I contribute to the vitality of ear X. Pretty dope for all parties involved if you ask me. Louisville, I ask you to do the same. If you’re in another city, I ask that you pledge to buy your gifts from your local record, book, or clothing store. If I find out you’re jockin’ Amazon for everything, I will come find you and pull some Ezekial 25:17 type shit.* Believe it.

In theory, capitalism resembles a form of democracy. Vote with your dollar.

* = to the best of my ability

Oh, and there’s another way you can help ear X-tacy. On Boxing Day, Sunday, December 26th, ear X-tacy is hosting a huge show at Headliners – ear X-travaganza. Tons of Louisville luminaries – Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Scott Carney of Wax Fang, Cabin, Ben Sollee, The Watson Twins, and more will all be hitting the stage for some truly memorable performances, and all proceeds go to the store to give ear X a much needed boost. All these artists give a shit, so why shouldn’t you? Tickets are $20 and are available at the store and etix.com. You know what to do. Doors at 7 p.m.

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UPDATE 12.21 – Oh damn, that show’s already sold out. So, you can’t buy tickets at the store or at etix.com because you slept on in, dinguses (dingii?)! Guess you’ll just have to help out by not being a horse’s ass and remembering ear X-tacy next time you’re looking for a great gift.