Last Shop Standing: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of the Independent Record Shop, DVD

The 20th of this month is Record Store Day. It is a good idea, a way to focus concentration and attention on an endangered species. What is at stake is nicely presented in the film and now Special Edition DVD of Last Shop Standing: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of the Independent Record Shop (Convexe DVD 903106).

It's two hours of interviews, narrative and footage hanging out in shops, all in England. Anyone who spent many hours in such places, such as myself, will respond strongly to this film. Any young folks who need to know why they should support indie shops (and vinyl) will get great reasons why.

There are store owners, music people, musicians, all talking about what makes such spots essential to music culture. And a good bit of history too.

The decline of the scene started with CDs and got worse with downloads. The film covers all that along with the vinyl revival.

It's a great two-hours and hits to the heart of our decline and (hopefully) rebirth. Music I suspect depends upon it--music business, music music, musicians, all of it. So grab this and hit a shop on Record Day!

Ethics and The Review Process: Have I Been Taken Off the Promo List of A Label for A Negative Review?

OK I am not mentioning names here. But I have the distinct impression that a major label has bounced me from their promo list because of one negative review I posted months ago. It was ultimately positive about the group, just negative about the particular release.

If the blog and journalism world is not going the be the corrupted handmaiden shill of the music industry, the intellectual and factual independence of reviewers must be guaranteed. When I decide to review music it is often for more than one reason. I may like the music, I may like the artists, I may find that the music illustrates something about the current scene or the history of music. One thing that is not a fait accompli, is that everything be positive. It is not my function here to promote music as a promoter. If something is promoted as a result of positive words, it is incidental to what I do, which is talk about the music itself.

I generally cover things I do appreciate on one or more levels of course. But I will not become the publicity arm of a company on these pages. If I have been taken off the promo list of a particular (major) label, then I wonder about the ethics of that label. "Do good reviews only. Don't do good reviews and you will be silenced." This is not good. Of course if I am mistaken, then I will get some new releases in some fashion, and I'll continue to cover the label with the same, I hope, objectivity. Thank you.