Today was Free Comic Book Day, and I set foot in my local comic shop for the first in about a year. I used to chat up the owner of the place at least once a month in college, but I realized I hadn't bought a comic in a good long while. So I set out to do just that and was pleased to find the place packed.
A few weeks ago was Record Store Day, in which I drove to Columbus to see a Mr. Freakin' Folds do a meet & great at a local record store in North Short. And unbeknownst to me, last month was Support Your Local Indie Bookstore Month. Which begs the question (*puts on Seinfield voice*) what is the deal with all these support your local yada yada holidays?
There's a couple of answers. Because the economy sucks for them too, sometimes worse than other stores. Because they love you. Because some people can't walk down the street and buy the latest Eels CD, a local author's book, and a giant voice-changing Dalek toy.
But maybe the best reason is "so the Big Dogs don't win." With even the heavy hitters like Tower Records shutting down, it's getting harder and harder to find a place that sells physical CDs that isn't Wal-Mart anymore. And sure, maybe that's the nature of technology. I can guarantee, though, that no software or patch or app is going to recommend a band to me better than a human (Pandora and iTunes' Genius feature constantly plugging Coldplay to me even when I tell them not to is proof enough of this.) While Amazon has recommended some pretty neat stuff I might not have found otherwise, it's never asked me how my latest film project's going.
Goodness knows I do my fair share of online shopping, and it's a godsend to the people that live in areas without these local shops we tend to take for granted. But nothing can replicate the Cheers effect that a local store can bring. I guess this makes me an old fart. But I can't be the only old fart out there. We old farts have to band together, and where else can we do that but our local pop culture chapels?
