Friday 6th July – Smashing Pumpkins’ Zeitgeist

It’s really rather dull. Oh, and pretentious. Don’t buy it.

3.2/10

In other music news, one of the only real competitors to HMV and Virgin’s stranglehold on high street music buying, Fopp, has announced its retirement from the music selling scene. This disappoints for many reasons – it’s nifty £5, where you were always guaranteed to find a classic you didn’t have; how it always seemed to have good music playing when you got there; those headphones where you could while away half an hour whilst waiting for a bus; and the main one in that the one on Rose Street in Edinburgh had amongst its employees the single most beautiful person that has ever graced my eyes in real life. I shall miss her most.

It’s no surpises however. In this high speed world of broadband and online poker, downloads (both illegal and legal) are taking over and only the vastly rich bully boys of Virgin and HMV really have the means to justify having physical shops anymore. Well apart from the odd independent, and I do adore Avalanche on Cockburn Street, even if the better one near the uni was shut down for some reason or ever. Anyway, most excellent second hand section. Which both HMV and Virgin lack and that should be remedied immediately. Are you listening Branson?

Most of my music gathering is now done online of course (oh I do love Soulseek, Limewire, Debaser et al), but nothing beats that feeling of opening a newly purchased CD, and nothing else will subsititute when it comes to Christmas or birthdays. Fopp, you shall be missed.

Record of the Week

Because I could watch this video all day, Polysics – I My Me Mine.