Melody Records Closing Shop After 34 Years in Dupont Circle

[bearman🐻]

Melody is overpriced but on occasion over the years I'd find deals. They have a decent vinyl selection, and I bought the reissue of the first Queens of the Stone Age LP for 12 bucks the other day.

[lagas]

I went into the store last night about 5 min before 8 pm. After I got in, this guy told me they were about to close in a few minutes, meaning the store was closed. I wanted to buy something before it goes out of business, but it seemed they didn't want my money, so I left...

[Yada]

"you got the new radiohead vinyl boxset, that has 1000 mini lps, each playing 1 second of 1 song?"

Post fail.

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

I went into the store last night about 5 min before 8 pm. After I got in, this guy told me they were about to close in a few minutes, meaning the store was closed. I wanted to buy something before it goes out of business, but it seemed they didn't want my money, so I left...

And that pretty well describes the Melody experience over many years.   That and the records/CDs that were always priced 30% higher than any other store.   I tried to give them a chance a few times over the years and always came out wondering how they stayed in business.   

[hutch]

Thing about melody is for the discerning buyer they had some great selection.. certainly the best world music selection of any record store- for its size- I can remember.. the Brazilian or French stuff you could find was dope.. also a great jazz section...

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

Perhaps that explains some of it.   There's a long standing tradition of stores that cater to enthusiasts -- I'm thinking Al's Magic Shop, and the Guitar Store on Connecticut Avenue -- being dickish to casual customers, even though they help pay the rent.   It's very much human nature to look down on rubes who don't share your passion and knowledge, but bad for business, and it doesn't fly anymore in this ferocious economy and era of internet competition.  

[hutch]

Perhaps that explains some of it.   There's a long standing tradition of stores that cater to enthusiasts -- I'm thinking Al's Magic Shop, and the Guitar Store on Connecticut Avenue -- being dickish to casual customers, even though they help pay the rent.   It's very much human nature to look down on rubes who don't share your passion and knowledge, but bad for business, and it doesn't fly anymore in this ferocious economy and era of internet competition.  

what a load of hooey!!!!!! i was not a "regular shopper" but went there for about 18 years buying the ocasional cd .. why not more? because i buy used vinyl mainly......they treated people nicely.. the times i had contact with them they were very nice... once they even gave me some stuff for my baby just cause they were nice.

melody was not a hi fidelity type record store with dickhead holier than thou record clerks..

the bottom line is all record stores whether they treat people well or not, whether they stock well or not, whether they price well or not are going under.. they all are going under... to try to "blame" the store is silly.. the reasons they are going under are 1) technology (i.e, people buying mp3s) 2) internet competition (no one can beat amazon or the labels directly..) and 3) the economy

they are all going under..even newbury up in new england may go under.. every day we read of a new one.. today it was some record store in st. louis that had been in business for 58 years..

the types of record stores that are surviving are essentially the ones selling used records...

in dc for example of the traditional record stores- tower, olssons, kemp mill- none have made it.

[i am gay and i like cats]

when i walk into a mall cd store, which yes, i still do when i am bored and go to a mall, they always almost fall over themselves with wanting to help people . . . almost as if they are blown away someone actually walked in, but i just wish their selections were as great as their staff, and i asked the last one i went into, you got jay reatard?, who?,  uhmm, ok, i said, but they always have fun to look at interesting menageries of stuff, like when you are at a beach boardwalk staring at all the mesmerizing junk but not really buying anything.  i like that.  it makes me remember myself as a kid.  neato.

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

Well, what can I say, your mileage can vary.  All I know is the last time I went in there, probably 10 years ago, I wondered how they stayed in business, and then you've got lagas further back in the thread saying they didn't seem to want his business just a couple nights ago.   

But yes, independent stores of all kinds are going under, not just record stores.   It's actually an impressive feat that they managed to stay open as long as they did, somehow.

[Ardamus]

I had two of my albums in there and they only found one. I felt bad for those guys since they pushed a variety of stuff in there. Great store where I got a fix of indie hip hop, various DVD sets, and etc. at.