Bring on Your Wrecking Ball

Midnight Record Release Sale at Jack’s Music Shoppe in Red Bank, NJ, March 6, 2012

So, I did this.  Got dressed and headed over to Jack's Music Shoppe in Red Bank to buy Bruce Springsteen’s new album, Wrecking Ball, the moment it was released at midnight.  I’m not sure what brought me out there.  I really didn’t believe that Springsteen would show up to personally thank us all for our fandom like he did back in 2001.  Wrecking Ball really isn’t close to Springsteen’s best, though it’s his best in ages.  I'm pretty sure I'd be able to walk in there today and pick up the album like a normal person.

An exchange I heard as I browsed the used CD’s in front of the register, though, I think may sum it up for me.

“Do any other record stores do anything like this?”

“What other record stores are there?”

I’ve never been someone who’s into nostalgia for its own sake, but Jack’s has been in Red Bank my whole life.  I used to wait there for concert tickets way back when they had a Ticketron machine in the back at the old location across the street.  In recent years, it’s become a Friday afternoon tradition for me to grab lunch in Red Bank and then spend some time browsing at Jack’s.

Is it the world’s greatest record store?  Probably not.  Can you find a wider selection of obscure titles online? Depends on what you’re looking for, but generally yes.  Isn’t all of this music cheaper at Amazon?  Usually.  But I still enjoy searching for stuff while some record store employee’s choice of music is piped over the sound system.  And I still enjoy walking out of there with my orange and white striped paper bag.

As he lay comfortably in his bed in Rumson or Colts Neck or wherever he was during last night’s sub-30’s temperatures, I’m sure Bruce was satisfied that a bunch of fools were out supporting him and another local business.

Oh, and I bought the vinyl.