Tower Records is getting liquidated

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Tower Records is getting liquidated

Fly over to Seattle for the holidays, folks - the store near Seattle Center doesn't close until Dec. 22. Quite a bit still in stock - mostly crap, but some surprises remain - like several copies of Na Kama's latest, "Kamakolu" at less than $5 each. I grabbed one last night, along with the latest classical/jazz crossover SACD by Chris Brubeck, a ki ho`alu disc by Steven Inglis, a "best of" Adiemus, and another classical disc - totalling under $25 with tax.

Much like GeckoGeek's description, what's left here has been compacted into a smaller portion of the store and only a handful of employees remain, but a high percentage of the fixtures, racks, listening stations, etc., are for sale now.

Fortunately for us, another great (locally-owned) CD store, Silver Platters, will be taking over the location, which is just a few blocks from my home.

[Kalihiboy]

Re: Tower Records is getting liquidated

This is the Tower Records on Mercer right? I remember going there many times in my days of living in the Pacific Northwest, I'm very sad to see Tower go away as I grew up with the store. I remember when Alice Cooper came to the grand opening of the store in Phoenix near my house. I'm not sure if it lasted 10 years at that location, the one by ASU closed as well, so actually Tower store closings have been happening in other places for several years already, but not to the level it is now.

So long old friend......

KalihiBoy

[mel]

Re: Tower Records is getting liquidated

Only 2 days remain. Went by late this afternoon. It's pretty much just scraping bones time. None of the CDs are worth buying at any price, though there are some oddball movies that may still be attractive. They're also selling office supplies, used hardware like stereo systems, cash registers, shelves, surveillance system. The Big IZ picture is gone. Many of the wall fixtures are gone. It's adios to Tower after Sunday.

I bought 2 rolls of packing tape for 50¢ each and a DVD movie of Ssssssss! for $4.20.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Tower Records is getting liquidated

This is the Tower Records on Mercer right? I remember going there many times in my days of living in the Pacific Northwest, I'm very sad to see Tower go away as I grew up with the store.

Close to it. The 5th & Mercer (NE corner) location closed a couple years ago, as construction began on a condo/retail complex on that corner (called "Lumen.") They were then in a large trailer (!) in the parking lot on the SE corner for about a year, until they moved into a vacant office building on the NW corner of 5th & Roy, where they remain until next Friday.

[LikaNui]

Re: Tower Records is getting liquidated

I went to Tower Kahala and Tower Keeaumoku this morning. An absolute waste of time. Almost nothing left, and nothing I would've taken even if it was free.
So I went to Borders Ward and spent a bundle.

[mel]

Re: Tower Records is getting liquidated

KITV 4 had a news report today on the closing of the Tower Records Pearl Kai store. CDs and DVDs were 90% off. They had people in there scrounging. Pearl Kai's last day is today; Kahala and Keeaumoku will be open tomorrow says the report. I'll probably go by the Keeaumoku Store to get a picture of the closed sign or something from the last day. It's been a slow burn to oblivion and Tower will be another one for the memory books.

[scrivener]

Re: Tower Records is getting liquidated

I'd like everyone to know that for the most part, I do not like crap. I do, however, read lots of music publications (I subscribe to three) and I was at the Keeaumoku store today and had to put stuff back in the racks and consider going back tomorrow, because as it was, I spent a hundred bucks. On good stuff, quality stuff, stuff that critics and fans like. I'll post a list later (it would take more time now than I have), but there is some extremely good stuff there at 80% off.

A "waste of time" it would be, I suppose, if you just don't recognize the names, but you know, it's often the best stuff that is out of the mainstream. Still, there's some very well-known, very good stuff on the racks right now. At twenty cents on the dollar, the stuff's an unbelievable bargain.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Tower Records is getting liquidated

Oh, there's probably stuff there that I'd like, if I had the time to give it a listen and a sound booth to give it a try. But the sound booths are gone and I've yet to really find a reviewer that I trust to have the same taste in music as I.

I think it's a safe bet to say that for the average person, most of the stuff there is stuff they've never heard of. If the average person had heard of it. it would have been bought out by now.

I'm a little surprised some of the other stores have gone to 90% discount. I'm not sure, but I'd guess that around the 60% -70 mark is probably around wholesale price. Once it got much below that, I'd think something else would happen like some other store buying out the whole stock.

[scrivener]

Re: Tower Records is getting liquidated

It closes at six Sunday, by the way. I asked as I hauled my two bags full of loot out the door.

[scrivener]

Re: Tower Records is getting liquidated

Here are some of the things you passed up. Disclaimer: I fully realize that nothing is for everyone; I might make a big deal out of some of this music and you might say, "big deal," but I'll bet something here would have been worth two to three dollars to you.

Wetton & Downes, Icon. John Wetton and Geoff Downes are the bassist/vocalist and keyboardist in Asia (itself a supergroup made up of some of the bigger names in 70s progressive rock). Asia's debut album was the best-selling album in 1981 ("Heat of the Moment," "Only Time Will Tell"). I'm a big fan of Wetton and have two of his live solo albums; this 2006 album includes remakes of two Asia songs ("The Smile has Left Your Eyes" and "Heat of the Moment"). I bought two of these because I'm sure I can sell one of them on eBay for at least four bucks.

Cracker, Greenland. Probably one of the more esoteric artists I bought, but Cracker (whose frontman was the main guy in Camper Van Beethoven) is bright, driven alterna-pop-rock with an angsty bent (their song "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)" got a bit of airplay in the early nineties). This one was a dice roll, but even if none of the songs here is especially good, I know that it will at least be interesting.

Some Girls, Crushing Love. I don't know a thing about this one except that it's really Juliana Hatfield (the best thing about the Lemonheads in the early nineties) with two others. Hatfield's songwriting is always, always interesting, and she's got that great waif-like voice that makes me want to make love to something.

VoiVod, Katorz. VoiVod is technical, progressive, classically-influenced metal. Metal in general is penis-driven; this metal is more grey-matter driven. Definitely not for everyone, but again, I know the tracks will be interesting. Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica) plays bass.

Lee Rocker, Racin' the Devil. Rocker is the stand-up bass-player from the Stray Cats, and a great rockabilly singer. His swingy, jivey style just makes you want to get up and dance, and I hate dancing. I already have two of his albums, so getting this one for $2.80 is a total steal for me.

T Bone Burnett, The True False Identity. T Bone is one of America's most successful producers (Los Lobos, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, the Wallflowers) and my favorite songwriter. His Texas-bluesy-folky solo albums are among the greatest listens I can think of. I already have this album, but there were at least ten more in the rack, so I bought one to give away.

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Hoot. I confess that I'd have paid the $2.80 just for the first track: Jimmy Buffett singing Bruce Cockburn's "Wondering Where the Lions Are." Cockburn's my favorite musician in the entire universe, and Buffett has already recorded four covers of his music; I had to get this one. It also has four more newly recorded Buffett songs (including a remake of "Werewolves of London"). It's also got songs by G.Love, Maroon 5, and Toots & the Maytals. I'm excited about this one.

Keith Emerson, Honky and Off the Shelf. Emerson is the keyboardist in Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, and one of the great musicians in progressive rock. I have never heard his solo stuff, so these were something of a gamble. Still, at about $2.60 each, worth a gamble if you love prog rock. And I do.

Dinosaur Jr., Where You Been. One of the buzziest bands of the early nineties; while Nirvana was making the crossover to MTV and FM top-40 radio, Dinosaur Jr. was in heavy rotation on college stations across the nation. Definitely not for everyone, but if you enjoyed college radio in the nineties, you surely heard this band a few times. This is the Rhino re-release (and you know Rhino knows how to do re-releases!) with three bonus tracks.

Arcturus, Sideshow Symphonies. Dark, progressive, classically-influenced, symphonic metal. I swear, I almost bought this online just two days ago for twelve bucks; I got it today for $2.60.

Strapping Young Lad, The New Black. I'm not sure why people categorize this band as progressive metal. It's definitely thinking-man's metal, but more like a nuclear assault than normal progressive artists. Devin Townsend, the band's driving force, is a clever songwriter with a gift for creating music unlike anything anyone else is doing. Huge in Europe.

Paatos, Silence of Another Kind. Popular progressive band from Sweden; I admit I've never listened to them, but they're on InsideOut records, a label that has never let me down. I do know that the reviewers like them, so for $2.80, definitely worth the risk.

The Crickets and their Buddies, self-titled. The suriving members of Buddy Holly's band play with a plethora of great musicians, remaking some of Holly's best songs. J.D. Souther (Eagles), Eric Clapton, Nanci Griffith, Albert Lee, Bobby Vee, Graham Nash, Vince Neil, and John Prine (among others) sit in with the band, though I admit that the reason I bought it was because Tonio K. (himself a former Crickett and another of my favorite musicians, a friend of T Bone Burnett) sings "Not Fade Away" with Peter Case.

There's more, of course, but I shan't go into it now. I'm stoked, so I guess that should be all that matters to me.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Tower Records is getting liquidated

Well, crud. I wished you had a chance to check it out a few days back. I could have used that list earlier. I don't have time today and tomorrow is too late.

[mel]

Re: Tower Records is getting liquidated



I had to check out the store for one last time today. Went by around 2 this afternoon. The store was busy with last minute bargain hunters combing through the bones in the CD racks. Advertised prices were 99¢ each CD.

That certainly made me want to look again as I ended up purchasing 8 CDs at that price. When we got to the cashiers' desk, the discs were being sold 2 for a dollar at this late hour. 50¢ for CDs are not bad for discs originally selling at $16.99 or higher each. Two days ago when these discs were selling for $4.20 each, today they were a lot better bargains at 50¢ a piece.

I ended up buying the Cracker CD mentioned in a previous post (I have 2 CDs by this band from years ago), Damone, Enigma, and a couple of obscure country titles and an electro-dance thing by Safety Scissors. Some of the artists I recognized as they were free downloads from iTunes a few months back. Getting the CDs frees me up from the DRM encumbered AAC files.

People were also buying store fixtures and some of the remaining office equipment while I was there. Nobody took the free buckets of paint that were there from 2 days ago.

Photo above taken today at Tower. More photos at this link.