I was in San Francisco and drove past what was once the landmark 
Tower Records.It’s now a dry cleaners using trendy “Green” techniques, whatever that means. A shame, but things change.
Good story here about the history of Tower Records and the old store.
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“Green” is essentially meaningless, John. It is a marketing buzzword. So is “sustainable.”
I still think you need to get dvorak.org on another host. It was down again this morning.
Sure “Green” can be empty hype, but dry cleaning solvent (carbon tetrachloride, I think) is nasty stuff and if someone has a process that works well without it, that’s great.
Tower Records (or where they were) and that whole area running down into North Beach is my favourite part of SF, and SF is my favourite city. I always like to stay on Washington Square when I’m there.
Tower makes me think of SF from the 60’s through the 90’s and all it’s history, culture, food, scenery, and especially the people. There is so much life and creativity in SF – no wonder Republicans hate it. 😉
*sigh* I really miss Tower’s Classical Annex. Not only was the whole place devoted to all kinds of classical music but the entire staff was extremely knowledgeable about the nearly their entire stock. I don’t know of another place like it.
It’s now a dry cleaners using trendy “Green” techniques, whatever that means.
Here’s what it means.
Green Dry Cleaning
From the link:
Now back to the real topic at hand. I just wanted to answer the implied question about what green dry cleaning means. Please use it instead of conventional dry cleaning, if for no other reason than to limit your own contact with toxic chemicals.
Hopefully, we’ll soon see RIAA headquarters cleaned up as well.
They used to have the best album billboards outside.
The thing I will always remember about Tower Records was the warm way they treated you. They acted as if you were an escaped State Prison Inmate when you entered the store, and they had a shotgun ready to blow you f-ing head off. They acted as if you were going to rip them off even when you were paying for your damn records. Really made me feel loved. Good riddance. At least online, I don’t get treated like crap when I purchase something. I realize people stole records from them, but it was creepy in there, frankly. Not exactly like Trader Joe’s.
#3, QB:
If “life and creativity” can be described as:
Urinating in public
Bums sleeping on the sidewalk
Defecating near parks and schools
The inability of the DA to prosecute murderers
The gangbangers citizens and each other on a weekly basis
People smoking POT anywhere families gather
Illegal immigrants getting taxpayer money to learn “social values”, and then blowing away families with their automatic assault weapons
The Police Chief and DA and Mayor denying lawful citizens the right to own guns to defend themselves
A Board of Supervisors that makes me cringe when they have a meeting
Heroin addicts on Haight St day and night
Scum and crap in the Tenderloin day and night
Muggers around the Golden Gate Theater
Mission District Hoodlums
Chinatown stink
Bicycle terrorists
Ghetto Ice everywhere
People getting killed over their iPod or Macbook
People going to stupid “Festivals” every weekend
Men kissing men in public
The Folsom St “Fair” and men wearing only a condom, and getting whipped for fun
Etc Etc etc
Then you are right.
Republicans (like me, a native San Franciscan), hate this town.
It has been taken over by the extreme left, and they are disgusting.
I’ve never been to the original. But the one in Ann Arbor Mi was crap. First they had everything divided up into bizarre genres. What genre was Blue Cheer? Hard Rock? Nope. Metal? Nope. Rock? Nope. Classics? Nope. You couldn’t find anything without looking through at least two incorrect genres first. And worse of all Tower records drove the amazing School Kids Records out of business. Well, I guess it would have died eventually anyway.
#9 It’s interesting what Republicans see. 😉
I see family life in a city. Grandparents walking their kids to school. Young professionals having coffee in sidewalk cafes. Family owned businesses in their 3rd and 4th generation.
I’ve also been mugged in front Bob Jones University. Seen rich private school girls having sex in the back of their Evangelical church.
I guess you must see what you’re most interested in?
BTW, I love the people in SF still, despite their idiosyncrasies. I also think the people in Moline Illinois are fantastic. And one the best evenings I’ve ever spent was at Shoeless Joe Jackson baseball park in Greenville SC.
You get out of life what you put into it. The jab at Republicans was light humor. I’m wondering about your internal little conversation with head though…
#9, QB
You don’t get it, do you?
I don’t know anything about Bob Jones University.
I don’t know anything about Private School Girls and their Evangelical Church.
What I DO know about, is San Francisco. How long have you been here? I have been here 59 years, kid, work as a news photographer.
Don’t try to stereotype me just because I have not drunk the Obama Koolaid.
I have many more life experiences than most anyone around. I work in the news business, and I have seen more stuff in a week than you see in a year. I have shaken hands with McCain, and have explained why tv studios are cold to Obama. I have told Pelosi to wipe the sweat from her forehead during an interview, and I have seen dozens and dozens of murder victims. What the hell do you know? I know this city is going to hell, while your “young professionals” sip their overpriced lattes.
There are a thousand stories in the “naked city”, and I have photographed them all, TWICE.
Digby, I grew up in a tough port city my friend and I guarantee you’ll find the same thing in any big city in the world. Spend a few months living in Bogota or Cairo for example – it’ll make your socks roll up and down.
I’m sorry the city of your youth is gone. I’ve seen a lot of cities in my life and SF is one the best.
Seriously, I hope you find something better. It’s a crappy way to live blaming the world for your own misery.
BTW, Digby you seem to think I’m some sort of Michael Moore clone.
Air Force kid, grew up on bases and port cities, worked myself through school. Proud Canuck and will vote conservative in the next election.
Lucky enough to see the world through work in the oil and gas business but now hi-tech. And I’m closer to your age than you think. 😉
If you ever have an exhibition of your work post a notice here. I’ll try and make it and promise to buy some work if you promise to sign it and have a beer with me.
There may have been a Dinosaur at that corner once. But It’s gone also.
Lou There may have been a Dinosaur at that corner once. But It’s gone also.
What, like a Towersaurus Rex? 😀
as for #1 I still think you need to get dvorak.org on another host. It was down again this morning.
I don’t thinks it the host company per se, its the network admin still trying to get localhost to point to a different address (see: http://tinyurl.com/32nkr6)
# 6 dusan maletic said,”Hopefully, we’ll soon see RIAA headquarters cleaned up as well.”
Preferably as a perchloroethylene recycling center.
Seriously, the proliferation of MP3 downloads has been given the credit/blame for the downfall of Tower yet the music section of Borders seems to do alright? And Amazon certainly isn’t hurting and we even hear a lot about the resurgence of vinyl!
No, I think Tower fell to the effects of it’s high prices, threatening attitudes (seriously, two armed security guards at the door and two more roaming inside plus cameras????) and clerks who didn’t seem to know anything about music older than their biggest zit. That’s all based mostly on the stores in Phoenix, where I grew up. Can’t believe it was much different elsewhere.
Digby, I’ve lived and worked in various areas of Africa, central and SE Asia, eastern Europe and central America. I’ve never met Pelosi but I consider that a plus. I’ve met McCain several times and will likely vote for him though that’s more due to his opponent being Obama than respect for McCain. Anyway, any time you want to share horror stories, I in…
#13 I’m guessing that a news photographer doesn’t get a balanced view of life any more than a fashion photographer does
I guess that it falls under the category and classification of “San Francisco Culture”
I miss the covers the most.
Album covers were the single most important art form of my generation.
#21 – I know what you mean. Sometimes I feel like an old fart. Maybe I am. But, while I have a large MP3 collection that I take with me wherever I travel, I still prefer listening to CDs (or vinyl) played on a good quality system. I fear 128 kbps MP3s played through a second rate bit of hardware (e.g.: iPods) and $3 earbuds may become state of the art.
QB,
I hope you, a know it all kid, and this city, an know it all left wing cess pool, are very happy together.
QB,
I hope you, a know-it-all kid, and this city, a know-it-all left wing Marxist cess pool, are very happy together. I am not miserable, I am knowledgeable, something that only comes with experience, not youth. Good luck, sonny. I know where I am going, and that is another state with better values than California. If you want to pay for the idealism of youth, you will find many hands willing to take your money.
Pretty much all cities suck. A city could be cool if you could get all the damn people out of it.
Digby, ROTFL. See, you’re exactly why I love SF. 😉
“A city could be cool if you could get all the damn people out of it.” AMEN BROTHER
Coincidentally, I had just watched a vhs tape of “FM”, that I made years ago, and it featured the Tower store (only it was LA). I’ve never been there myself, but in Denver I use to frequent the “Peaches” record store. So I assume it was a bit like that. And back in my hometown, there were a number of record stores, before all the music became CDs, and could be sold at any big box outlet. Gone are the days when you could order an LP or 45RPM record by the store’s yellow pages directory. The social contact is now gone, because places like Bestbuy only train their employees to sell service plans. And most wouldn’t even have a much music experience, as they’re only a few years removed from high school. But owners and long term employees of the smaller shops, could always give you an opinion on bands and groups. Or and had the time to jaw about stuff. It’s the megastore distribution model, that killed this. One by one, the smaller or privately owned shops were driven out of business. Or even any larger ones with any kind of a personality (like Borders). The record industry seems to loath any seller who might express a different opinion from they’re advertising campaign.
QB you post #15 explaining you are conservative and his age and eve offer to buy his stuff and he responds in #25 by insulting the hell out of you and ignoring everything you wrote in your previous post. Trying to have a conversation with him really worked didn’t it.
John S