Lost all interest after ten minutes


As soon as they started sell this notion that Russ Solomon "invented" the record store - as if he's some genius who was the first person on Earth to open a space that sold records exclusively. Give me a break. Sam Goody had been doing it for 15 - 20 years before him. Cutler's Records in New Haven opened in the late 40s too as a mom and pop store, and I'm certain there were many more small business owners that did this throughout the country. You might think that this is just an insignificant detail, but if that's how they decided to frame the story of Tower right out of the gate, it's obvious that the rest of the film is probably fiction too, and I have better things to do with my time than spend two hours watching people take credit for things they didn't do, directed by a guy who was born on 3rd base and thinks he hit a triple. No thanks.

reply

That's your bad. Should you have continued to watch it, you'd have noticed what made Russ' business more special. He created a company that was built from the ground as entry level with room to succeed and go further. The music industry is not known for that kind of opportunity. From a consumer's stand point, other business that you mentioned didn't have the same inventory, selection, and the type of family environment that made Tower so special. Not sure how old you are, but experiencing it physically is another reason why Tower was more of a special time and place. Peaches, Specs, Sam Goody, FYE, Blockbuster Music, Sound Warehouse, etc...all that paled in comparison to the Tower experience. Amoeba is the only place I can say NOW is similar for special shopping of music and entertainment.

reply

.. maybe should have stuck around another 20 mins......
the film was quite entertaining

reply

Tower Records was exponentially better than Sam Goodys in so many ways.

reply

It's your loss. You missed a quality documentary.

reply