danajohnhill.org | Hard Times Come Again No More

Earlier this year, I purchased a Fender ’65 Reissue Twin Reverb guitar amplifier from my local independent music store, Lipham’s.  I not only got a great deal, but I was glad to support local business, particularly one that’s been around for so long.  I’m not saying that Lipham Music is the best store in history–their selection is fairly modest, and they seem to be stocking many more Chinese-made instruments these days–but they do sell Fender and Martin guitars, and, what’s more, they’ve outlast most of the other shops in town.

Last night, after dinner, Miriam and I went somewhere I haven’t been in a long, long time: Best Buy.  I used to go there a lot in days of yore, especially back when HDTV was just being introduced, and I was eager to see what it looked like.  Their service was always lousy (not as lousy as Circuit City, of course), and just about everything I ever bought there broke within two years, but they’ve always had a lot of stock.  Last night, I discovered a new department in an area where CRT televisions were once displayed.  Best Buy now sells musical instruments.  They have drums, keyboards, DJ equipment, and guitars, including Fender and Gibson.

A number of things bother me about this.  First, I don’t think their staff cares about these instruments, since I found every guitar grossly out of tune.  Second, their prices were absurd.  The same Twin Reverb I bought for $899 at Lipham’s was marked $1,699 at Best Buy.  Maybe that’s what they’re going for elsewhere, but it just seemed extreme to me.  Finally, I think musical instruments are just Best Buy’s latest passing fancy.  That’s what troubles me most.  In a worst-case scenario, here’s what I imagine occurring:

1. Lipham Music loses sales to Best Buy.  There are only so many new electric guitars and amplifiers–particularly higher-end models–that will sell each week in Gainesville.  If Lipham loses those sales, it could hurt them significantly.  Lipham’s closes.
2. Musical instruments make up so little of Best Buy’s bottom line that they give up on the endeavor.
3. Gainesville has no music store.  Since Best Buy’s decision is made at the national level, they don’t care that Gainesville is left with nothing.

I don’t know how likely this scenario is.  I may just be paranoid.  But I know that I’d never get a deal on an amp at Best Buy like I did at Lipham’s, and Best Buy doesn’t have the tradition of heritage that Lipham’s does.  After all, a little more than ten years ago, the Best Buy was a Montgomery Ward.  Lipham’s has been in business for fifty years.  But these are hard times.

I hope they can weather the storm.

Filed under: Gainesville, Rantings, Technology on May 30th, 2009 | No Comments »

I am not what you’d call a sci-fi fan.  I don’t go out of my way to avoid it, but I also don’t go out of my way to see it, either.   And, to be frank, there is quite a bit that seems silly to me.  I didn’t see any of the Star Wars films until I was in my 20s, so I’ve never seen what’s so special about them.  And, though I knew they were classics, I never saw an episode of Star Trek in my life.  But there was a good deal of buzz surrounding the recent film, and since just about everyone I know wanted to go see it on opening day, I went along.  It was fantastic!

I won’t go into any detail about the plot, but it was thrilling, if somewhat complicated.  I actually didn’t fully understand it the first time around, and it was only with Karla’s help that I was able to grasp some of the more sophisticated elements.  She and Ryan know a lot about Star Trek, and they thought it was excellent; I know nothing, and I thought it was great.  So it seems that the filmmakers really did something right.  Karla was mildly obsessed, and had seen the picture four times already by last weekend when Miriam and several other GRR people wanted to go see Terminator: Salvation.  I really didn’t want to see that, and, since Karla and a couple others were going to see Star Trek again, I went along.  It was even better the second time.  I understood more.

I think this film will be a classic.

Filed under: Film, Friends on May 30th, 2009 | 1 Comment »