[Throwback Thursday]: Record and Tape Center

Image via brooklynvegan.comIn the fall of 1991 I got my folks to buy me the “Hand on the Pump” single at the Record and Tape Center. The Cypress Hill song about drinking 40’s and smoking blunts while waving around sawed-off shotguns was my first tape with a Parental Advisory label. While they knew enough English to understand the curse words, my parents didn’t know nearly enough slang to understand how completely inappropriate that shit really was for an 11 year old.

Even in 1991, the record store looked old fashioned and weathered. Inside, it was under-lit and dusty. The tapes were kept inside shelves with sliding glass doors and a lock. You had to ask the guy to open it and grab the tape you wanted. I was hoping he wouldn’t tip off my parents about the song’s content. He didn’t give a shit.

Twenty-three years later, the Record and Tape Center still looks the same, like that old guy you know that’s always been old. It lived through the rise and fall of music megastores like Tower and Virgin. Shit, it’s lived through at least half a dozen presidencies.

Sadly this original throwback is closing its doors at the end of August when its lease runs up. The landlord won’t renew the lease and store owner Tony Mignone, 77, wouldn’t sign a new one anyway unless it was month-to-month. We all knew this day would come, but that record shop has beaten the odds for a lot longer than anyone could’ve guessed. If you’re a breeder, bring your offspring and buy them some age-inappropriate music before it’s too late.

Via NY Daily News