Store

Anyone who's seen "High Fidelity" has an accurate picture of what record-store owners are really like. (You know that scene where John Cusack's character announces, "I will now sell five copies of the Beta Band's 'Three EPs'"? I used to work in a record store, and I did stuff just like that.)

Unfortunately, the one thing the movie can't get across is the one thing that makes Jive Time great: the tactile superiority of vinyl LPs. Cassettes are flimsy, CDs have dinky artwork and lyric sheets, and MP3s don’t really exist. LPs, on the other hand, will embody the joy of listening to music long after the format finally becomes obsolete. It's all kinds of fun to thumb through Jive Time's great stacks of vinyl to admire the cover art of old jazz records and the rare records on the high shelves, and to get a nice stack of purchases going from Jive Time's always-enormous 99-cent racks.

In other words, a trip to Jive Time is nothing like the modern act of "shopping for music," which can be done with a few music clicks and is as personal as filing a tax return. Rather, it's full-on boutique shopping, rich with sight, sound and touch, and the cats behind the counter know this. Whether you come to sell your vinyl or to buy more, Jive Time works hard to ensure you a high-fidelity experience.

By Geoff Carter
NWsource staff