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Thursday, April 2, 2009

Sweet memories

The other day I read that Stockholm's last well-assorted record shop, Mega Store, closed for good on March 31. The reason being, of course, that more and more records are sold on the Internet as well as being downloaded.

Not living in Stockholm anymore I can't say I'm all that saddened by the news. Still, thinking about Mega Store and what it used to mean to me brings back some nostalgic memories.

The strongest memory I have is from the day when Walk A Mile In My Shoes - The Essential 70's Masters was released in 1994. I can still see that table on the first floor of the store, stacked full with copies of the box set and nothing else. What a great feeling it was, having waited for the set for months, finally holding it in my hands.

I also remember Mega Store's predecessor Skivakademin that was located on the other side of the famous Sergels Torg (a big square in the center of Stocholm). That was the place where I spent my hard earned pocket money on Elvis LP's, before CD's were invented or the Internet existed!

It was there I paid 67 Swedish crowns for Raised On Rock (the price tag is still there on the cover). Isn't it funny that I have a distinct memory of sitting on the buss on my way back home looking at the LP wondering what it would sound like?

And how come I still remember the moment I bought Speedway, showing one side of the cover to the sales cashier where the price tag said 39 crowns, as opposed to the other side where another tag stated that the price was 45 crowns? (Those tags are still there as well!)

My one sad memory is that I didn't buy the sampler LP for the Golden Celebration box set. Why I didn't, I don't remember!

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