A bored looking teenager says something, he’s not really looking at me so doesn’t see my earphones are in. all I see is his lips moving and a hole in his nose where a piercing usually goes.
Realising my rudeness in one smooth movement I tug on the wires and the buds pop out of my ears which I catch in one hand. No I haven’t practised that, shut up.
“Sorry, what?” my apology breaks his reverie and he snaps back into his own head.
“Would you be interested in this DVD we’re offering today for only five pounds?’ he says on reflex. The DVD is terrible rom-com Failure to Launch starring the equine Sarah Jessica Parker and annoyingly likeable Matthew McConaughey, it is the exact opposite of a film I would willingly watch. I’m fairly certain on hell’s television there is a channel that plays that film on loop. Still feeling bad about having my headphones in I bite down my disgust with a “No, thank you” but also try and pack so much human inflection and actual connection into those three words ‘sorry’ I want to say ‘I recognise you ARE a real person and deserve all my attention, look how much we are connecting now’. It comes out weird, like a crazy person.
“No thanKYOOO.”
He notices my Ramones T-shirt and nods towards it.
“My uncle saw them live in New York once.” He rings through my purchase.
“Really, wow, did he say they were any good?”
“Nah, they were shit apparently Dee Dee kept nodding out.” He smiles and runs his hand through his hair that I notice is dirty with a colour that has been washed out and not reapplied. I know that early in 2012 HMV were talking about making their employees remove piercings and cover any tattoos, but I don’t know If they ever bothered.
Actual interaction is not something you expect in a chain store, especially one as ubiquitous as HMV but I realised as he made my change that, in that moment of real unscripted non-corporate conversation, the difference between chain stores and local specialist shops opened up in front of me like a mysterious chasm in Indiana Jones movie. A few more minutes of talking to that guy I would have listened to any recommendation he would have had, including that steaming pile of Hollywood rom-com. Twenty minutes and I probably wouldn’t have bought films from anywhere else.
This was a revelation for me because by the time I was a Music Fan, rather than just a fan of music the record shop was all but dead. They existed still but tended to be dark holes with angry eccentric owners that smelt of patchouli oil and play old Gong records slightly too loud over the PA. *cough* Swordfish *cough*
My generation never had that connection, our music was bought from Woolworth’s, HMV, or copied on tape by a friend from a CD borrowed from the library. So the public reaction to HMV closing, be it the wailing and gnashing of teeth or the deafening smug schadenfreude is a little confusing to me. My formative years were the late eighties-early nineties where the recession swept away the local speciality shops and left only the big chains, empty units, and temporary entrepreneurs selling Pogs knock offs in the gaps. I remember buying my first single from Woolworth’s, its not a fond memory, or a particularly unpleasant one.
What I hope, is for Birmingham to take advantage of these gaps in the high street and offer reasonable rent so smaller specialist shops to take the place of these behemoths. Not just look for different behemoths to take their place. It’s ironic that the last Woolworth’s in town was taken over by the shop that essentially killed it, Poundland. In an age of efficient, sent to your door, internet shopping I think we’re ready for something different from our physical shopping trips and I can only guess the thing that is missing is human interaction: a community of shared interest and appreciation.
Let’s have a high street renaissance, no more cookie cutter towns disappointing and predictable like badly shuffled card hand, let’s have high streets that are fun to discover and explore. No more bored teenagers, stuffed into a uniform and given scripts to memorise, lets have engaged teenagers dressing how they damn well please actually caring what they recommend in environments where shopping isn’t just efficient, quick and easy. But relaxing, interesting and fun.
A slightly different version of this post appeared in Area.
