If you live in Little Rock[1] and you need a CD, then please just get it at Anthro-pop. Rod can special order anything in the world and usually have it in faster than Amazon.com. Sure Amazon is cheaper, but then there’s that whole shipping charge, isn’t there? Sure you could shop at Best Buy, but you must realize that if you do so, you are effectively crushing music stores everywhere. Remember music stores? Remember High Fidelity? These places are getting fewer and further between because Best Buy loses money on every disc they sell. They just want to get you in the store to buy an appliance or a computer. It’s a shrewd business model, but if you care about music then you’re not necessarily concerned with business excellence are you? Do you want to watch a movie about John Cusack and Jack Black working at Best Buy? I would hope not.
The sad state of music retail aside, I say all this because Anthro-pop is a fabulous place to spend an hour or two and because Rod is an exceptionally knowledgeable and generous guy. I bought a couple of CDs and he gave me Season 3 of Land of the Lost on DVD for FREE. It was a promo thing he got for free, but still. Fun excerpt from the back of the box:
“Behold the fire-breathing dinosaur Torchy – menace to Human, Pakuni, and Sleestak alike!”
I have no idea what that means but how can it not be awesome!? Thanks, Rod!
1.) If you live in North Little Rock, then please buy from Bill at Arkansas Record/CD Exchange.
yep, have had similar experiences with Rod’s generosity at his shop… people/businesses like his are what keep central little rock an interesting and stimulating place to live.
Bill from NLR is the biggest arsehole. Ask him a simple question or tell him what you’re looking for, and you can expect to be treated to a snitty, condescending response that belittles you like a three-year old. He’s a huge grouch that will send you away down MacArthur with a feeling of regret for trying to support a local business. Patronize his store, and be prepared to be patronized! Screw him.
Rod Bryan’s cool, tho’.
Bill is certainly in the dictionary under “curmudgeon,” but I find the value of his store to be great enough to overlook his occasionally bad attitude. I’ve noticed that some days he’s friendly, other days not so much. For as long as he’s been in the record-selling racket (an industry in perpetual decline), I’m amazed he’s still alive, reasonably sane, and open for business. Lord knows Rod is already prepared to pack it in after just a few years. He has to make websites to pay for the store. He said if he’d known the industry as he does now back when he started, he never would have opened.