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It’s sad to hear HMV Canada is set to close its doors.

No, it’s not the day the music died or anything as dramatic as that. Music consumption is booming like never before. It’s just that we’re listening on streaming services. We’re not even really downloading, never mind buying those strange old-school things called CDs.

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I get it. I don’t have my head in the sand. Much of my listening these days is on Spotify. I even sometimes find myself streaming an album in the car even though I actually shelled out $15 at HMV to buy a physical copy. That happens when the aforementioned physical album is sitting forgotten on my desk at home.

So, yeah, times have changed. Still, I’m sad to see another big step toward the end of bricks-and-mortar record stores.

I love buying albums, whether they’re CDs or especially if they’re vinyl LPs. I like hanging out in record stores, rubbing shoulders, often quite literally, with other like-minded music fans, and being able to ask the folks who work there if it’s worth my while forking out some of my reasonably hard-earned cash to buy the latest long-player by the Drive-By Truckers.