There’s this South Park episode from season 8 where the town’s residents greet the grand opening of a Wal-Mart (sneakily spelled “Wall-Mart” in the episode) with sheer bliss and open wallets. It’s not long, though, that most of the local mom and pop establishments are forced to close their doors—all of their once loyal customers have been lured away to the endless aisles and low, low prices of the mega-huge, international chain. Once the townspeople notice the scope of the damage done to local business, they realize that saving a few bucks on toilet paper and potato chips doesn’t justify it. In typical South Park fashion, the South Park Wal-Mart is burned to the ground by a riotous mob. The point that the show’s creators are making is simple: local business will always take a beating—and will probably be steamrolled—by the Wal-Marts and Best Buys and Targets of the world. New, this message ain’t. But I feel that it’s still important, because independent businesses are still important; they often help fill a gap that the huge chains simply can’t fill.
A few years ago I discovered Houston’s Cactus Music, a locally owned and operated independent music store located a few miles from Downtown. The selection is great, the employees are eager to help, and there’s live music just about every weekend (last weekend Dr. Dog performed a near hour-long set to a packed store). For a music lover, Cactus is just about as good as it can get—and in Houston, it means a lot to have an Austin-worthy music house.
But the siren song of Amazon’s free shipping, Best Buy’s sales on new releases, and my lack of patience (Cactus is a 30-minute drive away, whereas there are 3 Best Buys in my general area) often get the best of me.
But recently, I have realized that the simple joy of perusing the aisles of Cactus, chatting up its employees, digging through the 99-cent vinyl bargain bin for treasures, and the free, weekly live music (Dr. Dog!!!) deserve both my dollars and my loyalty. Also, it’s important to note that there’s a blow-up deer head hanging on the wall over the register, along with a framed copy of Ronald Reagan Recommends on vinyl—these things are awesome to me. Shopping at Best Buy or clicking away on Amazon.com simply doesn’t make me giddy like Cactus does—picking out a primo parking spot (the fitness store doesn’t tow, FYI), finding a copy of Trampled by Turtles’ Palomino or early Flaming Lips on vinyl, and then walking out with my wares in the store’s trademark fluorescent shopping bags is just plain fun.
So now that we’re nearing April, I’ve finally made a New Year’s resolution: put my money where my mouth is, and only buy music at independent shops. So what if Best Buy is charging $7.00 for an album that I’ve been wanting—I’d rather spend a few extra bucks (well, actually, more like 6 or 7 extra bucks) at one of the last few standing mom and pop music shops than at a massive corporation that makes their money selling microwaves and flat screens, while vinyl and CDs get a few dusty shelves in the back corner.
And just to be clear, this isn’t about sticking it to the man. None of these stores will go under from losing my business, rather my decision is about supporting a local shop that still cares about filling a critical niche in the market, and is doing a damn fine job at it. It may sound a bit romantic, but Cactus provides more than CDs and vinyl, it provides an experience. For me, that makes it worth the extra cost.
So from now on, I won’t be spending my money on music at Best Buy, Target, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble. Instead, it’ll go to the store that won my heart for providing me with what I love, and doing so with style.
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