Beloved Cactus Music To Close Its Doors

[sevfiv]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/3634291.html

[MidtownCoog]

Kids today... with their illegal downloads and their mp3 players... BAH!

Kids back in the 80s, with their deck-to-deck high speed dubbing of casettes. BAH!

Don't fall for that excuse. It's the Lindsay Lohans, Hillary Duffs, Maroon 5s, J. Lo's and Brittney Spears that are killing music.

I never really cared for Cactus music. Smell ya later.

[MidtownCoog]

Oh, I got it. It's just funny to hear that lame excuse. Even the music industry blames "illegal downloading".

Have you tried Black Dog Records? Behind Star Pizza? Pretty cool indie.

I personally helped build Soundwaves when their "Flagship" store was on Broadway @ Belfort.

[MidtownCoog]

What about All Records on West Gray?

Is this place new?

And I thought I once read Timmy Chan say there was a place near Main & Elgin.

[groovehouse]

R.I.P. Cactus...

Things I will miss about Cactus:

Video department

Used CD's

Live in-store music

Things I will not miss about Cactus:

Cocky employees who think they know more than you

Their poor customer service

Overpriced, new CD's

Here's the letter that was sent out to creditors, etc...

Dear music industry friend,

It is with great regret that I must inform you that Cactus will be closing on March 31st 2006. Each January we are at our lowest stock level of the year, following our strong holiday sales. It is at this point that it is easiest and most advantageous for a retailer to wind down operations. Our landlord feels that they will be able to lease our space quickly. More importantly, our owners and bookkeeper are keen to retire and are taking this opportunity to do so.

During my almost twenty years as a Cactus employee I have seen many changes. We rebuilt Cactus from a small, unprofitable retail chain in the mid-1980

[Gary]

Re: illegal downloading. I've heard it argued that downloads, legal or not, are actually a pretty good promotional tool: when record companies go after downloaders, they're often persecuting some of their best customers. And I think there's probably some truth to that.

Yeah, it's been a while since I've been to Black Dog, but I've definitely spent a lot of money there over the years.

As a proffessional musician I can tell you that downloading music (especially illegal) is a travesty to the music industry and will continue to destroy it further if something's not done.

The only thing legal or illegal downloads do is promote a non known artist, for that it's great. The problem you find is, only the artist who has nothing to lose promotes online downloading, once one of them makes it to one degree or another they change there minds very quickly. Trust me I've been through it.

On another crappy music note. Coog was right with his assesment of todays pop icons, they are killing any artistic integrity left in the popular rock culture.

[sevfiv]

i agree that the "pop icons" are sucking good music's will to live, but, crappy pop music has been around a while (debbie gibson, anyone?)

Edited February 3, 2006 by sevfiv

[MidtownCoog]

debbie gibson

Only difference is that now we have 100s of them.

Jessica Simpson, for example.

[sevfiv]

ew, did it sound like i was defending pop music?!

haha

[MidtownCoog]

Remember when Pop Music included Depece Mode, Erasure, The Cure, etc?

It was a brief moment in time (late 80s, early 90s) but it was nice.

Now Tween Girls rule Pop Music. And Tween Girls get bigger allowances then Tween Boys.

[Gary]

i agree that the "pop icons" are sucking good music's will to live, but, crappy pop music has been around a while (debbie gibson, anyone?)

That's true, I mean your talking to a guy who used to want to be David Cassidy. However the music industry and more specificly rock music is a microcosim of what it once was.

At one time on a pop rock radio station you would hear Southern rock, punk rock, hard rock, heavy metal, piano rock (Elton, Billy or Hornesby), garage rock (Stones), Blues (Stevie Ray or ZZ), some folk stuff, proggresive rock, ballad rock etc, etc.

The point is that there are very few types of rock left in the pop mainstream and it shows with the new artist. Actually it's been coming for awhile (Nirvana and clear channel).

[heights_yankee]

Kids back in the 80s, with their deck-to-deck high speed dubbing of casettes. BAH!

Don't fall for that excuse. It's the Lindsay Lohans, Hillary Duffs, Maroon 5s, J. Lo's and Brittney Spears that are killing music.

I couldn't agree more. I love agreeing with you, Coog!

Anyway, ti's the same argument that entertainment people make against TiVo and DVRs. Oh, no one will watch the commercials and we'll lose advertising money. Listen, people, I had a VCR for years. I have almost every episode of Seinfeld and AbFab on VHS and I never, ever once watched a commerical.

[skwatra]

i didn't agree with the whole DVR-commercial thing at first. but then i got one, and after some time i realized i didn't know what movies were out or seen any trailers. i don't watch TV live much, but even when i do i start the hour long show 15 minutes late so i can skip through commercials.

i guess the difference is now you can skip commercials near real-time, something you couldn't do with a VCR.

[Subdude]

This is really sad news. Didn't buy a lot of CDs there, but I rented a lot of videos.

As tempting as it is to blame Ashlee Simpson and her ilk, it really gets down to four reasons:

Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon, I-tunes.

[TJones]

I remember KISS and Twisted Sister(I think) coming to the Spencer Hwy. location back in the 80's. I want to say Van Halen made an appearance in like '85 or '86. I remember being amazed at all the big parachute posters back then and concert t-shirts also. I got a Stray Cats one back in 1983 or so. Then I got an Iron Maiden one in '84,

[UrbaNerd]

Heh, hopefully, the sign finds a nice place somewhere. I wonder what it will go for at an auction...

[barracuda]

Sad news. Although their selection has waned recently, it was better than the megastores that censor the music they sell (like Wal-Mart). Now Soundwaves is all that's left of the independents.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3634291.html

On a blue note

Cactus' closing is another thorn for fans of independent music stores

By MICHAEL D. CLARK

Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Cactus Music & Video, one of the few remaining large independent music retailers in the country, will switch off its neon lights for good March 31.

The store, on the corner of West Alabama and South Shepherd, wasn't specifically done in by a nationwide music industry slump or rent increases or the usual stimuli for a business shuttering. After more than 40 years of selling music, owners Bud and Don Daily, both in their 70s, decided to retire.

(click on link for full article)

*merged with existing topic - edited out copyrighted material* dbigtex56

Edited February 4, 2006 by dbigtex56

[dbigtex56]

I used to frequent Cactus Records several times a week because of their superior video rental selection. I give them full credit for helping me develop into an insufferable cinema snob. (and yes, AudioVisual + had a great selection, but their nasty, arrogant policies have make them irrelevant.)

As a proffessional musician I can tell you that downloading music (especially illegal) is a travesty to the music industry and will continue to destroy it further if something's not done.

Soon after Napster hit the scene, I read an interesting article about music pirating. Back in the 19th century, people were hired to patrol the audience at live performances, and to expel anyone who brought writing materials with them. Seems that some talented individuals could notate music as it was being played! ("Miss Jones, please take a symphony....") Pirated sheet music was a big business.

When I was a kid, we used to record favorite songs off the radio on cassette tapes (which meant that none of the recordings included the intros...)

I think amazon.com and NetFlix are more to blame for the demise of brick-and-mortar stores like Cactus than is illegal downloading. A shame, too...some of my favorite music has been discovered accidently through browsing bargain bins at record stores. Likewise, some favorite books were discovered while searching the card catalogues at libraries. Technology sometimes has unexpected drawbacks.

Cactus Records will be missed.

What a pity. Kids today... with their illegal downloads and their mp3 players... BAH!

YAY! Echo & the Bunnymen!

[RedScare]

I've been hunting for a copy of "Scruffy the Cat" for 15 years. Since Cactus never found it for me, I always dissed them. But, it's still a shame to see them go. Let's face it, they were one of the few places I could go to even ASK for an out-of-print CD.

BTW, if anyone knows where I can find Scruffy, I'll pay big bucks for it.

[stolitx]

I personally helped build Soundwaves when their "Flagship" store was on Broadway @ Belfort.

I wish there was still one in that location.

[N Judah]

The stage is set for a Waterloo invasion!

[heights_yankee]

When I was a kid, we used to record favorite songs off the radio on cassette tapes (which meant that none of the recordings included the intros...)

I think amazon.com and NetFlix are more to blame for the demise of brick-and-mortar stores like Cactus than is illegal downloading. A shame, too...some of my favorite music has been discovered accidently through browsing bargain bins at record stores. Likewise, some favorite books were discovered while searching the card catalogues at libraries. Technology sometimes has unexpected drawbacks.

I used to do that, too. I often wish I had a lot of those tapes still. I am from a really small town and a Top 40 radio station was the best we could get... Until... I found a college radio station from a small city about an hour away. I taped the living hell out of that stuff and all the poor, independent musicians that were played there never got a penny from me.

However, I've never downloaded music illegally and I don't personally know many people who have. We're more than happy to pay $.99 for a single. I have to agree that the internet has just changed the way people shop- not just in the music biz, either. All retailers are feeling a pinch...

[cwrm4]

I think amazon.com and NetFlix are more to blame for the demise of brick-and-mortar stores like Cactus than is illegal downloading.

And other reliable music "channels" that have emerged in the last couple of years...one of the main reasons I used to frequent Cactus was to discover new and eclectic music - something I was definitely starved for with Houston radio (especially after KPFT degenerated).

These days, however, if I'm in the car, I've got XM on, and, if I'm working late or at home, I usually have internet radio stations on, either RadioParadise.com (damn good station) or KCRW.org. I just don't play nearly as many CDs as I used to.

With these alternatives, I seem to always be tapping my foot to great music. And, the internet stations especially have introduced me to groups I've never heard of - but have since bought. I feel I do a way better job of supporting "original" music now than when I used to loaf around Cactus.

Admittedly, however, when I do buy music, it's either the $0.99 click or from an album from Amazon.

[VicMan]

I think it is sad that Cactus is going too..

[eelimon]

I think it is sad that Cactus is going too..

So long Cactus....

This is a perfect location for a 420!

[worldlyman]

I will miss Cactus Records.

I bought some excellent imports of Uli Jon Roth, Scorpions, UFO and Michael Schenker there.

What about the old Texas Tapes N Records of the 1980s? I met Metallica and Armored Saint there for autographs in 1985, when Cliff Burton was still alive.

Is Diamondback Records up in the north, Louetta and 1960, still around? It's a small hole but they have EVERY heavy rock genre there. And the guy will offer to order what you want if it's not there. I bought CDs by Artension and UFO there.

Soundwaves in the Montrose is passable. Has what I'm looking for generally.

The music industry per se sucks today.

We used to have Uriah Heep, Zebra, Tygers of Pan Tang, Kings X and other great diverse rock but now it's the glossed over, sound-alike "new metal" groups or the dance bops. American Idol vintage stuff.

I mean what kind of title is "Because of You" from one of that silly show's alums? Radio makes me want to vomit. (Well, I should be nice, my wife loves that song.)

Edited February 9, 2006 by worldlyman

[N Judah]

The stage is set for a Waterloo invasion!

[Montrose1100]

So long Cactus....

This is a perfect location for a 420!

Theres on on Washington @ Waugh, right next to the Rockerfeller Hall.

[marmer]

Apparently the other oldsters haven't weighed in yet, because no one has mentioned that Cactus was once by far the best place to buy classical music in Houston. Back in the late 70's/early 80's, during the Golden Age of Recorded Music, Cactus occupied both its own space and the space where Whole Earth Provision Company was, and they made a big effort to stock the complete catalogue of most major classical music labels, as well as several smaller ones like Nonesuch and CRI, and pretty much all of the usual rock, country, and jazz. This was way before CD's, and just before video rental and the significant rise of Latin music as a major market. If you wanted a certain piece, you would browse in Schwann catalogs scattered through the racks, choose the work and artist you wanted, and then look for it in racks with the records organized in numerical order. The store had the atmosphere and feel of a spacious grocery store for all kinds of music; it is completely different now. Still cool, with its local stuff, weird tchotchkes, and weird movies, but completely different and about 1/3 the size.

Also in those days you could buy a bargain LP for $3.99 and a full-price LP for $7.99. For a short time, the price went up to $8.99, but because of public outcry (!) it then was restored to $7.99. Even adjusted for inflation, music is more expensive now, and with generally poorer album printed content.

I remember seeing The Empire Strikes Back at the Alabama Theatre and then browsing Cactus. That was most definitely the shiznit, especially for a small town boy like me.

I also remember that for a brief time after the introduction of CD's there was a CD rental place (like movie rentals) in the Sandman Center near Sound Warehouse. They rented CD's and sold blank cassettes (!). Didn't last long, but I was one of their best customers.

I hope Allrecords is still there; Fred Allred, the owner, is a great guy and a real music buff. He specializes in jazz and vocals and in hard-to-find older stuff and leaves most of the mainstream pop to the big boxes. But if you want something traditionally cool chances are he can recommend several things and he's happy to do special orders. He's sort of the anti-Soundwaves, specializing in the over-40 market. But I'll bet when he decides to retire that will be the end of that store too.

Marty

[elecpharm]

From the Grapevine: Cactus to Reopen!

posted by adrian gonzales (metroblogging)

We all know Cactus Music and Video closed down at the end of March. We've all mourned her. We've all searched for a substitute. And alas, we still miss her.

But wait! What's that? Yes! Unconfirmed rumors have surfaced about some incredibly great guy who has purchased the rights to Cactus Music and is planning on reopening the shop. I don't know who, what, when or where, but oh lets hope this is true.