Danny McNamara (36) a self-proclaimed music snob and court-proclaimed petty larcenist told The Potato yesterday that he is delighted at the reopening of HMV on Henry Street in Dublin.
“When HMV closed down I felt it was a real loss to the city. There’s an atmosphere and vibe to record shops that you just can’t replicate online. Sure you can illegally download any songs you want with a few clicks of a mouse but for me that just doesn’t compare to the visceral thrill of walking past a security guard with the latest Vampire Weekend release concealed in your armpit.”
While standing across the street to check out what security guard had the privilege of the first shift in the newly reopened store McNamara reminisced about what music meant to him growing up.
“Everything is so disposable these days. Kids don’t appreciate how tough it was years ago for us to get hold of the latest obscure indie albums. I grew up in Castledermot and we only had one record shop there. We had to order albums in, wait weeks for them to arrive and then shoplift them. It really taught us to value the music.”
The digital revolution which changed the music scene forever has not found a fan in Danny.
“Downloading music illegally is so impersonal. – I like my music to be tactile. I enjoy holding it and touching it before I listen. I like to feel it against my skin as I shove it down the front of my jocks and walk out of the shop.”
Danny admits that lately he has been going a bit retro and has started to embrace vinyl.
“Vinyl presents such a challenge for someone like me. Especially in warm weather when wearing a jacket indoors attracts suspicion from security guards. But it’s worth making the extra effort for. There’s a warmth and a richness to music recorded on wax, I really don’t think Zeppelin or the Stones imagined their music being stolen on any other format.”
