Leaving the Portland airport, seeing the architecture of the homes and evergreen trees made me feel like I was back in Seattle. But as we drove into downtown Portland, two things stood out, distinguishing Portland from Seattle–namely, the Willamette River and the bridges, one after the other, a few rising high above it. Water features prominently in Seattle, but the water there is like an amoeba surrounding it, whereas in Portland, the Willamette is a strong line, cleaving the city in two, creating western and eastern sections. The Western side is more of the urban core, including the downtown area. The Eastern side is more suburban, with several portions of the longer streets and avenues filled with shops, restaurants and even movie theaters, creating a kind of charming main street vibe. I really like Seattle, but I might like Portland even more. The food scene seems just as good as Seattle, if not better, and they have probably the best bookstore I’ve been to. I want to talk about that store and also a used vinyl/cd/video store which I really liked as well.
Powell’s City of Books (W. Burnside, Downtown Portland)
The bookstore, which sells new and used books, takes up an entire block, basically on all four sides, with 3 or 4 floors. It’s a beautiful store, and because our hotel was a few blocks away, I went there several times. On the first two visits, I felt overwhelmed, and without my to-buy list, I think it may not have been a fruitfullil experience.
Powell also has two other locations. I also visited the one on Hawthorne, on the east side of Portland. From the outside, the store doesn’t look very big, but I was surprised at the depth of the store. That store was pretty great, too (but I really didn’t get to browse). It’s also next to various shops, restaurants, etc.
Music Millennium
This has to be one of the best new and used vinyl/cd/DVD/BR stored I’ve been to, and I would include the Amoeba in Hollywood. The selection of avant-garde/experimental music wasn’t that great, and I knew they wouldn’t when one of the workers directed me to the electronica section when I asked if they had an experimental section, although they had more Tzadik CDs (some of them new, though) then I’ve seen in other stores.
But the videos, specifically classic movies on DVD or BR, really stood out for me. I don’t see usually the type of titles they had available. They also had quite a bit of used Criterion Collection DVDs and BR.
The store design was also very cool. I believe the store on an incline, so it has four split leveled spaces, creating a very cozy feel. On the back and side of the building are murals, some featuring pop/rock musicians. It was totally worth going to, and I even went there twice.
Addendum: Thoughts on Bookstores and Record/CD stores
Bookstores
While browsing at Powell’s, at some point, relatively early in the process, I start thinking about the books I have at home, leading quickly to an impulse to go home and start reading those books. This is not limited to Powell’s, but any bookstore I visit now.
On one hand, I view the impulse as a positive–a rising desire to read the books I have at home is a good feeling. On the other hand, the feeling lessens my enjoyment of being in the bookstore; it can and often does weaken my desire to browse, which I see as a negative because bookstores are one of my favorites places in the world.
Record/CD Stores
Something similar occurs when I go to record/cd stores–specifically, I’m reminded that I now have access to almost any album I would want to hear. This, too, almost kills off the desire to be in the store, making it feel like being there is pointless. But like bookstores, record/cd stores, especially ones that sell used albums, are some of my favorite places. And I’m still drawn there even if the reason for being there no longer exists.
Here, I want to explain one of the main reasons for going to record/cd stores. Sometimes, I wanted to find specific albums, but I always went in search of new artists–and not just new artists, but also musicians creating something new and innovative. When I first got into jazz, a big part of the enjoyment wasn’t just the sound of the music it, but also listening to innovators and musicians with an original voice. Learning about the characteristics of an earlier style of jazz (e.g., Dixieland) and then learning how it evolved into another style (e.g., swing), and the way the new style differed from the old, was really exciting, and I really enjoyed this.
So going to record stores was a way to look for musicians like this, in addition to looking for music I would enjoy listening to. For the same reason, I would read jazz magazines. The problem was that neither could allow me to actually listen to the music, which is really what I wanted to do the most. Sure, some record stores had listening stations, but the selection was limited. And magazines only offered descriptions of what the music sounded like, which wasn’t very satisfying, but that was all I had. If only there was a way I could actually sample some of the music, to hear for myself what it sounded like.
Enter music streaming sites like apple music. To me, sites like this were an incredible boon–they basically fulfilled what I had always wanted. And I should say that sites like apple music included a big catalogue of jazz and experimental music. This was critical because this was the type of music I wanted to hear. For the first time, I could hear music I’ve always wanted to listen to, but never could. In addition, I now had access to albums from small record labels like hat art, criss cross, leo records, CIMP, etc. (I wish apple music allowed me to search based on these record labels.) Really, a music streaming site like apple music has been terrific. (Just like with Borders bookstore, I feel like it’s too good to true, and I have a feeling it’s not going to last.)
Having said this, there is still a reason to go to record stores. There are musicians and albums that are not available on apple music, and I will seek these out at the record stores. (Same with DVD/BR.) But when I go these places, I’m reminded of the access to music that I have. And while I love these stores, I feel like going home to listen to the music.