But I digress.

Times are changing – of that we can all be sure, because it’s thrust into our faces every time we go online. In an increasingly web- and download-driven world, music store shelves continue to shrink, as does the selection they offer. Have a taste for the obscure? You’re not gonna find it at any of the big chains these days. Have a jones for Jazz? Thankfully, there’s still enough of a fan base for it that at least some stores still have a decent range. Either that, or they feel some sense of responsibility to still present this music that has so shaped our nation, as if the Ghosts of Jazz Past are guilt-tripping them into it. Whatever the reason, I, for one, am thankful.

But what about Soul, Funk, and R&B records? Has the rich history of Black music in this country become so marginalized that the most these stores can offer us is a bunch of lame “20th Century Masters” or 2nd-rate Greatest Hits compilations? I like to think that this music, which I love more than any other, is enjoyed by at least as many people as Rock music is. Probably not as much as straight-up Pop music, since that’s engineered specifically for the masses. But why is it that I can go to Borders and get pretty much any Rock record I’m looking for, even slightly obscure stuff (and let me clarify – by “record” I mean “CD”…I have to get my Vinyl elsewhere, unfortunately, but it’s still all “records” to me), but when I’m looking for Donny Hathaway’s Extension of a Man or the remastered Marvin Gaye Here, My Dear I never find those. Marvin Gaye! Is that too much to ask? It’s not like I’m trying to find forgotten oldies here. I’m looking for a record by an artist ranked #6 on Rolling Stone‘s Greatest Singers Of All Time. Not exactly Shooby Taylor, The Human Horn.

Those are just some examples, but time after time, no matter what I’m looking for, I always end up just ordering it from Amazon. Thank God for Amazon.

Yes, I’m one of those strange cats that still likes to buy hard copies of albums. Whenever I can at least.