Music 2008: Dischord Weighs In! was originally published on Black Plastic Bag on Dec. 18, 2008, at 2:31 pm
We spoke this week with Alec Bourgeois, spokesperson for Dischord Records, to get his take on the year in music.
I’d say one of the coolest developments in 2008 was the return of the independent record store, fueled in part by the 12″ LP’s refusal to obey the grim reaper’s call. It’s not that places like Smash, Red Onion, Som and Crooked Beat opened in 2008, but more significantly, they seem to have thrived . Even Rick at Orpheus Records, who has been trying to call it quits for the last year, can’t even close his doors—though he keeps threatening! Chain stores, on the other hand, continue to whither and fail. With a tin ear to the format preferences of music lovers and with no loyal community to rally around them they have become irrelevant. All the better. One of my favorite things about 2008 has been shopping for punk records in Washington, D.C.!
—Alec Bourgeois
