A PHOTOGRAPHER EXPLORES A RETAIL ENVIRONMENT HE REGARDS AS A “CORNUCOPIA OF COOL”

David Ensminger is an instructor of English, the humanities, and folklore at Lee College in Baytown, Texas. His books include, among others, Visual Vitriol: The Street Art and Subcultures of the Punk and Hardcore Generation (University Press of Mississippi, 2011) and Mojo Hand: The Life and Music of Lightnin’ Hopkins (University of Texas Press, 2013).

by David Ensminger

We humans tend to instinctively look for cohesive meaning among the chaos of a jumbled world.

With this in mind, is there some kind of meaning to be found in a record store?

In their own ways, through the act of scooping up and bringing together large quantities of musical recordings representing all sorts of styles and genres, record stores end up being much more than mere collections of bins overflowing with merchandise. When it comes to music, they help organize many different meanings and ideas; they’re like specialized libraries offering a wide range of sonic experiences that are related to and that have emerged from musical artists and listeners’ memories, tastes, and shared histories.