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When the music's over

This post somehow got lost in the run-up to taking my ordination exams and getting my psychological evaluation, both of which happened at the end of August, right before the start of the semester. Yes, it was a busy end to the summer, which is part of the reason for the silence on this blog for the last two months.

One of the reasons I've always loved New York City--and there are many--is that the City is like a living, breathing organism. It's not just the people, but the backbone of the City, its buildings--the bars, restaurants, clubs, cafes, and stores where people congregate--is ever changing. While the change of seasons provides a sense of the passage of time over the course of a year, the changing urban landscape marks the passing of the years.

I was reminded of this when I read of the closing of Colony Records, a sheet music and pop culture memorabilia store just north of Times Square, at 49th and Broadway (three blocks from my old office).

Colony was the place to go if you needed to track down the sheet music for the theme from Peanuts, an issue of T.V. Guide from 1972, an original KISS doll from 1977, or a signed copy of the Beatles' Revolver. To my knowledge, there was no place in the City quite like it, and there may never be again. In one sense that is sad, another sign of the encroachment of the Internet into virtually all aspects of life. But it also speaks to the dynamism of the City. The City will absorb this loss as it did the loss of whatever preceded Colony in that space. Let's just hope it's not replaced with yet another Starbucks.

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