Raon, Manila

D A T E : AUGUST 15, 2012
L O C A T I O N : QUEZON BOULEVARD COR. RAON, QUIAPO, MANILA, METRO MANILA, PHILIPPINES

C A M E R A : APPLE IPHONE 3G
L E N S : N/A
F I L T E R : NONE
M O U N T : HANDHELD
L I G H T : AMBIENT
S E T T I N G S : AUTO MODE | F/2.8
P O S T - P R O C E S S I N G   N O T E S : CONVERTED TO MONOCHROME

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I know the photo above is really not that good; it’s grainy, smudgy, low-fi and looks almost, if not at all, like a snapshot. But allow me to indulge a bit.

Aside from having a camera slung about my neck, I have always been an avid music fan and a CD collector. Before the advent of digital music, during the heydays of the record industries; compact discs were the medium of choice for collectors (but for the truly hardcore, there is the holy vynil). And in our country, record bars all over the malls host mostly only the popular artists, for musicians that really matter; you have to go all the way to the (then) dark alleys of Virra Mall and Shoppesville in Greenhills to scout for shiny circular plastic gems.

But these shops are quite expensive, and for a student like me, plunking down hard-saved allowances for a single album at CD Warehouse is an indulgence I really can’t afford.

The alternative, the dingy Recto record stores, or what we fondly call, Tower Recto. For years I’ve walked through the chaotic sidewalks of Quezon Boulevard, looking for gems and bargains. I got a few rare bootlegs from Seattle bands, a signed boxset from a bass player of a celebrated 80’s band to name a few.

The stall that really has the most gems was the one located on a corner of a beerhouse, manned by a kind-looking guy in spectacles. He’d always allow us to hang out, check out the rare boxsets displayed in his glass shelves, ask a few questions on releases that he doesn’t have and basically just shoot some quick chats with a fellow collector.

The past months that I’ve visited Tower Recto, that stall has been abandoned. The glass case is still there, but now devoid of any music. The only music you’ll have are the drunks belting out My Way’s from the cranky videoke machines.

A few days ago, needing to withdraw a bit of dough, I chanced upon a cool record store a few meters from the main road. And surprise surprise, it was Mang Ed’s brand spankingly new shop that is really not that new according to him. I always wondered what happened to the guy, thinking morbid thoughts and what not, he just transferred!

And now he has his own space filled with all sorts of records, memorabilia and magazines; a treasure of a store for music junkies like me. I was drooling over a Metallica and Pink Floyd boxset LP replicas from Japan, the posters, and more records. Too bad I didn’t have enough money, just enough to score an early Jack Johnson album. But boy, was I a happy camper to have stumbled upon Mang Ed’s store again, it was like finding a rare album on a stack of boyband CD’s.

I hope Mang Ed’s venture prosper, these stores are an oasis for music fans of a bygone era where listeners actually hold, read and smell the music they’re playing. With the promise of a few Ryan Adams albums and a boxset of the remastered Beatles discography at almost half the mall price, I’ll surely be back.

Here’s the new store location for those interested: Google Map