I stopped by the Best Buy on Broadway in downtown Manhattan today and was greeted by the sign at left, which led me to believe that Chinese Democracy’s release would have been a big deal, at least in terms of in-store displays and the like. But as it turned out, “music’s most anticipated album ever” wasn’t worth a display on the store’s first floor, let alone one somewhere adjacent to the Rock Band 2 setup on floor two. Instead, once I got to the store’s music section (which is probably worthy of its own “how low can its floor space go” post at some point), I saw a big display of iPod acessories blocking the poster advertising the album, and scant inventory of the record itself. (I did get to play “Man In The Box” and “Eye Of The Tiger” on Rock Band, which was pretty fun; the store was overall surprisingly empty, and I probably could have squeezed another two songs or so in.) What was the scene like in other parts of the country? Some reports from the front after the jump.
Mike Barthel reports from Syracuse, N.Y.:
Not much to report in Syracuse, though I got there around 3 so maybe everyone who wanted to buy it already had? The rack was looking fairly barren, but I waited around for 20 minutes or so and didn’t see anyone browse it.
And Al Shipley checks in from Laurel, Md., which is outside the Baltimore area:
the GNR display all the way in the back of the CD/DVD section was dwarfed by the nearby Sopranos display. The higher price listed at the top of the display is for the double LP, but I didn’t see any Chinese Democracy vinyl in the store. I was there during the first hour the store was open and the only other person I saw near the GNR racks was a BB employee who was still stocking it with discs, so I didn’t get to interview anyone there, but if you want me to write any kind of spiel about what I saw let me know.
The scene in Astoria, N.Y. was similarly barren. What was your local Best Buy like? Was there any buzz at all? Feel free to share your experiences.
GNR was all over the place at the Fairfax VA Best Buy. Display tower up front at the entrance, it seemed to be on pretty much every endcap, and there were several rows of it on the new release wall. You couldn’t turn around without seeing it there.
Big display tower at the front of the West Nashville store — first thing you see when you walk in.
Oh, and the same thing in Syracuse–display right at the front of the store. Saw a lot of people walk right by it, though.
I downloaded it.
That picture is like the saddest thing i have ever seen. Al Shipley is clearly influenced by William Eggleston
Bought it in suburban NJ - they had a four-sided cardboard tower with two shelves of CDs on each side. The side I pulled my copy from wasn’t full, a few were missing. Vinyl was up top; my wife didn’t recognize it as such, thought it was a calendar.
Similarly weak sauce in Detroit. One display at the front of the store with only a few copies gone. Sad. Two of the employees were wearing “Chinese Democracy” shirts, however. When I asked how come they weren’t all wearing the shirts, the dude said their VP decided against it.
I bet Axl wishes he would have gone with Wal-Mart, instead.
Al’s photo kind of says it all, huh?
Picked it up in Willow Grove, PA (Philly suburbs). The same display from Al’s pick was just right of center as you walked in the door, sharing prime space with Gears of War 2 and WALL-E. I’d say there were a healthy number of discs on the display, and there were 3 or 4 other folks holding copies as I walked around. There were also a few remaining copies of the vinyl sitting there.
==TJ==
PS I also preordered/bought it on iTunes in addition to buying the physical disc. Does this make me a loser/on par with that Zune guy?
@DocStrange: God the Dr. Pepper website is making me so frustrated. I’ve been trying at random points in the day for it to work, and it hasn’t. I even called the customer service number, but the line was busy.
I don’t even like Dr. Pepper. I just think it’s funny that I get a free one because an album came out.
I hope some company does a promotion like this for December 21, 2012.
@Michaelangelo Matos: Indeed. Something about Tony Soprano’s expression kills me there. He’s smoking a victory cigar after a retail ass-kicking.
Free Mr. Pibb if we make it to the 22nd?
My Local Best Buy did have a line.
Of about 15 people.
At least 6 of them probably weren’t alive when the band (or as I call them now, Axl, Dizzy & Friends) released the Use Your Illusions.
I actually did buy a copy. It’s good, but not “14 years good”. It’d be an awesome record if this was 1999, though.
@VivaLaMainstream: I was approximately two (born in December of 1989, you do the math yourself) when the Illusions came out. Which is kind of depressing.
I remember Chuck Klosterman summing up this length of time in an April Fool’s review of the record a few years ago: “Chances are, if you bought a kitten the day the Use Your Illusions came out, it’s probably dead by now”.
Also, i’m gonna see if I can actually get into the Dr Pepper website. Now, this offer is attractive to me, as Dr Pepper is my favorite drink of them all. I have 17 hours before this promotion runs out and 6 weeks for a coupon to come. Let’s see if this promotion breaks the internet like Cargill’s leak did.
I wonder if Kevin Cargill gets a free Dr Pepper? Or does Buckethead get his?
@DocStrange: For what it’s worth, I was not quite 3 years old when Use Your Illusion came out.
I never could get into the damn Dr. Pepper website.