Member-only story
Record Store Days: The Rhythm of Love
Working at a Retail Record Store in the ‘80s
Music Plus manager Dave Selznick was always coming up with promotional ideas to bring new customers to the store. These included Rocker Dress-Up Day, Guitar Solo Day, Fat Elvis Day and Sexy Female Rocker Day. For the latter promotion, customers impersonated rocker babes like Stevie Nicks, Tina Turner and Pat Benatar while male customers ogled the contestants as if the record store had morphed into a strip club. The winner was a college sophomore decked out as Joan Jett with leather jacket and jeans. She received a $50 gift certificate for her efforts.
Suzie, the staff hippie feminist, was livid. “You’re a male chauvinist pig,” she yelled at Dave.
“I’m bringing in business,” he countered.
“They all look like skanks.”
“Skanks are sexy.”
“Why not just have a wet t-shirt contest?”
“I would if I could,” Dave said. “But the water would ruin the carpets.”
Dave mollified Suzie by giving her her own promotion: taxidermy day. Suzie was an amateur taxidermist who preserved and costumed dead rats as rock stars with miniature instruments. Her gothic creations included punk, heavy metal, country, new wave and soul. Unfortunately, the deceased…
