The Record Store

I remember when I used to go to the record store
I'd spend a whole afternoon browsing albums
Even though I knew there was nothing I could afford
But when I'd saved up enough I'd get my father to take me back
And I'd return with with a record and I'd sit on my bed
And listen to every single track
I'd sing along to all the songs
With the lyrics in the inlay
And just in case the record scratched
I'd tape it to a TDK

And I still miss it, all those years we were analogue
Where music was precious and you'd savour it
Because it wasn't just ready in a single click
I still miss it, those early vinyl days
Where a record could get stuck and there was no fix
You'd just have to view it as a new remix

I remember when we used to go to the video store
It would take hours and hours to decide what to watch
Before picking Police Academy Four
And even when we took it home there was no guarantee
That the tape would play without squiggly lines
And we'd have to swap it for Police Academy Three
I guess what I am saying is that things have changed
You might say we've raised the bar
'Cause while it still take ages picking Netflix films
No one's cleaning the heads on their VCR

But I still miss it, all those years we were analogue
Where not everyone could get hold of you
Or text you from their en-suite loo
I still miss it, the world before Instagram
Where hours weren't spent faking naturalism
Just to get some extra love from an algorithm

When I was young I thought we all stood a chance
We'd fix the ozone layer with our Arbor Day plant
We'd cheer away apartheid with a Rugby World Cup
And we'd all download a patch to kill the Y2K bug
I wasn't being weighed down by Russia-Ukraine
But by blowing on my TV game cartridge again
Where AI was a helpful paperclip assistant
And it was not the biggest threat to our whole existence

So I still miss it, but we'll be analogue again
We'll drop the next nuke on ChatGPT
And this time the only victims will be binaries
I still miss it, but baby it's coming back
'Cause once we have the victory in the robot war
And when Siri always interrupting is no more
I'll pick my favourite album I think you'll adore
And put aside a set of headphones for you at the record store

At the record store