HMV : going, going, gone?

It's Blue Cross Sale in HMV - the store is awash with stickers indicating 25% off as the compare gradually slides into bankruptcy. It's funny the wave of nostalgia for HMV and the associated demise of the "record shop". Whilst as a brand it has a fond place in my musical upbringing, it's probably worth reminding people that it was chains like HMV that marked the end of many independent record shops and started us on the road to impersonal, mass market music retailing. So whilst I'm sad that there are no music stores anymore *period*, I won't be shedding that big a tear for HMV in particular.