We packed the essentials of Proton Packs and Pinot Grigio and paddled on down to The Archive in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA. For the uninitiated: The Archive is "Vinegar Syndrome's experimental retail store" wherein one can physically attend and shop for merchandise. Basically it's an internet that you can taste & smell.
We used to have places like this on every corner: "stores." And I can't tell you what an exhilarating delight it is to engage in the palpable act of traveling, exploring, and experiencing. But even when retail outlets were still a thing, there were very few of this level of eminence.
This is Xanadu, The Chocolate Factory, The Chelsea Drug Store from Clockwork Orange, and Mario's Magic Shop from Pee-wee's Big Adventure all whipped into the same cream pie. There are still plenty of little niche punk rock record and comic stores out there that offer a similar climate - you're probably aware of at least one yourself. And this place has no shortage of the "previously enjoyed" media we've come to mildly enjoy during these hard times, but the unique draw here is that it's an outlet for all new boutique media; beyond what appeared to be most of Vinegar Syndrome's library, they offer some or nearly all of the titles from Arrow, Severin, Kino Lorber, Warner Archive, MVD, Shout!, Blue Underground, Full Moon, Criterion, Synapse, Vestron, Code Red, and dozens of other labels I've never even heard of. The basement was all VHS and used vinyl, and upstairs they had all the latest soundtracks from Waxwork, Mondo, Death Waltz, Terror Vision, and still more oddballs and curiosities.
Basically the store is a horror convention without without all the walking; pure & uncut jubilee, concentrated into mom & pop real estate, guiding you in with glassy eyes and soggy pants. But the real analogy is, not surprisingly, "the video store." I mean like from 30 years ago, when most movies felt new and cover art teased your true being. I tried to approach it scientifically, going in with some idea of what to look for, but when you're staring down the barrel of artillery like this, the animal brain takes over. Here's the shit we got:
Amazing - it doesn't look like much. (The price tag said otherwise.) But like The Oregon Trail, we can only carry so much meat back with us. When you're faced with a mixed bag of "used" merchandise, you hope to find the diamond in the rough. (That Gorezone was missing its poster + 10 pages...) But to reiterate, everything that's precious & new is being funneled into this nerve center of smut & slaughter. Typically in stores like this, the joy comes from treasure hunting -- at The Archive, you fill your pockets and save the rest for another time.
- Paul
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