Wandered past the shell of the Tower Records megastore that was liquidated and dismantled in 2006. For a moment I thought it was back in business: big red and yellow signs shouted about a sale, but it was a sight gag by No Longer Empty, an organization that transforms vacant storefronts into temporary art exhibits. Inside, a motley collection of art filled the cavernous store, most of it bracketed in hipster quotes while mourning the decline of the music economy: cryptically labelled record bins, mashed-up album covers, framed copies of Teen Beat, mosaics of Iron Maiden, Roxy Music collages, a life-size sculpture of a surly record store clerk, and the obligatory vinyl-repurposed-as-art-object.

The whole affair was appropriately shabby and depressing: you felt like you were walking through the junkyard of a failed industry. I went across the street to Other Music and bought a used Dylan record.

On January 26, No Longer Empty will host a panel discussion about how the computernet is killing the radio star. More here.