This is a post about the side-effects of technological change, the sad fate of video rental shops, and an opportunity for you to help memorialize your favorite video store in song.
In San Francisco, Lost Weekend Video is struggling. A wonderful video rental shop with a well-curated selection and a friendly, knowledgeable staff, Lost Weekend is trying to remain afloat against a tide of Internet-fueled transformation that has already plunged big video rental chains like Blockbuster into bankruptcy and driven half the video rental stores in some major cities out of business.
Lost Weekend Video has responded to this turn of events with black humor and a knowing nod to history — in the form of a tune posted recently in the store’s window. Updating “Video Killed the Radio Star” — the 1979 song by The Buggles that ushered in the era of cable television and MTV — Lost Weekend rewrote the lyrics to tell their own story.
The complete lyrics to “Internet Killed the Video Store” have been transcribed here.
Now we’re inviting BoingBoing readers to complete the loop by either recording an actual, audio version of “Internet Killed the Video Store”, or (even better) doing the same with a video remix. Think of it as a way to honor of your favorite video store, wherever it is… or was.
Go for it. When you’re done, send a link to your work via the BoingBoing Submitterator, or link to it in the comments below. We’ll post the best versions in a future post.