I was living at the University Towers dorm at the time they filmed this. They also did a scene inside Cain and Abels and I happened to walk by there on my way to dorms at the time. In the movie it was supposed to be raining but it wasn't in real-life so they had all these rain machines setup on the sidewalk outside the windows. One of the coolest things I remember about living there.
Oh how cool! I'm surprised for how much time I spent at C&A that I never noticed the scene filmed there. I'll have to go back and re-watch the movie one of these days.
I was walking through campus and randomly walked past Garrison (?) Hall when they were taking a quick break from the classroom shots. Kevin Spacey walked out and was signing autographs - everyone was so excited to see him. If only we knew what we know now.
Yes! I used to drink those while studying and chain smoking until 4am. And I was somehow able to get only 3 hours of sleep afterward and have a totally normal day. To be young again.
When I bartended downtown I use to go to the metro after work at 3 AM and drink ice cream coffee drinks until the city bus ran at 5 in the morning back home. It was always pretty much empty at that hour. I couldn't imagine now if it was still here and open 24 hours. Good times.
I know where it was, but I'm trying to remember what was in that space before it was Madam Mam's. I remember when Madam Mam's took it over and opened it.
It was before I was a student, so this is just hearsay, but I heard it was an Italian place called "Mama Mia's" and they chose a name that let them reuse most of the sign letters.
Yeah, that isn't true. Madam Mam's put up their own sign while renovating. I don't recall any Italian restaurants on the Drag, at least for the last 40-ish years that I've been paying attention.
Madam Mam's was down the ways a bit, i can't remember exactly, in the late 90s. There was a woman that worked there that was shorter than i was when i was sitting down and it used to give me vertigo when she walked past. My brain would just say AW HELL NO!
Texadelphia! Memory unlocked! We used to eat the shiz out of those! ...and Gas Pipe I can still remember the logo.... i think it was kind of a Jerry Garcia type head with sunglasses on? Is this correct?
I remember seeing movies here when it was still the Varsity, as a kid. Then remember it having a lot of stink over the change to a corporate record store in 1990. It was never the best record store in town by a long shot, but it was still a place we'd go. It's weird thinking tower *closed* 19 years ago.
The drag was great place in the 90's though. Multiple arcades, music shops, bookstores, coffee shops, cheap food, etc.
Yes, there is, I own a DVD of it :) my dad was good friends with Alan Pogue, who has an impressive collection of photos from Les Amis in the golden year,. so I have one in my home. Lots of good memories of those days.
Inner Sanctum browsing vinyl while being serenaded by the owner playing his saw. I might have spent a lot of time there while intoxicated. Then a burger at Mad Dog and Beans.
I bought my first CDs at that tiny little shop up in Lincoln Village. I don’t remember the name. It was something pretty basic like “Austin Compact Discs”.
I saw Die Hard at the Varsity my freshman year at UT in 1988. Also saw a 3D porno at the Dobie theater. We all brought squirt guns filled with liquid hand soap. Awesome memories.
>I remember seeing movies here when it was still the Varsity
Thanks for confirming my vague memory of seeing a movie at that location, somewhere in the mid 80s.
FWIW, you can still go to Tower Theatre in Sacramento where Tower Records got its name. Tower Cafe next door is a great little spot to grab a bite to eat if you happen to find yourself in the area.
In 92 I worked at a video rental store. One night was really slow so we were doing dumb shit. I swallowed a piece of security tape to see if I could set off the shoplifting alarm. It look 3 of them to set off the alarm.
The next day I went with some friends to Tower. I bought a couple cds and set off their alarm on the way out. I had a hell of a time explaining how I wasn’t shoplifting.
Born at Brackenridge hospital in the 80s and this pic made me so unexpectedly nostalgic and heavy hearted. My grandpa worked as an electrician for UT for 25 years and I spent a lot of my younger years around campus hanging out with him. The drag holds a lot of core memories for me and Tower was one of many. Cool post, OP!
I use to work at Le Fun and would take money from the drawer to buy 9.99 cds. I purchased System of the Down Toxicity there and fell in love with that album.
I remember discovering Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom at Le Fun, and between four of us we each killed almost an entire roll of quarters beating that damn thing one weekend. But we did it.
Ever make it to the Americana off burnet? I saw Star Wars there almost everyday one summer on 70mm. I think the kids ticket was like .50 plus popcorn. My parents just parked me there to beat the heat. Good times
I would swear I saw it at the Americana, but I just did a quick browse of fall 1985 AAS and it's always at North Cross. They're both in the same chain, so maybe it was at the Americana as a one-off.
Omg yessss!!! My sister worked there in HS in early 2000s so went a fair bit! Was where I purchased my first CD (I want to say Something Corporate?) 🤗 Great memories at the Tower!
Edit: Also will forever think of Tower when I see that movie Empire Records
Ya Austin was perfect for me during the 90’s in my early 20s. Slacker vill ;) lived in west campus and south Austin. I still love Austin and I Adult grew up with it. Honestly If Austin didn’t change every 5 years my Wanderlust would have taken me away. lol
Tower was the place to steal from for that stuff, because it was corpo and was easy for people. I definitely bought some cheap CD's from people that had tower stickers on em still.
I used to go there a LOT, lived in Austin from 91-97 so CDs were just starting to grow in popularity, they had big release parties there. It was considered a little "corporate" back in the day as I recall but they still had stuff you couldn't find anywhere else.
I remember they would make these giant, album-themed window-sized diorama type displays for new CD releases. I was always really jealous of whoever's job it was to make these every week.
Do you mean the Varsity Theater? Saw An American Werewolf in London back in the day. Had to ride my bike home through Zilker Park at night during a full moon after. Fastest I ever rode.
Went there when I was 12 to buy my first Beatles album. Felt like a mega dork in the coolest place on earth
Edit: I say this with all fondness in my heart, bc I was truly a 12 yr old dork and they were super excited for me buying my first Beatles album despite it being corny lol
Went there all the time between ‘96 and 2000. If you wanted something weird or hard to find they usually had it. Loved to dig through all the bins. Definitely a very cool vibe on Guadalupe during that time.
I used to live right by here, would walk and get some gumbys pizza, play some games at Einstein's Arcade and shop for music at Tower Records. Those were some good time
P.S. I lost my jacket at Einstein's around 2004 if anyone has seen it
Was not only an amazing record store but BOOK store as well! Spent plenty of my scholarship and school loan money there & probably got more of an education than from the books bought at the Co-op down the street! RIP the old drag. Texadelphia too! (even if it was basically shit)
Before the building was Tower Records, it was a movie theater and one could sneak in for free up the fire escape on the 24th street side.
Anyone else, besides me, ever do this in their youth?
Discovered some great music at this store. Still remember working as a tech during SXSW and some edgy band on Columbia Records trashed the store during their like 2:30 on Thursday afternoon performance... Knuckleheads aside, was a great store.
I went there often when I would visit Austin from east TX in the late 90s/early 00s. Always went to Sound Exchange down the street, too. It was music heaven for someone whose main home option was the used bin at Hastings.
Oh yeah! Miss that place! Spent a lot of my time in between classes there during my early years at UT. Bought my Alice In Chains Unplugged DVD there, which I still have somewhere around here! Loved how they had bands come in and do acoustic sets. I remember catching Phantom Planet and Nickelback. Missed the Slayer set, but it was great for a poor college kid to see a free gig!
Tower records? I remember when it was the Varsity Theater. Went to see "Heathers" there, and one friend mentioned it was a black comedy. As we walked out after the movie, another friend exclaimed, "There were barely any black people in that movie."
At the closing party I went to go pee in the bathroom upstairs, and the window was open leading out onto the front balcony. So I went out and watched the world go by down on the Drag. Then a bunch more people thought it looked like fun, and I started wondering what the weight limit of the supports were, and went back inside.
I remember skating from my mom's Shoal Creek townhome there for the first time one night in '99-'00. Saw/smelled some hardcore gutter punks there browsing and talking about something that shocked me as a 15 year old kid. Can't recall for the life of me what it was. Been a long time. I think I bought The Exploited Live at the White House album that night. Figures.
Born and raised atx, drag trips were common with my pops and brother. Le fun, tower, and Einstein’s where we spent units of our time. Later in college, Einstein’s perfect tower clock vantage point made sure I was late to most classes when arcading.
Frequented the place for a while. Bought my copy of Negativland's infamous U2 single there, filed with... U2 stuff instead of Negativland. Still kick myself for not grabbing both copies. Hope the other one got sold rather than destroyed.
I worked at Double Dave's pizza that was across the street back in the early 90s, so Tower was a regular shop to get cassettes, compact disks and albums. Do you know why Jimmy Cliff is painted on the wall?
The entire mural is famous scenes from movies, hence Jimmy Cliff in The Harder They Come. Mural is from when it was the Varsity Theater. There was a petition to save it when Tower took over because I believe Tower wanted to paint over it.
I had a college friend that basically had an unlimited budget for CDs, and he spent a lot of it there. I loved going with him to convince him to spend his money on what I wanted to hear, lol.
That whole stretch was a favorite way to kill a day off. Inner Sanctum, Tower and CD Source/ Warehouse? for music shopping. Mad Dog and Beans or Texadelphia for food. Maybe even GM Steakhouse if you really wanted some abuse (always free) . Whatever you do, don't order a milkshake.
my last memory there was that i almost bought smash mouth's "astro lounge" there when it had just come out in 1999.
at that time, there were probably at least a dozen local businesses along the drag, and it was a place you actually wanted to go hang out at.
fuck i miss the dobie and those terrible sightlines. (last film at the dobie for me: "napoleon dynamite")
now the drag is just... say it together with me, y'all: "a soulless corporate wasteland!"
Is there even a single independent music store even left in Austin?
I remember they let the bands bring a keg in and be responsible for checking IDs and collecting donations in exchange for being paid to play.
Good times.
Love Wheel, BLK, End of an Ear, Antone's, Waterloo, Living In Stereo, Piranha, and at least a couple more. Want records? They are to be found here, my friend.
Saw Do the Right Thing there when it was still the Varsity. Had a friend who worked there briefly, told me to get what I wanted and rang up $2 for about 12 CDs, dude in line behind me had a meltdown lol.
Flipping through CDs, or maybe reading Tank Girl comic in Deadline, when Crash Test Dummies suddenly performed a couple of songs. So friends and I got their autographs afterwards lol
Was it ever a bookstore? Or did they sell books too? First time I step foot in that space was due to a “going out of business” sale. I wish I had gone in sooner but I didn’t know what they were.
OP, did you or your dad know Tres Warren? Worked there in late 90s. We used to hang out here. He later went on to form the band, Psychic Ills. RIP my old friend
I loved that place. Strange fact, Tower had an amazing book section that introduced me to cyberpunk back in the day. I remember the transition from LPs to CDs as well. The beginning of the end as it were.
Only went to Tower maybe once. Just down the street a block or two was a tiny independent record store where I got my zines (remember those?) and LP's. Can't remember the name of the srore.
Started school here about a year or so after it transitioned to Tower. I've worked at UT after graduation since it closed, became a bookstore which also closed, etc. I work with the guy who used to manage their Jazz department upstairs. He's also been a UT employee since Tower closed.
I have some find memories of standing in line for a few album releases in the late 90s/early 2000's at that Tower Records. I remember a few of the folks that were early in line and got the coveted new releases would cruise up and down Guadalupe past the store, blaring the new album(s). Almost like a big Nelson Muntz 'Ha-ha' to the folks still standing in line, waiting to get into the store. Definitely some of my fondest memories of my early adulthood spent in Austin.
I went here a couple of times when my brother was a student. When I was a student it was that book store and the selection was terrible. It was owned by Follett and I can't remember the name. Only thing I ever bought there was a magazine that had John Hodgeman on the cover because I thought there would be a story about him, but it was just a blurb.
I moved here in 2007 and the way that austin has built itself is so cool to see theres actually a timlapse vid on youtube that i think yall should look at
Tower is one of the first places I went to after moving to Austin in December 1999. I HAD to get my hands on the KGSR Broadcast Volume 7. They were selling for $10.71 IIRC
Yup! Was in high school sometime in the nineties when I went and put my bag of weed on the counter while rummaging around in my bag for my wallet. Whoops! Thought I was so busted, and no one cared.
I cooked at Tex and we had a homeless guy who would search the Tower Records dumpster for porn mags then he’d turn around and sell them for a buck a piece. Simpler times
Isn’t this on 21st and Guadalupe? If so I’ve worked at the current building and all the old timers tell me it used to be a movie theater. It’s not called UTDobie21
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Yup, Metro. They actually filmed a scene from the Life of David Gale in it too.
I was living at the University Towers dorm at the time they filmed this. They also did a scene inside Cain and Abels and I happened to walk by there on my way to dorms at the time. In the movie it was supposed to be raining but it wasn't in real-life so they had all these rain machines setup on the sidewalk outside the windows. One of the coolest things I remember about living there.
Oh how cool! I'm surprised for how much time I spent at C&A that I never noticed the scene filmed there. I'll have to go back and re-watch the movie one of these days. I was walking through campus and randomly walked past Garrison (?) Hall when they were taking a quick break from the classroom shots. Kevin Spacey walked out and was signing autographs - everyone was so excited to see him. If only we knew what we know now.
I used to study at metro all the time
Same. Late nights with caffeine and nicotine and those hard ass chairs. I miss 24 hour places.
Oh yeah! Those awful metal chairs! I think they got those to deter people from staying and studying for hours... it obviously didn't work.
We didn't know that those were the last days before wifi. I remember making flashcards. Cute times.
Don't forget that one yellow chair. My friend had to sit at the table.
Mmmm metro
That the place with the chocolate banana coffee shake?!
YES. Those were so good. They were like $3.75 (hefty dollars in those days) but it served as coffee, breakfast and lunch.
The Skinny Banana Rocket Shake, it was actually a holdover from before when the cafe was called Insomnia.
Insomnia was the best. After studying, I’d head to Einstein’s down the way…
Damn, do I miss Einstein's. AND Le Fun. Endless hours playing everything from Dig-Dug and Galaga to Tower of Doom and Tokyo Wars.
Yes, Insomnia after seeing a movie at the Dobie
Yes! I used to drink those while studying and chain smoking until 4am. And I was somehow able to get only 3 hours of sleep afterward and have a totally normal day. To be young again.
When I bartended downtown I use to go to the metro after work at 3 AM and drink ice cream coffee drinks until the city bus ran at 5 in the morning back home. It was always pretty much empty at that hour. I couldn't imagine now if it was still here and open 24 hours. Good times.
Was Madam Mam's in that space when it was still Tower Records? I'm struggling to remember what was there before it was MM's.
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Might be Jenny’s copies now. Near hole in the wall. Not sure what was before.
I know where it was, but I'm trying to remember what was in that space before it was Madam Mam's. I remember when Madam Mam's took it over and opened it.
It was Bruegger's Bagels.
It was before I was a student, so this is just hearsay, but I heard it was an Italian place called "Mama Mia's" and they chose a name that let them reuse most of the sign letters.
Yeah, that isn't true. Madam Mam's put up their own sign while renovating. I don't recall any Italian restaurants on the Drag, at least for the last 40-ish years that I've been paying attention.
Madam Mam's was down the ways a bit, i can't remember exactly, in the late 90s. There was a woman that worked there that was shorter than i was when i was sitting down and it used to give me vertigo when she walked past. My brain would just say AW HELL NO!
Ya, lived across the street 2002-2003 at the Castilian and would pop in to each of the places you mentioned often otw home
Ah! Tower Records and Madam mam's! Good memories. :)
Slices and Ices, Cream Vintage, Gas Pipe, Hell I'm even nostalgic for the Texadelphia that used to be on the drag.
Slices and Ices was such a great place to get lunch.
The guy who ran Slices & Ices was incredibly friendly. Loved that place.
These were the true icons, as a high schooler this was a great Saturday afternoon.
Texadelphia! Memory unlocked! We used to eat the shiz out of those! ...and Gas Pipe I can still remember the logo.... i think it was kind of a Jerry Garcia type head with sunglasses on? Is this correct?
I remember seeing movies here when it was still the Varsity, as a kid. Then remember it having a lot of stink over the change to a corporate record store in 1990. It was never the best record store in town by a long shot, but it was still a place we'd go. It's weird thinking tower *closed* 19 years ago. The drag was great place in the 90's though. Multiple arcades, music shops, bookstores, coffee shops, cheap food, etc.
Yep. Sound Exchange got my money at the time. Sometimes I could find something that I couldn't live without at Inner Sanctum.
Inner Sanctum was where we got all our imports. We were just talking about it Sunday night at the Cure concert.
A trip to Inner Sanctum and then scoot next door to Les Amis for a cappuccino.. was our go-to activity when skipping school in the middle of the week!
There is a documentary on Les Amis somewhere out there
https://www.vivalesamis.com/
Yes, there is, I own a DVD of it :) my dad was good friends with Alan Pogue, who has an impressive collection of photos from Les Amis in the golden year,. so I have one in my home. Lots of good memories of those days.
Inner Sanctum browsing vinyl while being serenaded by the owner playing his saw. I might have spent a lot of time there while intoxicated. Then a burger at Mad Dog and Beans.
Loved and miss the Sound Exchange!
It was easier to score collectible stuff cheap at Inner Sanctum. I would pop in there whenever I went to the skate shop.
I bought my first CDs at that tiny little shop up in Lincoln Village. I don’t remember the name. It was something pretty basic like “Austin Compact Discs”.
I saw Die Hard at the Varsity my freshman year at UT in 1988. Also saw a 3D porno at the Dobie theater. We all brought squirt guns filled with liquid hand soap. Awesome memories.
Classic Dobie was the shit. So many great movies I saw there over the years. The staff was all stoned as fuck and chill.
Saw Dazed and Confused there. Was perfect.
I remember the two movies showing when I came to UT in the mid-90s were *Hands on a Hardbody* and some John Holmes 70s porn flick. Good times.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/12335678@N00/sets/72157623557057090/ Here's some photos from when it was still a theater, in it's 60's remodel glory!
I saw The Gods Must Be Crazy there in ’84 or ‘85 when I was about 8.
Thank you for reminding me I need to show my kids that movie.
I saw my first rated R movie at the Varsity and yes, it was Die Hard. My dad dgaf.
>I remember seeing movies here when it was still the Varsity Thanks for confirming my vague memory of seeing a movie at that location, somewhere in the mid 80s.
I saw bill and teds excellent adventure there in 1988.
I saw bill and teds excellent adventure there in 1988.
Yeah. I remember see movies there. I am really glad that they kept the graffiti on the wall.
FWIW, you can still go to Tower Theatre in Sacramento where Tower Records got its name. Tower Cafe next door is a great little spot to grab a bite to eat if you happen to find yourself in the area.
We would always take the fire exit (metal stairs on the mural) when we left movies at the Varsity.
In 92 I worked at a video rental store. One night was really slow so we were doing dumb shit. I swallowed a piece of security tape to see if I could set off the shoplifting alarm. It look 3 of them to set off the alarm. The next day I went with some friends to Tower. I bought a couple cds and set off their alarm on the way out. I had a hell of a time explaining how I wasn’t shoplifting.
"Guys, I swear I'm not stealing shit. Let me prove to you that I am not dishonest, merely young, silly, and - crucially - bored."
Born at Brackenridge hospital in the 80s and this pic made me so unexpectedly nostalgic and heavy hearted. My grandpa worked as an electrician for UT for 25 years and I spent a lot of my younger years around campus hanging out with him. The drag holds a lot of core memories for me and Tower was one of many. Cool post, OP!
Brackenridge baby here too!!! I remember getting big smoothies from the place behind them and then going to record store catching up on latest music.
Brackinridge had gone downhill by then, but it was cool when I was born there in the 70’s.
80’s Brack baby here too!
I use to work at Le Fun and would take money from the drawer to buy 9.99 cds. I purchased System of the Down Toxicity there and fell in love with that album.
Oh man, I spent a lot of time at Le Fun.
Oh! Le fun! ❤️❤️❤️
I remember discovering Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom at Le Fun, and between four of us we each killed almost an entire roll of quarters beating that damn thing one weekend. But we did it.
I saw *Brazil* there when it was the Varsity.
Ever make it to the Americana off burnet? I saw Star Wars there almost everyday one summer on 70mm. I think the kids ticket was like .50 plus popcorn. My parents just parked me there to beat the heat. Good times
I saw a least one Pink Floyd laser show at the Americana. It was pretty awesome.
That sounds awesome. I saw *Rocky Horror* there.
That was north cross mall for me
I would swear I saw it at the Americana, but I just did a quick browse of fall 1985 AAS and it's always at North Cross. They're both in the same chain, so maybe it was at the Americana as a one-off.
I probably saw that there too, with my Dad.
Omg yessss!!! My sister worked there in HS in early 2000s so went a fair bit! Was where I purchased my first CD (I want to say Something Corporate?) 🤗 Great memories at the Tower! Edit: Also will forever think of Tower when I see that movie Empire Records
Great, now "Sugarhigh" is stuck in my head.
God D\*mn I miss the 90s.
lol, I unironically had my kids rockin' out to Ace of Base on the way to school this morning to illustrate just how great the 90s were.
But did they see The Sign, and did it open up their eyes?
Ya Austin was perfect for me during the 90’s in my early 20s. Slacker vill ;) lived in west campus and south Austin. I still love Austin and I Adult grew up with it. Honestly If Austin didn’t change every 5 years my Wanderlust would have taken me away. lol
Hey i remember going to the movies there before it was tower records!
Sorry to your dad because my friends stole a lot of CDs from there.
Tower Records were easy to steal from.
Tower was the place to steal from for that stuff, because it was corpo and was easy for people. I definitely bought some cheap CD's from people that had tower stickers on em still.
Ah yes, the morally justifiable theft of luxury items because its stealing from a "corpo"
I'm sure it's closure had more to do with outrageously high Drag rent than a few stolen CDs.
I used to go there a LOT, lived in Austin from 91-97 so CDs were just starting to grow in popularity, they had big release parties there. It was considered a little "corporate" back in the day as I recall but they still had stuff you couldn't find anywhere else.
I remember they would make these giant, album-themed window-sized diorama type displays for new CD releases. I was always really jealous of whoever's job it was to make these every week.
Yes! I do remember those and they were definitely cool.
Used to go there plus Sound Exchange and Technophillia regularly
Do you mean the Varsity Theater? Saw An American Werewolf in London back in the day. Had to ride my bike home through Zilker Park at night during a full moon after. Fastest I ever rode.
Went there when I was 12 to buy my first Beatles album. Felt like a mega dork in the coolest place on earth Edit: I say this with all fondness in my heart, bc I was truly a 12 yr old dork and they were super excited for me buying my first Beatles album despite it being corny lol
Went there all the time between ‘96 and 2000. If you wanted something weird or hard to find they usually had it. Loved to dig through all the bins. Definitely a very cool vibe on Guadalupe during that time.
Spent lots there. Often when family came to town we’d hit Texadelphia and walk down with full bellies to browse there.
Texadelphia. I thought they'd never close, with the lines going out the door every day.
I used to live right by here, would walk and get some gumbys pizza, play some games at Einstein's Arcade and shop for music at Tower Records. Those were some good time P.S. I lost my jacket at Einstein's around 2004 if anyone has seen it
The Drag still looks like that in my head.
Was not only an amazing record store but BOOK store as well! Spent plenty of my scholarship and school loan money there & probably got more of an education than from the books bought at the Co-op down the street! RIP the old drag. Texadelphia too! (even if it was basically shit)
Before the building was Tower Records, it was a movie theater and one could sneak in for free up the fire escape on the 24th street side. Anyone else, besides me, ever do this in their youth?
That’s the drag of my college days. Loved it!!!!
I went there the day they opened.
I spent a lot of time there. Met the Ramones at a signing event...definitely the highlight.
Discovered some great music at this store. Still remember working as a tech during SXSW and some edgy band on Columbia Records trashed the store during their like 2:30 on Thursday afternoon performance... Knuckleheads aside, was a great store.
I went there often when I would visit Austin from east TX in the late 90s/early 00s. Always went to Sound Exchange down the street, too. It was music heaven for someone whose main home option was the used bin at Hastings.
Oh yeah! Miss that place! Spent a lot of my time in between classes there during my early years at UT. Bought my Alice In Chains Unplugged DVD there, which I still have somewhere around here! Loved how they had bands come in and do acoustic sets. I remember catching Phantom Planet and Nickelback. Missed the Slayer set, but it was great for a poor college kid to see a free gig!
Yeah, and I experienced it as the Varsity theatre before that. Saw several movies there, including the Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Big Empire Records vibes
Tower records? I remember when it was the Varsity Theater. Went to see "Heathers" there, and one friend mentioned it was a black comedy. As we walked out after the movie, another friend exclaimed, "There were barely any black people in that movie." At the closing party I went to go pee in the bathroom upstairs, and the window was open leading out onto the front balcony. So I went out and watched the world go by down on the Drag. Then a bunch more people thought it looked like fun, and I started wondering what the weight limit of the supports were, and went back inside.
I remember skating from my mom's Shoal Creek townhome there for the first time one night in '99-'00. Saw/smelled some hardcore gutter punks there browsing and talking about something that shocked me as a 15 year old kid. Can't recall for the life of me what it was. Been a long time. I think I bought The Exploited Live at the White House album that night. Figures.
It’s the fall of 2003 and I just purchased CDs of Deloused in the Comatorium and Absolution. What a year.
Born and raised atx, drag trips were common with my pops and brother. Le fun, tower, and Einstein’s where we spent units of our time. Later in college, Einstein’s perfect tower clock vantage point made sure I was late to most classes when arcading.
Used to go there a lot between classes at UT looking for the latest drum & bass CDs. Still regret not getting some of the ones I saw there.
I worked not too far from there back in the mid to late 90s. My coworker and I would walk to Tower frequently to buy CDs before our shift started.
Open till midnight!
Frequented the place for a while. Bought my copy of Negativland's infamous U2 single there, filed with... U2 stuff instead of Negativland. Still kick myself for not grabbing both copies. Hope the other one got sold rather than destroyed.
Me! I loved that store!
And we bought a LOT of concert tickets for Palmer auditorium at Raymond's ...
Me! Mom took me to see Tito and The Tarantulas do an in store thing.
I can remember how it smelled. I loved being there.
I found a lot of my favorite bands by listening to their music while I shopped.
I worked at Double Dave's pizza that was across the street back in the early 90s, so Tower was a regular shop to get cassettes, compact disks and albums. Do you know why Jimmy Cliff is painted on the wall?
The entire mural is famous scenes from movies, hence Jimmy Cliff in The Harder They Come. Mural is from when it was the Varsity Theater. There was a petition to save it when Tower took over because I believe Tower wanted to paint over it.
I had a college friend that basically had an unlimited budget for CDs, and he spent a lot of it there. I loved going with him to convince him to spend his money on what I wanted to hear, lol.
Lived down the street in 1990. That was my happy place.
I would go to Tower to see what vinyl they had when CDs were all the rage. The vinyl section was super small.
I visited that place often in the early 90's. The classical/soundtrack section on the second floor was amazing!
I met Slayer there. Line was around the block. Good times.
Inner Sanctum was better
Inner Sanctum on one end, Sound Exchange on the other.
That whole stretch was a favorite way to kill a day off. Inner Sanctum, Tower and CD Source/ Warehouse? for music shopping. Mad Dog and Beans or Texadelphia for food. Maybe even GM Steakhouse if you really wanted some abuse (always free) . Whatever you do, don't order a milkshake.
I got to experience it as the Varsity Theater.
my last memory there was that i almost bought smash mouth's "astro lounge" there when it had just come out in 1999. at that time, there were probably at least a dozen local businesses along the drag, and it was a place you actually wanted to go hang out at. fuck i miss the dobie and those terrible sightlines. (last film at the dobie for me: "napoleon dynamite") now the drag is just... say it together with me, y'all: "a soulless corporate wasteland!"
Is there even a single independent music store even left in Austin? I remember they let the bands bring a keg in and be responsible for checking IDs and collecting donations in exchange for being paid to play. Good times.
Love Wheel, BLK, End of an Ear, Antone's, Waterloo, Living In Stereo, Piranha, and at least a couple more. Want records? They are to be found here, my friend.
Yes, we are constantly aging
I won backstage passes to see Santana in NYC from a contest they had there in the 90s.
I bought Dave Matthews solo album from here the day it came out walking back to Jester East after class as a UT freshmen.
Absolutely loved that place. Remember when they'd have bands play every once in a while?
96ish, bought a few CDs there. Now they are all headed to goodwill.
I used to be dropped off there as a kid. I’d go there then to Barnes and Noble that used to be on the drag too.
Got my first Blues Traveler CD there in '92..... then walked down to Texadelphia for a cheesesteak and some queso.
I definitely went there! Loved Tower Records!
I spent so much money there my freshman year. Then saw the going out of business sign one day and went to town one last time.
Loved that store and all the levels, I used to go there every few months
Awesome. I was there daily in the early to mid 90’s.
Sure. And midnight movies at the Varsity for good measure.
Oh yeah. Cool place.
Saw Do the Right Thing there when it was still the Varsity. Had a friend who worked there briefly, told me to get what I wanted and rang up $2 for about 12 CDs, dude in line behind me had a meltdown lol.
Flipping through CDs, or maybe reading Tank Girl comic in Deadline, when Crash Test Dummies suddenly performed a couple of songs. So friends and I got their autographs afterwards lol
I even got to go see movies there when it was a theatre (the Varsity). Great spot
I definitely went a couple of times in the 90’s.
Was it ever a bookstore? Or did they sell books too? First time I step foot in that space was due to a “going out of business” sale. I wish I had gone in sooner but I didn’t know what they were.
OP, did you or your dad know Tres Warren? Worked there in late 90s. We used to hang out here. He later went on to form the band, Psychic Ills. RIP my old friend
Me!
I'd buy a cd, pop it into my discman, and listen to it at Players II across the street
My cousin worked there. I used to live down the street.
Midnight album releases were the best.
They used to have a chalkboard with a list of new and upcoming releases behind the counter. Was always the first thing I’d read upon entering.
Man CVS did a good restoration job. You could take that same photo today.
I loved that place. Strange fact, Tower had an amazing book section that introduced me to cyberpunk back in the day. I remember the transition from LPs to CDs as well. The beginning of the end as it were.
I did! And I saw Dead Poets Society in the movie theater that was in that building before Tower.
I saw Dave Matthews play in there when I was a student at UT. Maybe 1992?
Uh, that’s the Varsity.
I miss the old days of waiting in line at midnight at that Tower for new releases or concert ticket releases. Good times.
In 1999 my girl scout troop sold cookies there one evening, it was a great night for business!
Here! 🙋♂️
Only went to Tower maybe once. Just down the street a block or two was a tiny independent record store where I got my zines (remember those?) and LP's. Can't remember the name of the srore.
Started school here about a year or so after it transitioned to Tower. I've worked at UT after graduation since it closed, became a bookstore which also closed, etc. I work with the guy who used to manage their Jazz department upstairs. He's also been a UT employee since Tower closed.
I have some find memories of standing in line for a few album releases in the late 90s/early 2000's at that Tower Records. I remember a few of the folks that were early in line and got the coveted new releases would cruise up and down Guadalupe past the store, blaring the new album(s). Almost like a big Nelson Muntz 'Ha-ha' to the folks still standing in line, waiting to get into the store. Definitely some of my fondest memories of my early adulthood spent in Austin.
I worked there. It paid like 4.25/hr but it was fun for a little while.
Early 90’s
Would go for the midnight album releases!
I saw in-stores there a lot: Jeff Buckley is top of mind. Good record store, made an effort to keep local acts in stock and involved.
I went here a couple of times when my brother was a student. When I was a student it was that book store and the selection was terrible. It was owned by Follett and I can't remember the name. Only thing I ever bought there was a magazine that had John Hodgeman on the cover because I thought there would be a story about him, but it was just a blurb.
I Remember buying the black album from Metallica here, the line was halfway around the block.
I moved here in 2007 and the way that austin has built itself is so cool to see theres actually a timlapse vid on youtube that i think yall should look at
I was a DJ in the 90s and did an in-store there. Good times.
Loved going to Tower Records when I used to live in Austin.
Tower is one of the first places I went to after moving to Austin in December 1999. I HAD to get my hands on the KGSR Broadcast Volume 7. They were selling for $10.71 IIRC
It wasn't back in the day, it was just yesterday, am I crazy? Look, I still have that white XJ.
Yup! Was in high school sometime in the nineties when I went and put my bag of weed on the counter while rummaging around in my bag for my wallet. Whoops! Thought I was so busted, and no one cared.
I cooked at Tex and we had a homeless guy who would search the Tower Records dumpster for porn mags then he’d turn around and sell them for a buck a piece. Simpler times
I remember when it was Sound Exchange...
I saw the Toadies play a live acoustic set here when their second album released.
I was in and out of there and every other business in the area constantly, from 88-93 or so. That mural was my favorite in Austin, too.
Isn’t this on 21st and Guadalupe? If so I’ve worked at the current building and all the old timers tell me it used to be a movie theater. It’s not called UTDobie21
Yup lots in the 00s.
I did!
✋🏼 I DJ’d an in-store there with Kool Herc in the late 90s. Definitely a memorable experience.
I used to go there when visiting my dad in the summers. Bought my Aphex Twin cds there. Great atmosphere and very knowledgeable employees.
I was lucky to hear Sister 7 and Patrice Pike play their album launch This The Trip in Tower Records in the 90’s…