Atomic Records, a mainstay of Milwaukee music, is closing…. and it makes us sad. Not just us, but pretty much anyone who loves music, and has been a customer some time in the past 24 years. For many of us, who first went there in the early years, it was the way we got music. (There was Ear Waves, Atomic Records, and Rush-Mor… and soon just Rush-Mor will be left.)
I started going to UWM in 1987, and it seemed like a weekly occurrence to walk down to Atomic and see what was going on… what fliers were up, what zines where out, what records we could find. Yeah, records… on vinyl… or tapes, lots of tapes from local bands, or 7″s from punk bands from wherever… you get the idea.
So it’s with great sadness we say goodbye to Atomic. (I tried to save them, really I did…) I’m sure if I go through my collection of vinyl, tapes, and even CD’s I would find a good amount that I got from Atomic Records. It’s weird, but I even remember specific events, like seeing about John Makay (teenage runaway from high-school) right across the street when everyone we knew thought he was in California or something… or the time Scott Schoenbeck saw me there, but didn’t know it was me cuz I was wearing blue jeans or something weird like that… Just crazy stuff that doesn’t mean much, except to me.
Atomic, we will miss you… you played an important part of my life, and the lives of many in Milwaukee (and surrounding areas where there were no record stores) when we needed it… Thanks!
