A former co-worker gets a case of foot-in-mouth disease!
RECORD STORE TALES Part 35.5: Spoogecakes!
I’m going to take a break from our regularly scheduled program, and respond to a single reader. It’s always great to have new readers here at LeBrain’s Record Store Tales, we’ve had people from all over the world, from Russia to Iceland. Hello!
Still, it came as a surprise to me to get a comment so negative, so full of personal vitriol…yet anonymously!
The comment in question was in regards to Part 35: Due Credit. The submitting email address: bitchingaboutpastemployers@yahoo.com, the pen-name was “Unimpressed”. Normally I wouldn’t publish a hateful anonymous comment, but this one was bizarre and perfect for another Record Store Tale.
Since this person was anonymous, I will dub them with a name so I have someone to refer to: Let’s call he or she “Spoogecakes” [Note added: Her real name is Laura, and she used to have this weird psycho-crush on me back in the day.]
Let’s go!
You are begrudging them for utilizing you where they thought you shined? They wanted you in a position where you were visible to customers first-hand and you sit back and complain?
Dear Spooge: Yes. It’s not “utilizising” someone where they shine. It’s taking advantage of someone in a dead-end job. Nobody wants to stay “visible to customers” in a retail environment forever. That’s like saying to a McDonalds employee “you’re really good at making fries, so we’re going to keep you on the fry station. Forever.” Know of any better ways to kill worker morale?
Record shop employees can have a tremendous influence on customer base and at a time when the internet and websites were not as expected and commonplace as they are now, your employers wanted to maintain your skills as a visible employee.
Spooge, how do you know what my employers wanted?
Just because you did something first does not entitle you to be a sycophantic jackass.
Sycophantic? It’s my fucking story, moron.
It’s called development of ideas and if you did not speak up at the time at what you perceived as slights on your efforts then you are just as much to blame as anyone else. If you wanted to be in the office working in your 30s you should have asked for such work or began the process of finding much more fulfilling employment.
Again, who says I didn’t? What makes you think you would know? In fact, we all did — and we were all made promises that never came to fruition. All kinds of stories. I remember one story about how we’d have 100 stores across the country in 5 years, and how I’d never have to buy another CD from a crackhead ever again.
Second, it’s not called “development of ideas”. It’s taking someone else’s idea, and shutting them out. Period.
You are not a peacemaker. Staying silent and then making public posts like this illuminate a petty passive-aggressiveness that is unattractive and will only fuel your bitterness. It is not peaceful. You are coming up on your 40s and either grow up or shut up at this point. This isn’t High Fidelity and you are not remotely amusing.
How do you know how old I am? And, let me help with your reading skills, Spooge. I never said I AM a peacemaker. I said I WAS a peacemaker. Much like Lester B. Pearson, I ain’t anymore. Give peace a chance? Been there, done that! I’m done holding my tongue. I didn’t at the time, because going with the flow was “better than nothing” as I clearly stated. But, why do you care? What makes you take the time out of your (obviously) busy day to write a three paragraph treatise on staying in dead-end jobs?
Lastly: I’m “not remotely amusing”? Come on! Really? — after all, you read it and felt moved enough to respond.
Sounds to me like Spoogecakes has a sore spot or two. After all, I can’t imagine why a random, anonymous reader would feel so driven to write such a vitriol-filled comment! What Spoogey apparently missed was the part where I said I was proud of what I did all those many years ago.
When one creates something, one should take pride in it. In this case, am I taking pride belatedly. I am very proud of everything I built and created, and nobody — certainly not Spoogey here — can tell me not to. I spent way too many years having people tell me to sit down and not to make any trouble. And here, you’re telling me to “grow up” or “shut up”. Just like the old days!
Grow up? Maybe you clicked the wrong link to your Barry Manilow blog, but this blog is about rock and roll. You can tell by the little guitars going up and down the sides. Rock and roll ain’t about growing up — it’s about permanent youth!
You can’t tell me to “shut up”. In fact, the Record Store Tales are only beginning.
Hugs N’ Kisses,
mikeladano.com 
“If you wanted to be in the office working in your 30s you should have asked for such work or began the process of finding much more fulfilling employment.”
I’m convinced Spoogecake (oh Mikey… sigh) is an angry, resentful idiot. For his/her information Mr. LeBrain is sill in his thirties and just happens to be quite successful in his current “OFFICE” job. So, his/her “advice” is belated.
The comment as a whole gives one the impression that the author is taking a story of what was Mr. LeBrain’s pov of past experiences personally. That is a rather illogical reaction, suggesting the author is the one who needs to “grow up”.
I ask Spoogecake this: Is your life so meaningless, your self-esteem so suppressed that what Mr. LeBrain says somehow impacts your mood? Grudges only hurt those who hold them. LeBrain is writing to entertain, if you see a vendetta in between the lines then you may wish to consider therapy. LeBrain has better things to do then hold grudges or pursue revenge.
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You are still behaving like a petulent child in your response you do realize. Though I do appreciate the moniker. Nothing beats knowing a 40-something fading hair-metaller can still muster up the same originality as 20-something stoners. Kudos sir, I tip my hat to you.
Your original post just reiterates your bitterness about being spineless for years, as evidenced by your admitted acceptance of being treated in disrespectful ways, if you were in fact disrespected.
“Spooge, how do you know what my employers wanted?” Well let’s quote your own post now shall we? ” I was told that my time was “more valuable to us in the store.” “. So how are you interpreting that? Your value as an employee, whom they paid, was greater to them in the store. Were you expecting them to cater to your whims and desires at the detriment to their bank account? If so, you are deluded about retail, or business in general. Unless you rallied and continuously pushed for office work and different responsibilities, then you have noone to blame but yourself. Remaining in a job where you
Business plans change, so bringing up their plans for expansion, or the like is irrelevant at this point.
No, I cannot know for a certainty what your employers wanted, but I am going by what you relay about them. Heaven forbid someone read that comment and think even-handedly about it. Two-sides to every story. I am sure if your employers were given their chance to reply to any of this there would be a different version of it. Don’t presume your readers are automatically going to accept your bitter posts as absolute truth. I do find it amusing my comment is still in moderation but you chose to spend your time and effort making another entire post responding to it. Kind of hypocritical when you are back-handedly trying to push freedom of speech.
As for your age, you made reference to you turning 30 that year in your post and you also made reference to particular years (1995 and 1997), so unless you employ some demented rock’n’roll math, it would put you in your early 40s now. I’m sorry that at least one person who has read your diatribe has some semblance of arithematic skills, mea culpa.
Since when does commenting on ANYTHING in life equate to being amused? If that were the case people such as Lewis Black and Henry Rollins would be out of a media job. You comment on someone’s tv viewing preferences with a great deal of derision but as soon as someone voices any sort of criticism of what you have engaged in as a pasttime it’s off limits?
“Never wanted to raise a stink. So I didn’t. I kept the peace and kept my tongue.”. If you did so then, why feel the need to rehash your bitterness and anger now? What purpose does it possibly serve?
You kept bringing up all the things you did on your own time and all the effort you put in, but you not once spoke of what you did to stand up for yourself and your ideas. You had a job where you were not given free-range of creativity. So what? What entitled you to it? You are writing as if your employers are beholden to you for a newsletter idea. Did you even re-vamp it to be more cost-effective or ask if there were other avenues of such creativity that they would allow you to explore? Own up to your own milquetoast behaviour and move on.
“I felt like my idea had been taken away from me. But, I went along with it, I happily contributed. It was better than nothing.”. So you did nothing and helped out anyway? Just because you have just demonstrated in a public forum that you were spineless doesn’t make you exempt from critique.
You are certainly entitled to keep writing your “tales” and I am not one to stop you. I just feel bad that you cannot get past certain points in your life enough to refrain from such idiocy. I’m sorry that a reader chose not to keep their peace and didn’t bite your tongue about your post. Perhaps you should disable comments if this bothers you so much.
All the best to you and I hope some day you can find peace with yourself in a way that doesn’t require such resentment.
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Whaddabitch!
I’m loving Mr. Ladano’s stories so far. They’re fucking hilarious!! Never worked at a record store myself, but always wanted to.
Not sure what he did to piss on your fire hydrant. Clearly you’ve never gotten over it.
The terms ‘bitter’ and ‘petulant’ are a better description for your essay above.
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I hope that the person who wrote above under the alias “Unimpressed” reads this. My username should speak for itself. I felt so compelled to respond that I took the time to make an account on this site to specifically to say this …..
I have been reading these blogs for awhile now. I find them very interesting. I met Mr. Ladano in the “Record Store Chain” he writes about in I think somewhere during 2001 (Anyone who knows him obviously knows what” Record Store Chain” I speak of). A “Record Store Chain” I actually spent money in 3 days ago. And honestly its a place I have had nothing but good experiences in. I actually found the articles more interesting, mostly because I was a customer and also just a fan of music in general.
I can only assume, considering the content and the ignorant tone of it, that what I read above came from someone within that “Record Store Chain”. What is so ironic to me is that before now, if anything, I found that Mr. Ladano’s Record Store Tales gave me even more of an appreciation for the above un-mentioned organization. I even went and read back some of the Tales after reading Unimpressed’s rant and I find them to be simply “genuine” commentaries and more playful than anything. Polar opposite to the self-righteous and mean-spirited dribble I just read above.
Earlier I said that my username should speak for itself. Probably a little harsh and unfair to be honest. But come on. Having had many converstations with Mr. Ladano, i must say he seems as “genuine” (mentioned earlier) as i found his stories to be. I know other people who know him as well, and I have literally never heard anyone speak badly of him. Mr. or Mrs. Unimpressed has represented this “Record Store Chain” with very mean and ignorant written words. Hmmm .. and suddenly I realize that there truly are other options in this area to spend my money on music and DVD’s. So i hope that other “representatives” of the aforementioned “Record Store Chain” are embarrassed at the opinions expressed above by Unimpressed. You really should be.
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Wanna know what’s really funny? Unimpressed / Laura had the chance to say all of this to my face a week and a half ago. Instead, she chose to say nothing.
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Which is ironic considering that she claims that you are spineless, yet she she hid under the anonymity of the internet and says things to you electronically that she doesn’t have the nerve to say in person. There is really only one reason why Spoogecakes would be this upset. She sees that you have moved on to bigger and better things (while still in your 30’s btw – not quite in your 40’s yet), yet she’s most likely still stuck at the record store in a dead-end job. Haven’t you noticed? Record and video stores are all going out of business. She’ll be out of a job soon and wants to rain on your parade.
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I just want to say one thing, and then I’ll drop this. I appreciate the support of the writers above. nolongeracustomer, I didn’t recognize your email address so I am not sure who you are (sorry) but I do want to say one thing to you specifically.
Spoogecakes/Laura/Unimpressed does not represent the music store in question. I spoke to the owner of these stores myself, on the telephone, when I started this blog. He had no complaints that he registered. As far as I am concerned, do not let this one individual with an (obviously) personal vendetta shade your opinion of the stores in question.
Again I appreciate all your support and kind words, but don’t let this one individual ruin your music shopping experience.
Mike aka “LeBrain”.
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mmmm, milk toast…
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