Hooked: Forward is backward

I mentioned during the show review earlier this week that I had stumbled upon a record store while exploring the neighborhood around Black Cat. I thought I’d take an opportunity to talk about Hooked, a cool little store in downtown Fredericksburg, across from Hyperion.

Every time I go into Hooked, which used to be Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, I marvel at the selection and end up buying nothing. That says more about me and my choices than about the store itself. There are some interesting contradictions at work here.

I think I like where the store is positioning itself culturally. Some things you can buy at the store include records (vinyl of course), including the latest Pere Ubu album; Crosley Cruiser briefcase-style portable turntables (they will even play 78 rpm records!), vintage clothing, and sunglasses. They have a whole section of Impossible Project instant cameras and film, and another whole section of vintage video game cartridges and systems (mainly NES and SNES, it looked like).

I love the idea of a store that plants itself in firm rejection of technological futurism, and basically stops the clock 20+ years in the past. It’s kind of reminiscent of the Steampunk movement, but less artsy and more hands-on practical.

Practical for their demographic, I should say. I can’t currently justify buying anything in the store, but golly, it’s fun to shop there.