Where were you when your favorite artist put out their last record that you just had to have? Probably at your computer, on your phone, on iTunes, on Spotify. At home. In class. Well, from 1960 to 2000, the place to get that must-have album was none other than Tower Records.

Until the mp3 took hold of the music industry, everyone was stepping into that red and yellow paradise of vinyl and CD. "All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records," directed by Colin Hanks and produced by Sean Stewart, captures every gritty, lovable second of the magic that was the Tower Records experience.

I’ve never been to Tower Records, although my parents have talked endlessly about this store and what it meant for their generation. At 20 years old, I think I actually missed the boat on this whole “record store” thing. But everything about Hanks’ filmmaking placed me squarely in the middle of a Tower Records store just as my parents remember it.

Although Tower Records saw consistent growth until the turn of the century, every year was a rollercoaster—founder Russell Solomon even refers to the whole company as one big experiment. The film makes incredible ease of the constant shifts in tone and attitude played out by every interviewee, and retains a healthy pace throughout the emotional ride.

Extensive interviews from a variety of perspectives on the company—including Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl and Russ Solomon himself—weave us through Tower’s beginnings in Sacramento to its downfall in 2006. These interviews are the ultimate insider look at what made Tower tick, right down to raw, sentimental reflections on why Tower was of personal significance to each individual. Hanks’ film smartly plays each interview off another to leave no stone unturned, and no bias unassumed. It is vividly apparent that these people understand what rock and roll through the 20th century was all about: they lived it every day, and the doc portrays that unique social factor in music that Tower fostered throughout its life; artists and listeners could interact with the music and each other in a physical space.

Bruce Springsteen reminisces, “[Tower Records] was the place where your dreams meet the listener. That’s where the final connection was made—that audience you dreamt of is walking through the door right now. And you can stand there and watch that happen: there are your listeners.”

And ultimately, that’s what producer Sean Stuart believes this film—and Tower Records—was all about: “The film, really at its core,” Stuart shares, “is about human beings and about relationships and about loving something.” 

At the end of the day, Tower is gone—and we can be sad about that (it’s hard not to be), but Russ Solomon remarks, “…that’s the past. There’s no way you can change that. Let’s think about what to do in the future.” Russ’s low, tired, yet calming delivery (consistent, and entrancing throughout the film) now turns the mind from what was, to what can be.

The message is clear: Tower was a lot of fun, and it means the world to a lot of people. But tomorrow is all we have to look forward to, and the question remains: if Tower Records was people, love, and relationships as the heart of music, then what form will these ideas take in a new, digitized world that is, arguably, still in its infancy? That’s a big question for another conversation—but look how thought provoking this documentary was for me. I think you’ll enjoy it just as much.

No music, no life.

"All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records" opens in theaters Oct. 16. Watch the trailer below.

Reach Staff Reporter Carson Beck here.