Music man

Eric Jacobson has been manager at Recycled Records for 12 and a half years. He’s worked for the stores for more than 15 years. With that kind of longevity, he has to be more than just a punch in/punch out kind of guy. We caught up with Eric as he peeled a banana behind the counter at the UNR Recycled Records, 812 N. Virginia St.

What kind of music are people buying these days?

[Mostly they’re listening to a] lot of modern music that is pretty mediocre. Also classic stuff, Beatles, Pink Floyd. That stuff always moves.

Do you get a lot of those?

Not nearly as much as I wish we could.

How does a typical deal work when people want to unload their bookcases?

It just depends. If it’s really good stuff in really good shape, it’s generally 2 for 1 for comparable stuff. We often find that things are really scratched up, or there are a lot of titles that we have a lot of. It really depends.

What kind of people do you generally run into here?

Everybody.

This isn’t just a stop for students who want to save some money?

I’m at the big store most of the time. But at both stores, we cater to everyone from 5 years old to 95 years old; the gamut is unbelievable.

What else do you sell here besides music?

Movies. A lot of movies. We sell a lot of DVDs and videos at both stores.

I didn’t know that.

Primarly, it’s movies and music, all formats of both.

What do you never see talked about in newspapers that you think should be talked about in newspapers?

I would get all political, but I’d better not.

Feel free.

Actually, more attention should be paid to alternative styles and types of music as well as films. Definitely, I’d like to see more independent makers of film get more exposure in any newspaper, especially Reno.

How do keep your knowledge updated on that kind of stuff?

Friends. The Internet. There’s a Web site called StonerRock.com. There are amazing rock bands that nobody knows about that you can find on this Web site. There are some bands from Sweden and even California that nobody knows about, and the [bands] play the most amazing music, but people listen to this crap on the radio—Nickelback and Creed and all that stuff that sounds exactly the same as each other, while there are these other bands that get no exposure whatsoever.

What are you going to have for lunch?

Probably Jimboys. Jimboys Tacos is a standard when you work here. It’s a good one.

The banana is just for show?

The banana is my breakfast.