Etcetera Music

Tishma

Nazneen, Hollywood, Rapa, Rifles, Eastern Plaza, Rainbow, Snigdha and so on. Thrilling places indeed to drop in every time the urge to sample the latest chart-toppers. Music enthusiasts around Dhaka city have the drill down pat. Yet, the same old routine can become downright monotonous. For those interested in a refreshing change of scenery, there is, fortunately, a new location to resort to. Despite a low-profile inauguration last Saturday, the latest CD store in town has already gathered quite a following by word-of-mouth alone. Even if, currently, that following may primarily consist of the bookstore Etcetera's clientele.

The latest venture from Etcetera Bangladesh (Pvt.) Ltd., the team that launched Etcetera, one of Dhaka city's big bookstores, have taken matters a step further by initiating the project temporarily dubbed 'Etcetera Music' a name that may well stick. The located at the same venue as Etcetera books on Gulshan Avenue.

Whether or not Etcetera Music lives up to expectations is
merely a matter of time, it must be affirmed that it has shown impressive signs of novelty and innovation as compared to the usual CD stores of Dhaka city. For starters, the interior décor, splashed in vibrant shades of red, blue and yellow, is moulded in a style strikingly similar to that of music stores abroad. The layout is complete with CD's arranged in wall-to-wall shelves labelled with the appropriate genres, muted lighting as opposed to the harsh glare of fluorescent illumination that is the hallmark of most local CD stores, and posters of artists plastered on all remaining patches of wall. Iron Maiden, Jim Morrison, Guns n Roses, The Scorpions, and The Doors are among just a few of the artists gazing imposingly down at shoppers from the walls, alongside movie posters. Etcetera Music has also pioneered the CD-preview-via-headphones system in Dhaka for the first time.

Etcetera--the latest CD store in town.

The CD collection spans a reasonably commendable range, given that it merely comprised the first-ever supplies of the stock. For a freshly instituted CD store, includes not just the latest arrivals on the music scene and old classics, but also several specimens of relatively obscure alternative bands, and rare, hard-to-find albums (such as Vanessa Mae's debut, 'The Violin Player'). You name it, they just may have it -- well, stocking Simon&Garfunkel and Cyndi Lauper's earliest albums is not too bad as a starting point -- or you may get it for you by order if it isn't already there. Etcetera Music is also
planning to take personal orders from customers.

The 'New Releases' rack displays the most recent in movies and music, including 2 Fast 2 Furious, Bringing Down The House, How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days, Terminator 3 and assorted Indian DVD's. The two 'Pop Music' shelves house literally everything from Madonna to Robbie Williams to ex-Spice Girl Victoria Beckham. The 'Rock Music' shelves flaunt acts ranging from seasoned rock royalty Dream Theatre, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Queen, AC/DC, Dio, the Scorpions, Pearl Jam, No Doubt, Bon Jovi, to hopeful newbies Incubus, Creed, Mel C, Nickelback and the flavour of the month, Busted, as well as compilation albums such as Rock 2002. The Folk & Country shelf is well stacked with old and latest favourites. The Hip-hop/R&B category is also quite good. The Music DVD's counter holds titles such as Tina Turner, Meat Loaf, The Doors, Norah Jones Live In New Orleans, and multitudes of official soundtracks. Apart from these, special racks have been allocated to Bangla and Indian CD's as well. Latest computer games and movies on DVD and VCD are sure to be prime attractions.

'The response has been quite good, even though we haven't created much hype, or even advertised, the store as yet,' disclosed Fida Hossain, Marketing-In-Charge, Etcetera Bangladesh. With its modern layout and impressive collection Etcetera Music may just be on its way to becoming a leading music store in our city.