Damn the Man, Save the Empire!
I have very fond memories of the 1990s: it was the decade of Generation X, grunge rock and Ally McBeal; it was the decade where everyone was in love with Winona Ryder, and – a little bit later – Leonardo DiCaprio, when tribal tattoos, Doc Martens boots and flannel shirts were the shit and when MTV still played actual music videos.
It was a simpler time when not everyone was glued to their mobile phones yet, and calling your crush at home (possibly from a public phone booth, gasp!) made you sweat because what if it was their parents picking up the phone?!
The 90s also gave us a bunch of great movies. Many of them still make my all-time favourite list today. “Reality Bites,” “William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet,” “Singles,” “Before Sunrise” and “Ten Things I Hate About You” are only a few that still hold a special place in my heart.
And then, there’s “Empire Records.”
The coming-of-age comedy-drama “Empire Records” was released in movie theatres in September 1995 – and it was a complete disaster. Largely panned by critics, it only made $150,800 on its opening weekend and quickly vanished from the big screen again (for more background on what actually happened, I have found a nice explainer video on YouTube.)
At the time, I was living in Toyko, Japan. Going to the movies was expensive, as was everything else in this wonderful city, but it was okay: I had a member’s card for the video rental store next to the train station close to where we lived. I remember spending hours in that video store, browsing and looking for interesting titles. Since I couldn’t read Japanese, my trips to the store often felt like an adventure. A lot of times, I’d choose movies – which, in the 1990s, still came in the form of VHS tapes – because I liked the cover.
“Empire Records” was one of those random picks (besides the Empire crew, the cover also featured a cute little dog wearing headphones, but unfortunately the dog is nowhere to be seen in the movie). I didn’t know what to expect when I pressed “play” on our VHS player at home, but I certainly didn’t think that this film would be the fun, wild ride that it was, and that I’d still be quoting lines by the quirky and lovable main characters 25 years later. (“I don’t feel like I need to explain my art to you”, “This music is the glue of the world. It’s what holds it all together. Without this, life would be meaningless”, and “I am guided by a force much greater than luck” immediately come to mind.)
I have watched this movie countless times over the years. Even my sister knows some of the dialogue by heart. At some point, I decided to purchase the VHS because it wasn’t feasible anymore to rent it every other weekend. The plot is simple: “Empire Records”, an independent music store in Delaware, is under threat of being acquired by a big chain. Empire’s tight-knit group of employees, all of them misfits in their own way, and their manager Joe try to save their beloved workplace while also dealing with personal issues.
You will see a lot of familiar faces in “Empire Records” – Renée Zellweger, Liv Tyler and Robin Tunney were still relatively unknown when they were cast in this film, moving on to bigger projects afterwards and, in some cases, Hollywood stardom.
Even though it flopped heavily at the box office, the film has gained cult status in the years that followed, and I’m happy and somewhat proud to admit that I’ve been there from the start. Looking for reasons why this movie means so much to me (and so many others), there are some that are obvious: “Empire Records” is a love letter to music, or, to be more precise, to 90s alt-rock, which remains right down my alley. The kick-ass soundtrack that accompanied the film (and fared much better than the movie itself) is still a staple on my Spotify playlist until today. And for a little while, I was tempted to answer the phone with: “Empire Records, open till midnight, this is Katrin.”
In hindsight, it also is a wonderful snapshot of the mid-1990s, where rebellious teenagers revelled in anti-establishment idealism with the typical naiveté and enthusiasm reserved only to youths. The bond between the Empire gang feels authentic (perhaps because the cast spent three months living together during filming and grew very close): rivalries and different backgrounds aside, at the end of the day, they are a family going through fire and water for one another. Out on the streets, they are misfits looking for their place in this world, but inside the record store, they feel a sense of belonging. Hell, the crew working at “Empire Records” is so cool that even shoplifters are pining for a job there (hey Warren, whose name isn’t fucking Warren!).
And, of course, watching “Empire Records” more than two decades after it was originally released, is a trip down memory lane filled with sweet nostalgia and memories of one’s own youth. Do you still remember the times when we went to a physical music store and actually took the time to discover new music at a listening booth? I do – and I wouldn’t want to have missed this experience for the world. Do you still remember hanging out with your friends on rooftops, singing and dancing? Well, I don’t – but you know what I mean.
That’s all well and good, you may say, but why do people all over the world celebrate Rex Manning Day every year on April 8? Who or what is a Rex Manning? Say no more, mon amour and I’m so glad you asked!
One storyline in the film follows the in-store appearance of Rex Manning, portrayed by Maxwell Caulfield, who visits “Empire Records” for a meet-and-greet with fans and an autograph session. Rex Manning used to be a pop idol in the 1980s but the fame has since started to wear off. However, he clearly refuses to come to terms with the fact that he is, as store employee and major stoner Eddie so aptly puts it, “just a washed-up imposter, man.”
In one scene, we can see a poster at the entrance of the the store that announces Rex’s appearance on “April 8,” which is why “Empire Records” fans have established the tradition to commemorate this day as Rex Manning Day. You can find related memes and gifs all over social media on that day, and often, loyal followers organise film screenings and get-togethers, sometimes with some of the original cast members or creator Carol Heikkinen dropping by as well. I, for one, usually treat myself to re-watching the film and let myself be swept away by a sense of nostalgia, though I would love to attend one of those film screenings one day (any “Empire Records” fans in Berlin? Let’s organise something for 2022! I’m totally down for it!)
Now excuse me, I have a date with my VHS player. Never forget: Damn the man, save the Empire!