For more than three decades, Melody Record Shop has sold music in Dupont Circle. But now it's time for Melody's swan song. The record store is going out of business.

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Manager Charley Manning knows his career is about to end. He's worked here since the heyday of the Clash in the 70's. He says the independent record shop couldn't compete with hard times and innovation.

“It's sort of like attending a funeral that doesn't end,” he says.

Melody's owner, Jack Menase, believes soon the mom and pop music shop will vanish altogether.

“We became friends with most of our customers it will be sad to lose that feeling that communication,” Menase says.

It's a bad time for Washington-area retail institutions. The Georgetown Barnes & Noble book store just closed. Penn camera, a venerable chain with almost sixty years of business in the Washington area, is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

“It's the internet in my opinion,” says David Wasserman, a Penn Camera staffer. “People are willing to go on line save a couple dollars for money for them.”

At Melody Record Shop, some regulars stopped in to browse through the discounted merchandise - something they doubt they'll be doing in the future.

There's no exact date on when the shop will close. It depends in part on how long the inventory lasts.

“It's pretty sad the industry of selling movies and records is going down unfortunately everywhere,” says Jake Smith, a customer.