May 16 is really going to suck for the young artistic class of Santa Fe. Not only does the College of Santa Fe celebrate its final graduation as a private school but The Candyman, the only indie music store in town, shuts its doors.

Not only have I spent hundreds of dollars on records at The Candyman over the last few years but I’ve also earned a few bucks working there on the side, doing inventories, ringing up customers, etc. It’s been the kind of place where, on a bad day, I can just hang out.

Things haven’t been going so well for Santa Fe’s only indie record store for some time. Of course all the music pirates have made selling CDs difficult but the store’s vinyl and classical sections helped bring people in the doors. The economy tanking hasn’t helped either but it was the death earlier this year of owner Matthew Schartzman that made going forward nearly impossible.

But, while The Candyman will be selling off its inventory of CDs, DVDs and high end televisions local musicians can be assured that the other half of the business, Strings and Things, is staying strong. Longtime employee Rand Cook is set to take over and, if all goes well, expand the musical instruments part of the shop.

The sale begins on Wednesday and the store closes its doors on May 16.

Here is perhaps the most surprising finding from a new survey of what teenagers want from online news: “BEWARE OF TOO MUCH SCROLLING AND CLICKING.”

“I don’t know if it is just me, but scrolling down a bunch of information is more overwhelming to me,” says William, 18.

“I don’t really want to click on things,” says Maria, 14.

So much for the internet. Scrolling and clicking are out. That leaves…reading? No.

“They fuzz out when confronted with long, uninterrupted blocks of text,” the survey says. “They don’t seem to be able to absorb information or become interested in it unless it’s broken up and illustrated.”

OK, got it: Pictures are good. Happy pictures.

“Teens can find the very subjects of the news stressful. News of crimes and wars makes them feel unsafe. News about the economy and the environment worries them.”

If “the news is too time-consuming, difficult or unpleasant, it’s not worth the effort.”

We feel that. Why bother trying to “get” anything? It’s a lot of work.

“Understanding the news is not always easy for them… [M]ost news stories and sites assume users possess a certain background of orienting knowledge about issues, players and history – knowledge many teens don’t have…

“They don’t want to ‘follow the news.’ That would mean mastering daily ins and outs of a variety of news stories, which requires more background, time and interest than they have.”

The news site of the future? It’s already here. See it after the cut. (Sorry, you’ll have to click.)

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