record_store raze every other album here is just a scuffed jacket with no spinning piece of polyvinyl chloride inside. there are pointillist paintings of a massachusetts-born man and too many unsmiling adult faces where a wide-eyed child actor should be. there's a pressing of "marquee moon" you aren't sure you want to take a chance on. you've been burned too many times before. there are bootlegs and square pegs with no holes to hammer themselves into. so many stolen songs to sift through. you lose your shirt and lie down on a bed of paperboard, hoping to warp the wax beneath your wings. you leave without buying anything. 260529 ... releaseofwarmth (you may borrow my copy of marquee moon any time you like. I promise it's pristine.) 260529 ... raze (you, my friend, are a prince among men.) 260529 ... warmthofrelease "Have to be good today, have to be good," as I walked in budget-minded. It's so easy to get in trouble here. I need to set boundaries for myself. Today the boundary is the threshold between the two rooms of the store. I'm not going left today. The used stacks, unsleeved, sitting in crates below the general pop/rock/amalgamut section of used CDs. That's where the stack of must-haves inevitably pile up in my finite arms. I have to turn a blind eye to those treasures today. I'm staying in the right room with the sealed records at scalp prices and the slightly-more-genre-specific new and used CDs. Where it's so much easier to be frugal by way of survival. Why in the world would anyone pay 72 U.S. dollars for this new reissue of Wheels of Fire? Well, most likely because they haven't been a constant consumer in the market and they don't know the difference between a fair price and a scam. Which is exactly what this room preys on. The business is looking for the 1 in 100 customer who would overpay. And I'm looking for the 1 in 1000 album in this room that I want and can get at a fair price. Start along the far wall. Mosey past the shirts, concert DVDs, rarity shelves (again, sorry Miles but I have no reason to give 56 bucks for Bitches Brew I don't care where it was pressed) the modest shelf of 8-tracks that I pass respectfully like a memorial cemetery, onto metal. Nothing doing here, as expected. Sepeltura? Not for that price. Baroness? I guess not. I put down the same copy of Anthems for the Welkin at Dusk that I had picked up several times. Someone will buy that some day and I'm sad that it probably won't be me. Nothing enticing in the used stacks. Onward. Wrap around at the corner, along the partition wall. No offense but today I'm not even sifting through country. Wasted enough time there, not a well-maintained section. Just a holding cell for some Hank and Reba records burning a hole through their pockets. On to jazz. Sonny Rollins at Village Vanguard. It's so fantastic but again I'm not paying that. Bird, no. Monk, well. There's this 4 albums on 2 CDs package. Used, under 10. Might be worth it. Into my arms. No good Mingus. I guess the secret's out, everyone seems to be buying the Mingus classics. Hancock? Glanced at The New Standard. It's on the list but not today. Have to prioritize. Dexter Gordon? I finally bought that copy of Homecoming last time I was here. I picked up that same used copy of Ballads and put it back down. Again fearing that someone else will take it before I do. No Keith Jarrett. I make a courtesy skim over the blues section and find nothing. Sealed vinyl is simply not the environment for blues finds. Steeling myself, looping and U-turning to the center of the room, and into the sealed rock CDs. I fully expected this would be the day that I couldn't not pay for Eno's Warm Jets. It wasn't there. Later in the sealed vinyl as I flipped past Ambient and Another Green and Bush of Ghosts it felt like playing russian_roulette. That I would eventually find what I was looking for and feel compelled, forced, to pay a bad price for it. But they simply didn't have it. A disappointment and a relief. Someone picked up that Reason in Decline CD from the undersized tray as well. Didn't expect that to be gone but it also doesn't mean I'm paying exorbitantly for White Trash Heroes nor Icky Mettle. A few Bauhaus CDs tempting me, but no. I really ought to own Abraxas. And that's a good price. But I know there's just no way it's getting over the finish line today. Sorry Carlos. Onto what is by far the most intimidating section both for enticing selection and horrendous pricing. The section unhelpfully titled "indie" music. Almost none of which was produced and distributed independently. And then general Rock after that. I'm grateful I got through The Mountain Goats. 1 I already had 1 I didn't need and 1 I genuinely don't like. Kelly Lee Owens was mighty tempting. So was TV on the Radio, Queens ot Stone Age, and particularly Transistor Radio. At a fair price too. M Ward was definitely one of the most painful to put back today. Roxy Music tried to get revenge for Eno but it didn't work. Springsteen had some good lookins, my inherited copy of The River is so badly damaged and I will replace it one day. Tom Waits I couldn't ignore you. Heartattack and Vine. Again, some day I will. At this point on this swirly stormy spring day my allergies still weren't taking it easy on me and I could feel my bladder starting to swell so I didn't even give Neil and Zappa a cursory glance. Sorry guys you know I love you. I had already pretty much resigned myself to putting back Monk. But I had picked up the Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory record that came out last year. I still have the library's copy in my closet, long past overdue. I think it's brilliant and that Sharon's new band has the potential to be one of the absolute best bands of this generation. But it was one of the last things I had to put back. Most painfully of all was having to put back Ghost Tropic, which remains with Warm Jets towards the top of the short list and among the albums that I have picked up and put down most frequently at this store. It won't be too many more visits before I get that one I'm pretty sure. There was also Lambchop's masterpiece Is a Woman. Again at a good price. It's an inevitability that it will be on my shelf eventually. But I do have the CD and so was able to rationalize it as my last putback. What I actually got was this. A very minimal haul, I really did stay disciplined. But I knew well before I came in that I had to have Big_Thief - Capacity at basically any price. The very top of the list. And I did buy it, at a not great but not terrible price. It is already immediately one of the most treasured pieces of my collection. Side 2 of that record will haunt me forever in the best way. I also made one of my reparations. All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone is my favorite Explosions in the Sky record. I know for a fact that over a decade ago I owned the record. Distinctly remember listening to it in the room I was renting out of an old upstairs apartment. But I guess I must have foolishly sold it or traded it somewhere along the way. This copy had some visible wear and tear in the corner of the jacket. But one doesn't listen to the album art and this will not reside in a display case. And it just feels right that I have to pay some sort of penance for the crime of ever having parted with the record. That my 2nd chance comes with some damage. It also knocked enough off the price that it made the decision easy. Finally I picked up a used CD copy of what is secretly the best music Trent Reznor ever made. The Ghosts I-IV project, at a ridiculously low price. For something so insanely overlooked and undervalued, yes I will be the one to step up and pay an offensively low price for it. A good good haul. More notes in my pocket for the future, more gems on my shelf for the present, more restitution for the past. It was all too obvious that I needed to scratch this itch. Even with my face running and having been awake for 17 hours and being dragged out of the lake and into a lunch with friends that I didn't know about until it was happening. In spite of it all I admit it. I walked into the lion's den, the absolute trap for my soul that is my favorite local record store. And I did good. Real good. 260617 ... warmthofrelease Afterthoughts: there was some weird Fahey stuff too? I think John has had more of his obscure demo/live/"bonus disc" material contorted into a separate release than Jimi and Cobain combined. I also made a deliberate mistake. It's a common practice to choose to lump in solo material with full band/former band material, so that people looking for one thing could stumble upon the other. This breaks the standard of alphebatization but it can help the shopper. I took Lenker's Bright Future from the L section over to the front of the Big Theif tab. The risk that I run is that someone might go looking for that record in L and not find it. But I also run the risk of putting it in the way of someone who's heard of BT and kinda likes them and didn't know she had a solo career. And maybe the person looking for Adrianne in L will also look at BT records. Where I was NOT helpful was in discovering a Grieg symphony in the jazz records. Could've endeavored to put it where it belongs. Or at least bring it to the attention of the shepherds, I mean the staff. But I decided there were not_enough_fucks_for_anyone_to_give, let alone me. I did listen to the BT when I got home. Of course I did. But I listened to Sharon later. "Somethin Ain't Right" is so fucking good I'm actually smitten. I am blushing and biting my lips to stifle my grin just thinking about it. "The Attachment Theory" was anything more apropos, be_still_my_heart. I could go back for them. I was good yesterday. I could be bad today. If I wanted to. It's only just on the other side of town... 260618 ... warmthofrelease Alright, so let's go to the other one then! My second favorite. It's a bad day and I'm cashing in on the right that I reserve to feel sorry for myself and to surround myself with the only thing I truly love. I didn't really want to deal with people, particularly not crowds and definitely not for the sake of the tourist trap extra scalped non-bargains that they keep on the main floor. So my plan was to head for the basement immediately. But when I opened the door I was not greeted by a person. A medium sized very docile very quiet brown eyed white haired dog was sitting in the entrance, looking up at me. From my untrained eye it seemed like some kind of husky or retriever or a mix. I'm probably way off. "Hi buddy! Are you my friend? Here, smell my fingers." (snuff snuff snuff, without saying a word). I start giving little head pets and the dog pushes its snoot over to the side where my hand is, still not done with the snuffs. "Yeeeeeah, you're good. Alright." I give a few okay_I'm_done_now pats. The upstairs is playing some very generic and uninspired sounding grungy garage. Maybe on another day I would be in the mood, but today this sounds like some shit that's catering to people who like shitty fucking weather like today's. I can't get downstairs quick enough. From hardwood, to the slip-resistant stairs, down to the carpeted basement. There's an old 3-foot standup Crosley radio minding its own business next to a long display case along the wall. Some nice memorabilia here. Nothing particularly rare or valuable, but just some nice portraits and signed lithographs. Freddie_King and James_Brown and Moose_Jackson and Hank_Perry. I can already feel some comfort settling into me as I settle into the room. On the opposite wall, 3 bookcases forming 3 edges of a square to make a book nook. This used to be where most of the non-musical literature was held. Here, and on the other side of the bookcases with a few more shelves. Now the entire wall on that other side has completely full bookshelves built in. Small little cubby-hole style square shelves, about eye level, all the way down. The corner of my eye does pick up a few things. Henry_James and Raymond_Carver, nice nice. The only awkward thing is that there is, almost definitely by design, nowhere to sit down here. At least twice an hour there's an employee that makes their way down here, either to put something away or find something or simply make the rounds and make sure nothing shady is going on in the store. I guess that includes loitering or lounging. Despite the books clearly inviting one to do just that. Still, it's such a great comfort to simply have them down here. Even though they're not what I'm here for. They add so much to the environment by merely existing. As does the separate music that gets played down here. Much more mellow, probably by design. Rather than the more active start-stop-not that one-try this instead approach from the employees that control the music upstairs, down here they play it more safe and more calm. A stack of 6 CDs sit next to a 6-CD changer set to shuffle. At the moment it's Dave_Brubeck. This is much more my cup of tea on this day. Along the wall that connects all the books to this little counter where the music is coming from, there's more literature. Upright rectangular boxes of old music magazines. An October 1995 edition of Mojo Magazine, its cover paying tribute to Jerry_Garcia. These are also new since the last time I've been here. Who do I gotta marry fuck or kill to get a chair down here? Past the magazines the CDs begin. The crooners, then classical, then local bands. Sure I make a little pass. Just in an order-of-operations way of getting things started. I don't find anything and I don't expect to. So I turn around, and start to dig my teeth into the section that somehow always gets me into the most trouble at this particular store. The sealed jazz vinyl. The selection has been so consistently good! Every damn time I'm here. Some nice Coltrane. Both with and without Miles. But not nice enough for the price. Since when does Nels Cline have a jazz record? I guess I'll take your word for it. Oooh, Undercurrent. God I want it. But even half that price would be cause for pause. They do have the newest Bill_Frisell, haven't heard it but even if it was his best it's not worth that much. Gordon, I put down Paris at roughly the exact same square foot on Earth where I picked up and soon thereafter purchased Go. And I put Paris back down for the same reason I did last time. I have the CD. Which is not a good enough reason to not buy the vinyl in principle, but it's a good enough reason this time. Again. Jim_Hall Jazz_Guitar. Yep. Need to at least consider this one. And oh, Takin' Off too. That's almost definitely Hancock's best bop record. But I know I'm already in deep water so it and I will both have to wait. Some nice Mingus. Really (wince) nice. I can't overpay for Blues & Roots or Mingus x5. But I could totally pay that price for Tijuana_Moods though! East_Coasting looking mighty tempting as well. But slow down. This is an increasingly steep grade with an increasingly heavy load. But Monk won't let me slow down! Plays Duke is at the same price that I just looked at Mingus and Hall and Hancock. So how do I say no? Paul Motian I can't even look at you right now I'm sorry I'm dying here. Wes, Oscar, I just can't guys. Aaaaaand there's Quintet at Massey. Fuck. That's the one. That is definitely the one. Above the stacks, a feature catches my eye. It's a beautiful looking Sonny_Rollins box set from the 59 Euro tour. One of 5000 copies pressed. I just want to look it over for a little while. Nina_Simone you're awesome but I just can't. I'm so grateful my roommate already has a copy of Milton + Esperanza or I might have been pulled into that as well. And Kamasi Washington you positively seductive devil. Once again it's truly good for me that the price for a sealed copy of Epic is so ludicrous. I move over to the used jazz vinyl with the thorn of my own passion still in my side. By now the stereo has shifted to Joni. I didn't even know it was a Blue kind of day, but I guess it is now. No, it always was and I'm only just realizing. What a great comfort in the dark she can be. Wait, a random session of Verve recordings from the 50s with Pres Teddy and Oscar for 5 bucks? I just can't imagine regretting that. A whole lot of Art Blakey. A bit more Monk. Ron_Carter you are the man, Coleman you too, but I have to pick up the pace a little. Aaaaaaahhhhh Johnny_Hodges, probably my favorite alto player ever. But I just can't. Andre Previn??? What are you doing over here? Yeah you're probably the greatest Gershwin interpreter ever apart from George himself and arguably Bernstein. But you are definitely a classical guy who ended up in jazz somehow. Right? Honestly not too egregious though. But wait. These are original compositions. Were you secretly a jazz cat this whole time? And will I pay 10 dollars to find out? Nah. Btu I will make a note of it. More research required. So much Sonny Stitt but no way, not on a day like this. Big Joe Turner in the building! Should probably be over in blues but that's alright. Eddie Cleanhead, the obligatory obscure and overpriced Sarah Vaughan records, a little more Pres...ok I think we're finally done here thank god. Gonna bleed out here. I've avoided the long long wells of 2 dollar unsleeved used classics for so so long. Never have properly flipped through it all. Call me cynical but I just feel like the yield would be either too little or too much for the time required. A few records peeking out from the edges, just_enough_to_guilt_trip_me. A Quarterflash record that I'm sure my dad would enjoy. A Liz Story record that I already own, inherited from my Windham Hill loving relatives. But I ultimately turn away. I can't understand why there's a tiny separate section for big band and swing, but alright. Some Eddie Condon, Benny Carter, Jimmy Dorsey is here but no word from Tommy, oh wait there he is, a Charlie Ventura record...okay. I really can't understand why this isn't just in with the rest of the jazz. But whatever. Next is "Reggae and World" pfft you'd think that would cover a lot of ground but not really. Not here anyway. I just simplify my life and go straight to Fela Kuti. They have that 2-disc Best of the Black President comp that I borrowed from the library once. A reasonably good batch of songs but nowhere near a complete collection, and I'm really just looking for the original albums anyway. Apart from that, several from Bob and more than several from Ziggy, and one Eddy Grant CD that does not have Electric Ave on it. Pretty sure he hates that song. Onto Americana. Even more weird Fahey stuff, manIdon'geditman. Some JJ Walker, Glen Campbell, nah. Any Gillian Welch? Nope, or at least not here. Maybe she's in another section. They have that record of Lucinda doing Beatles covers. I love the both of them so much that I'm afraid to give it a try. A lover would understand. I don't really want to go upstairs per se. But apart from the cheapies there's nothing else left to do down here. I pass the record player on the little mounted stand. There used to be a note attached saying to not mess with any of the knobs and settings for the turntable if you don't know what the fuck you're doing. Now there's a sign on it that says to use the turntable and headphones upstairs. This one might or might not be plugged in. But I'm pretty sure it's only used by staff and by those cool enough to get away with it. On my way to the other staircase on the opposite side of the room (I always loved the shotgun-duplex hybrid setup of 2 long vertically stacked rooms with 2 ways up or down) I pass by some more memorabilia. Concert posters, 45 sleeves, Iggy Pop's uninnocent face grinning at me. And on the floor, a few cheap record crates. They seem hand built, literally just a few 2-inch planks of wood staplegunned together. 30 bucks apiece. Seriously, what kind of a sucker... As I come up to the main floor landing there's a shelf of album art puzzles. A 500-p of Exile on Main Street. Cute. Into the main room, there are some milk crates on the floor in the corner with seemingly unorganized VHS tapes and DVDs. Handled by ownership like they were meant to be ignored by all but the most niche or the most bored of customers. Holy shit did they ever expand their used rock/general CD section. By that much? No. Wait. That's just the sealed CDs wrapping around from the island to the wall, now infringing upon what was once exclusively the bargain bin. Such is life. Used metal has almost nothing interesting. Some Iced Earth, that's cool. And a sealed copy of S&M Michael Kamen 1999. Of course. God I wish idiot metalheads knew just how good that thing is. Or about half of it anyway. But people just want what they want I suppose. Onto the general. Here's where I get nervous again. But in a good way I guess, just knowing that I can trust my judgment more than my lust. Mostly. Hopefully. 29 for 3 bucks is a steal but I already have it. Aerosmith's PUMP for 4 bucks? Yeah I can do that. That was one of my grandmother's albums, a very relevant part of my adolescence. And not just a sentimental favorite either, it really does stand out in Aerosmith's discog for being strong beyond its singles. Plenty of Allman Bros but plenty is what I have at home. Rock of Ages for 8 bucks. God I should. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid on the other side of town. Beach Boys are NOT going to tempt me today. Jeff Beck? Nothing special. A few random overpriced singles. Maybe staff doesn't realize that they're singles, or they overrated their obscurity. Breeders, Buff Spring, Kate, no no no. Not those ones anyway. Flip flip shuffle shuffle Jesus Christ Chicago made so many records. There's an unsettling amount of Costello here. Who would ever get rid of these? Some obscure Bejar, that's cool. I could walk out of here with Thief but I'm starting to get a little tired of that guy ruining my life in little doses. And there's Warm Jets. Marked down, with a note on the front. "Light scuffs." Can't really compromise there. I could ask staff to pop open the antithief case to take a look at it before I buy it. But nah, I really owe it to Brian to go for the vinyl at this point anyway. Ooooh! Gallowsbird's Bark and Blueberry Boat for 4 bucks each! Can't justify the both of them, but I will gladly take Gallowsbird. I always felt bad about trading my vinyl copy in for store credit. Even though I can't listen to that album in its original sequence anymore. It was a rational decision about an album that I have a strong emotional bond with. Which is crazy to admit because the album is an absolute mess. It still feels more correct to have a physical and more versatile and in this case just a more appropriate format of the album. It feels like I tied up a loose end. No P J Harvey, damn. 4 bucks for Tumbleweed Conn. Again I should, again I won't. 4 bucks for Beano. I can forgive myself. No used The National. Good. It is occasionally a relief to not find things. Floyd, whatever. Police, ok. Nothing I both need and don't have. Hehe, the Porno for Pyros single of Pets. Can't help but smile. My dad owned that single once upon a forever ago. And it's honestly a good track, a nice one-off from a weird little side project. Some Santana but no Abraxas. That's what I get. Never a Dull Moment for 5. I already regret it, but no. Unforgettable Fire for 3 bucks??? Of course I already have it but I'm still offended at the price. Almost no Tom Waits. The guy is naturally going to get scooped up quickly in a neighborhood like this. Mermaid Ave for 4. See this kind of thing is where I REALLY get into trouble, because I have the CD but I don't have the case. Like, I have the insert on the front part, but I don't have the flatback under the CD holder that wraps around and makes the spine for the jewel case. So the CD that I have looks like a blank on shelf. Is it worth buying it again, just for the back? No. Of course not. Right? No. Please no. Ok, no. Nothing too important from Yes or Neil or the mothers. Moving onto the particularly marked down used cds, with no organizational system whatsoever. yeaherewego. I'm so completely disgusted to see Rhythm of the Saints in here among the Linda Ronstadt and the bad Don Henley. TWO COPIES of Saints. Fuck's sake. Goddamnit. Was also offended but considerably more happy to find Hollywood Town Hall in here for 2 bucks. For less than a bottle of coke. What an absolute steal of a classic. See, this is why I'm here! For shit like this! Beautiful. A wintric themed Loreena McKennitt album that I should probably take a leap of faith on, but I won't. Tears for Fears' Elemental and Wilco's Whole Love over here too. That's an understandable shame, both are cool and overlooked. Narrow Stairs sealed for 8 is so genuinely frustrating. I spent so many years of my life stopping by Death Cab sections. 95% of my reason for doing so was to look for a good deal on Stairs. I would've been elated 5 years ago. I forget what I settled on paying for my copy but I know it was more than 8 and I'm pretty sure it was used. smdh. Oh fuck, Feel Good Lost for 5. Yeah, this has been necessary for a long while as well. I've owned the vinyl forever but somehow still didn't have a digital copy. And while it's definitely not a conventional candidate for an album I need on both formats, when you've been waiting for literally years for this exact opportunity you can't let it pass you by. Now I have undeniably tied up a loose end. Alright now's the tricky part. I carefully skirt my way past the sealed CDs. Can't help but thumb a little Mingus along the way. But I move past it quickly. The sealed CD section here is as small and as vicious as a Shakespearean dagger. Onto the sealed vinyl, the rock and the indie and the punk and the metal and the r&b and soul and the blues and the new arrivals, all mazing along the far wall and the islands. I cannot allow myself to browse here. Just looking for specific finds. They don't have Warm Jets either. Damn/thank god. Oh no Fela Kuti has his own tab. And of course they have Zombie. A few other goodies too. But thankfully it is inconsiderably overpriced. Exact same story for Jason Molina, and for the Mogwai that I found along the way and the Mountain Goats I flipped to after. They have Tramp, no other Sharon. Take a peek out of morbid curiosity to see how much they're charging for Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space. Too much, of course. Alright. I went back downstairs to thumb through some books and simply look for some comfort. I just don't want to be home right now. I did come to the conclusion that I had to put back Monk, unfortunately. I had already resigned to putting back Hall before I even came back down the stairs. And I simply chose to put back Aerosmith. I blame Broken Toronto Scene. I never did dislike this store, I just so often found myself avoiding it because the value to be found here is so scattered. It takes so much more time and effort to shop consciously and efficiently. Of course, it's not that any business wants to help you to be shrewd. But still. It really was nice to stand down there and bask in the melancholy warmth of "Little Green." And yet still, despite it all, all the way up until I checked out, there was a part of me that felt the urge to drop my load and leave without paying. To go across town, and just simply buy that Sharon record. But I didn't. And that's ok. On a day when I felt like crying myself to sleep, I was nice to myself. I went out of my way to spend a_couple_of_3 hours and put myself in my happy place. Thanks, me. 260626 ... warmthofrelease Yeah I did go back for Sharon. I intentionally left perishables in a car which was rapidly transforming into a toaster oven, to ensure that I was not there to have fun or to get in trouble. Even though yes I did feel Songs for a Blue Guitar staring out at me, felt it like a sharp punch to the kidney. I don't care how good or bad of a person Mark Kozelek is, that is one of my absolute favorite and most beautiful albums ever made. I have to believe in separating the art from the artist or I could never reconcile what I truly love. Which is, in theory, both of them. I did pick up the record of The Attachment Theory, because I had to. I hadn't noticed in the fine print last time that they were selling the amber edition. That does make it a bit more painful, but my mind was already made up before I walked in. At the end of the day, though I love vinyl as a format, there are at-home albums and there are driving albums. Both can be true of any album of course, but almost never in equal temperament. And the thing is, A CD can function as an at-home record and as a driving record, assuming one has the technology in both car and home. I wanted this album for my car. So I bought the CD. And I paid half as much. Maybe I'll still endeavor to own the vinyl too some day, but at least for now I own my first Sharon. I do need several others as well, I remember the raze-praise effect on Epic and I'm really impressed by that one as well. Tramp and Are We There are also well celebrated modern classics. Remind Me will always fuck me up, definitely a permanent scar within me whether I ever own it or not. I'd even say We've Been is...not extremely well-executed but despite the growing pains there were still some really good ideas in there which gave momentum towards the direction of this Attachment Theory record that I really do savor. Maybe I'll get tired of it. But now I have more than enough time to find out. And yes I looked for Warm Jets what about it. 260630 what's it to you? who go blather from