Lately, I’ve been missing Tower Records something fierce. There is no substitute for meandering through a big, well-stocked music store, idly flipping though the bins and discovering stuff you didn’t even know you needed. Driving past the empty space in the Tysons Corner strip mall where the big store used to be, I felt a pang.
So I made do with a trip to the Thrift Store in Herndon, primarily to drop off some collected charity goods, but they usually have a pretty good selection of used CDs for a quick fix. And if I had only known that today was 50% off the usual $1.50 price each, I would have indulged even more! (They're open again on Saturday...)
1. NATALIE MACMASTER – In My Hands (Rounder)
Autographed by the Celtic fiddlemeister, no less! “To Fred, In Your Hands, Natalie MacMaster” and she’s not lazy about it, either – you can see almost every letter in her fairly long name.
2. VARIOUS ARTISTS – Disco Nights, Vol. 4: Greatest Disco Groups (Rebound)
I probably have most of these songs already, but it’s worth the 75 cents just to hear “Funkytown” on the ride home.
3. L7 – Bricks are Heavy (Slash Reprise)
There were three L7 CDs in the bins, and I stopped myself from grabbing all of them (if I had known they were a mere 75 cents, I wouldn’t have been hesitant at all) but this is the one I knew I wanted – with “Pretend We’re Dead” and “Shitlist.”
4. BT – Ima (Perfecto/Kinetic/Reprise)
2 discs in a single-size case, so they charged me only for one. (Damn, I should have grabbed that Roni Size set as well!) Includes “Nocturnal Transmission” and “Blue Skies,” with vocals from Tori Amos.
5. JULIE ANDREWS – Christmas with…(Legacy)
Still sealed in plastic wrap from Borders, and purchased as a gift for Mom, but I’ll crack it open and see if there’s anything good for this year’s Cool Yule compilation. Like, what is this song, “Patapan”?
6. The RAMSEY LEWIS TRIO – Sound of Christmas (Chess/MCA)
Another head start for the holidays. Bet they do a good job on “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”
I don’t usually bother with the thrift store’s cassettes – that way lies madness, all the bins spilling over with the dead medium. And I have boxes myself at home that need to be culled. But then a ROIR label caught my eye. The NYC-based, cassette-only label released some cool rarities Back in the Day, so I allowed myself a quick, cursory browse in that bin. (And yes, I count cassettes in the O/CD total.) The lady behind the counter told me that the tapes were just 25 cents each, so I grabbed a couple in addition to the two ROIRs, but the cashier charged me 50 cents for each. What you lose on the swings, you gain back on the teeter-totter.
7. LOUNGE LIZARDS – Live 79-81 (ROIR)
8. BUSH TETRAS –Better Late Than Never (ROIR)
“Includes all the crucial recordings made from 1980 through 1983. Fifteen songs, including 6 unreleased studio demos, all digitally remastered." And I’m guessing the only one I know well enough to sign along with is “Too Many Creeps.”
9. VARIOUS ARTISTS – I have no effing clue what this is called, nor what the label is!
Japanese language tape still sealed with a yellow tape around it that says “Jin Heng A-V.” Even if I hate the music, the design is so nice, from the J-card and cover wrapper to the label on the tape, I’d be glad to use it for an interview.
10. MISSISSPPI SHEIKS/STRING DAZZLERS 1930’s-40’s
This is for the box I call “Other People’s Mixes,” a collection of CDs and tapes created by other music fans, usually for special occasions or for a special friend and then unceremoniously dumped. Each mix has a story, I bet, and I love to guess what it is as I listen. This one is particularly well made (although it is a normal bias tape). The J-card is a watercolor wash with lovely handwriting and the song titles hint at delicious blues and guitar swing. “Merry Christmas, Nick, Susan & Jessica…Love, Jack & Maggie.” Why did Nick or Susan or Jessica give this little gem away?
And even more of my own cash money…
Later in the day, while Grace took her Japanese lesson (I’ll ask her to translate the cassette cover), I took a bag of CDs I didn’t want anymore to the CD Cellar and came home with two major purchases – the first season of “30 Rock” of DVD and…
11. NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE – Live at the Fillmore East 1970 (Reprise)
Grace did not appreciate hearing the long guitar solo on “Cowgirl In the Sand” on the ride home, but I loved it! This was my most expensive music purchase of the day - $10 – but it was still sealed and it’s an album I’ve been hoping to hear.
Plus a whole lot of cheapies:
12. COUNTING CROWS – A Long December CD single (Geffen)
Three tracks (two of them live) for two bucks, on what appears to be an import single –the price sticker on the back seems to be…12.99 in Deutsch marks?
13. A FINE FRENZY – One Cell in the Sea (Virgin)
$5.99 and I don’t know if I've heard a single song on it, but the name’s been buzzing in my head, probably from “Morning Becomes Eclectic, “ so I’ll take a chance. The same goes for…
14. AU REVOIR SIMONE – The Bird of Music (self-released?)
This one I know I’ve heard promoted on KCRW, but I can’t give you the label info, ‘cause it’s a simple cardboard cover with minimal graphics, a sheet of paper tucked inside with song titles, and the disc itself is a CD-R with hand-writing. I’m listening as I’m typing and I’m liking what I hear – sweet, upbeat female vocals and bouncy, simple melodies. Crisp like a fall apple. This disc, and all the ones that follow here were just a buck each!
15. TOBIAS FROBERG – Somewhere in the City (FireEgg Recordings)
I have this one already, but I hate to see a disc I like in the $1 section. I feel like these musical orphans need to be adopted and sent to a good home. I just played the disc again as I considered what pal to send it to. Some it is a bit twee, but the song “Love and Misery, a duet with Ane Brun” (that’s how it’s titled) brings me close to tears each time I hear it.
16. VARIOUS ARTISTS – Torch: A Six Degrees Collection of Modern Torch Songs (Six Degrees)
The title says it all, and though I recognize only a few artists – Cassandra Wilson, David Holmes, Roy Nathanson with featured guest Elvis Costello - this 2003 sampler will offer some nice surprises, I have no doubt.
17. MY BRIGHEST DIAMOND – Disappear CD single (Asthmatic Kitty Records)
I saw this act open for the Decemberists earlier this year and was mightily impressed. Four versions of the title track – including a string quartet take! – and the song “The Lace Handkerchief.”
18. SARAH BLASKO – What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have (Low Altitude Records)
This really is Night of the Pretty Female Voices! Another bare-bones package – clear plastic sleeve, Xeroxed paper sheet, and another performer I know zilch about, but the name rings a bell. Buying a handful of dollar discs to sample is better than radio ‘cause I get to keep anything I hear and like!
19. ANNIE STELA – There is a Story Here CD single (Capitol)
Stela’s full-length was sent to me earlier this year and I recall liking it, so a 4-track single with demo track is a good investment.
20. SHIT DISCO – Kingdom of Fear (Fierce Panda U.K.)
The guy behind the counter chuckled as he rang this one up – “some name, eh?” he said, probably surprised that the older woman was buying this generic cardboard with the rude stamped title. But as I explained to him, the band is opening for Klaxons at the 930 Club (on October 8th) and I’m thinking of going, so it’s worth the buck to see if I like ‘em.
And finally, a freebie, on the free promo counter with the stickers and postcards and such.
21. VARIOUS ARTISTS – ABH (A Bitter Hello) Summer Sampler (self-released)
Homemade CD-R with 10 tracks from what I’m guessing are local artists, all but one of which list a myspace page on the paper insert. Funny coincidence – one of these bands, the Ruckus, features kids who go to my daughter’s high school!”
Go Hornets!
And Ciao, Luciano. Your voice makes my husband cry. In a good way.
YTD O/CD Total: 703
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