Sunday, January 23, 2011

Record Shopping - Last Time Ever at VINYL FEVER

So anyway, as I said before, the day my friend informed me the record store was going closing down, I got mixed feelings, because on one hand I enjoyed shopping at that place and on the other I could take advantage of their clearance (40% off everything) with the $50 gift certificate I got for Christmas. 

That day, I sped off to the store after work.  As far as I was concerned, I was in a race against time.  The store was full. I had never seen it so packed, so I knew there was going to be competition. I skipped the CD's bin and went straight to the vinyl section. I had to start on the Z because the first letters were crammed with people perusing  the racks shoulder to shoulder. 

It did not take long for my first find, World Burns to Death's first full-length The Sucking of the Missile Cock, which features a pretty cute cover with George Bush in all sorts of sexy positions. I guess that's the reason why 500  copies of it were seized by Brazilian customs.  Since this was a used vinyl, the price was unbeatable, about $4.99.

I kept on searching. Going backwards from Z to A ain't that difficult. I have done it before. What complicated  my search was the competition. When I was around the letter T I saw a guy sprint from the door to the vinyl section. He was wearing a Brutal Truth T shirt, so I knew he was after the same type of stuff. Making matters worse, he had his girlfriend in tow and they took on separate positions. She went straight to the A.  I concentrated, hurried and soon, I scored. 

I had seen the Live album by Saint Vitus before, but due to its excessive price of $24.99 I did not buy it. I knew this album because I clearly remember reading a review of it in the Spanish version of Metal Hammer back in 1990. The cover has stayed with me ever since. Now, with the 40% discount I could get a hold of this double vinyl Southern Lord reissue for $14.99. I was happy. I was really fucking happy. But it would be a while until I found something else worth  my money.

As I kept on moving backwards, the dude with the Brutal Truth t shirt was trailing behind me. I was confident that his girlfriend would have no clue to what was good or not. But the later it got the more people came in the store. So much so, that I had to skip the L and the M and went straight to the K. A few minutes later, when I was near the end of the vinyl section I found the Contaminators record I almost bought at the store referenced here. 'It must be shitty', I thought because the original price was $2.99, now with the discount I would only have to pay $1.79.

My last vinyl find was by a band called Atavistic. I still haven't listened to that one and bought it because it was released by Profane Existence and that at least guarantees me certain degree of heaviness. With still a few bucks left on my gift card I hopped over the CD section and picked Relapse's compilation of Nirvana 2002's Recordings 89-91 and Thou's excellent Summit. Both were shrink wrapped.

When I went up to the counter to pay, the owner reminded me that all items were 40% off and asked me again if there was anything else I wanted. He did this because the total of my albums were about $0.05 short of the $50 gift card and I guess he did not want to give me any change. There was certain sadness in his eyes. Either that, or his eyes are naturally sad, like those of a St. Bernard. I felt sorry for him. And now that I think about it, I felt sorry for me too.

After I left the store I sat for a few minutes inside my car contemplating all my new records. I was happy. Then, I saw the guy with the Brutal Truth T shirt and his girlfriend leaving the store empty-handed. That made me happier. I had done a great job. 

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