I will offer a radical counterpoint -- my vinyl collection is complete. I have everything I want, so I don't go to record stores anymore. 😎 (well, other than an affordable version of Let It Be... Naked and any Fab new remixes, solo or otherwise).
My research library on the other hand --- the wishlist is long and growing....
I have finally found a few difficult-to-find, obscure soul/funk and boogie LPs I have wanted for ages!
However, I have also decided it is time to purge my collection of things I no longer listen to and probably won't ever listen to again. This initial pile is albums I have had for decades that I once bought thinking I needed but never really liked, or maybe were just meh, and I didn't enjoy them enough to keep returning to. I have too many records, and it is time to trim the fat and let others enjoy what I let go of.
Music tastes also change, and mine most definitely have. I pulled out about 200 LPs, which was initially hard for me to do. But it was also very liberating. I love music, and I love records. As collectors, we are always on the lookout for titles or cleaner copies. I'll most likely use that money from my purge to buy specific wants and rarities.
Marvin Holmes & Justice - Honor Thy Father (I love their first one, 'Summer of '73' but this follow-up is even harder to find).
NiteFlyte - Great boogie, and funk, but on the Disco side. Most copies one finds are shredded from years of backspinning by DJs and Hip Hop artists. I found a pretty clean OG, which was exciting.
Nice. Aretha Franklin's great 80s moment (IMO) was that knock-your-face-back duet with George Michael, circa 1987. I think it's still one of my favorite duets ever, and it was the soundtrack to 7th grade.
I discovered a tiny record store a block away from my aunt’s memory care facility last weekend on a trip to Southern California. It was about as big as my living room but packed with a fantastic collection of LPs, CD, cassettes and a boatload of 8-track tapes. They even had an 8-track player hooked up to the store stereo.
I am very very broke right now, but I didn’t leave empty handed. I bought a used copy of April Wine’s “The Nature of the Beast” and a new repress of Dead Kennedys’ “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables.”
The Aretha is great retail play. I saw einstürzende at a Lady's Auxiliary Club hundred year old venue in 1985 in KC. Fetus opened w mic over boom box. The band had gone junking for instruments, a shopping cart and sheet metal prominent. A member slashed themselves about 5 min in and was taken off to hospital and Thirwell came out and filled in. Thanks to promoter Duncan. Never another show at that venue.
Traded some dvds fr cd in Astoria, OR, last wk.
Nico ~ Chelsea Girl
Prefab Sprout ~ Two Wheels Good
Indians ~ Somewhere Else promo on 4AD
Never heard of them but if you like the other two and Sigur Ros it's quite the chilly pill.
Nice finds! I never bought a Cheatahs album, but I did get to see them in Austin, TX - they were bloody LOUD! I had to step outside to the patio at one moment. But that's a good shoegaze band for ya!
Just added Cheatahs and Who's Zooming Who to my Spotify, thx Kev for the reccos! I remember loving the title track, Freeway of Love and Aretha's duet with George Michael when I was a kid. Those New Order and Cure finds are great too, nice haul 👏
Thank you! Hope you like Cheatahs! Lemme know what you think. Also curious if you think Who's Zoomin' Who has held up as well as I do, or if I missed the mark.
My old ears had to turn down the volume on Cheatahs but I am digging them! And Who's Zooming Who absolutely holds up. Sisters Doin' It For Themselves - had forgotten all about that one but it still slaps as hard as it did back then. Artists like Aretha, Elton, Rolling Stones, Bowie - not to speak for other Gen Xers but I first heard and loved them from their 80s hits, so I'll always have a soft spot for their bangers from that era. Dancin' In The Streets, I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That, etc. are as much classics as these artists' 60s and 70s stuff!
I love the freedom you allow yourself when you go crate-digging. I try to keep a balance between spontaneity and working through my ever-growing wantlist 😅
Who’s Zoomin Who is not only one of her best of the 80s, but definitely top 5 in her entire discography (and I’ve been listening to it all, repeatedly, for decades). This album in particular sounds so fucking good on vinyl that it’s an explosion of colour and sound. Enjoy!!
Aretha reinvented herself in the '80s at Arista- her ability to do that repeatedly over time was why she survived...
100%
Thanks for sharing. I did find a 1985 pressing of New Order’s Power, Corruption & Lies at my local shop this past weekend.
Oh man, that's awesome! What a great find. I'm still on the hunt.
I will offer a radical counterpoint -- my vinyl collection is complete. I have everything I want, so I don't go to record stores anymore. 😎 (well, other than an affordable version of Let It Be... Naked and any Fab new remixes, solo or otherwise).
My research library on the other hand --- the wishlist is long and growing....
(squinting at the screen)
I recognize those words, but not in the order you've put them in.
Jokes aside, I think that's great! I love that you've got everything you want. Maybe I'll hit that point someday.
LOL! Well, I’ll never hit that point with my research library, either. So I get it!
I have finally found a few difficult-to-find, obscure soul/funk and boogie LPs I have wanted for ages!
However, I have also decided it is time to purge my collection of things I no longer listen to and probably won't ever listen to again. This initial pile is albums I have had for decades that I once bought thinking I needed but never really liked, or maybe were just meh, and I didn't enjoy them enough to keep returning to. I have too many records, and it is time to trim the fat and let others enjoy what I let go of.
Music tastes also change, and mine most definitely have. I pulled out about 200 LPs, which was initially hard for me to do. But it was also very liberating. I love music, and I love records. As collectors, we are always on the lookout for titles or cleaner copies. I'll most likely use that money from my purge to buy specific wants and rarities.
Half of me is nodding emphatically in agreement, and the other half is already rationalizing why I shouldnt do the exact same thing.
What were the few new-to-you ones you found?
Marvin Holmes & Justice - Honor Thy Father (I love their first one, 'Summer of '73' but this follow-up is even harder to find).
NiteFlyte - Great boogie, and funk, but on the Disco side. Most copies one finds are shredded from years of backspinning by DJs and Hip Hop artists. I found a pretty clean OG, which was exciting.
If I see an Aretha record in a bargain bin, there's a 99% chance it's coming home with me. Freeway of Love is a jam.
It most certainly is!
Nice. Aretha Franklin's great 80s moment (IMO) was that knock-your-face-back duet with George Michael, circa 1987. I think it's still one of my favorite duets ever, and it was the soundtrack to 7th grade.
True! It holds up well, especially compared to so much of what came out around the same time.
Jebus Kevin, nobody even brought up "We Are the World." Why do you have to drudge up such painful memories?
I didn't know Entreat existed either and now I'm listening and loving as well. thanks!
You bet! I'm glad you liked it!
WHO'S ZOOMIN WHO is one of Aretha's best. Love the Peter Wolf duet and "Integrity."
As someone who pretty much listens to only shoegaze, I'm excited to give Cheetahs a listen.
Right on! I 'd love to know what you think once you've listened to it.
This quote hit me so hard haha
“Record sales are a prime example of not knowing you must have something until you find it.”
Basically me at every record store or sale
lol. Right? I know this one guy in LA— he’s super cool and does these online pop ups, and this happens to me everytime he has one. :)
Hahaha he sounds like a cool guy. He should do one soon after he gets a full night of sleep again after having a newborn lol.
And I too now need Entreat and never heard of it until you so thanks for that lol
Haha. He totally should. Those nights of full sleep'll be there before he knows it.
I discovered a tiny record store a block away from my aunt’s memory care facility last weekend on a trip to Southern California. It was about as big as my living room but packed with a fantastic collection of LPs, CD, cassettes and a boatload of 8-track tapes. They even had an 8-track player hooked up to the store stereo.
I am very very broke right now, but I didn’t leave empty handed. I bought a used copy of April Wine’s “The Nature of the Beast” and a new repress of Dead Kennedys’ “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables.”
My new turntable is very happy.
Those are my kinda stores! The DKs find is fantastic! It will only become more timely over the coming weeks/months.
The Aretha is great retail play. I saw einstürzende at a Lady's Auxiliary Club hundred year old venue in 1985 in KC. Fetus opened w mic over boom box. The band had gone junking for instruments, a shopping cart and sheet metal prominent. A member slashed themselves about 5 min in and was taken off to hospital and Thirwell came out and filled in. Thanks to promoter Duncan. Never another show at that venue.
Traded some dvds fr cd in Astoria, OR, last wk.
Nico ~ Chelsea Girl
Prefab Sprout ~ Two Wheels Good
Indians ~ Somewhere Else promo on 4AD
Never heard of them but if you like the other two and Sigur Ros it's quite the chilly pill.
Holy shit. What a story! What a show! I'm glad you got to see 'em. They're still on my bucket list.
Love, love, love Two Wheels Good, and I will check out Indians.
Also a timely reminder I need to get back home to OR and visit the coast.
Love that Aretha album! Definitely of its time but full of soul and lots of memories!
Nice finds! I never bought a Cheatahs album, but I did get to see them in Austin, TX - they were bloody LOUD! I had to step outside to the patio at one moment. But that's a good shoegaze band for ya!
That's a hallmark of a good shoegaze band for sure!
Just added Cheatahs and Who's Zooming Who to my Spotify, thx Kev for the reccos! I remember loving the title track, Freeway of Love and Aretha's duet with George Michael when I was a kid. Those New Order and Cure finds are great too, nice haul 👏
Thank you! Hope you like Cheatahs! Lemme know what you think. Also curious if you think Who's Zoomin' Who has held up as well as I do, or if I missed the mark.
My old ears had to turn down the volume on Cheatahs but I am digging them! And Who's Zooming Who absolutely holds up. Sisters Doin' It For Themselves - had forgotten all about that one but it still slaps as hard as it did back then. Artists like Aretha, Elton, Rolling Stones, Bowie - not to speak for other Gen Xers but I first heard and loved them from their 80s hits, so I'll always have a soft spot for their bangers from that era. Dancin' In The Streets, I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That, etc. are as much classics as these artists' 60s and 70s stuff!
I love the freedom you allow yourself when you go crate-digging. I try to keep a balance between spontaneity and working through my ever-growing wantlist 😅
Who’s Zoomin Who is not only one of her best of the 80s, but definitely top 5 in her entire discography (and I’ve been listening to it all, repeatedly, for decades). This album in particular sounds so fucking good on vinyl that it’s an explosion of colour and sound. Enjoy!!
lol. Thanks! My wantlist never stops growing, either, but I long ago gave up any hope (or discipline) of sticking to it.
Explosion of color/sound is the perfect description!