.vinyl haul

I figured I'd just make one big post from previous vinyl purchases. Lately I've been in "soundtrack" searching mode, so I picked up some of these at Urban Outfitters and Innergroove. The Once Bitten soundtrack was a very rare find. That was pretty exciting...

Finishing out my St. Lucia collection, I found "When the Night" at Urban Outfitters after purchasing "Matter" at Tunes two weeks ago.

These were just fun finds, reasonably priced....

And I scored some more Bowie, two being re-mastered versions.

.weekend haul

I swear this is my last haul until next month. Friday I got out of work early so venturing over to Bordentown in 20 degree weather seemed like the right thing to do? Two record stores are within a few blocks from one another. The first one I hit up was The Record Collector. The building itself looks something out of the 1950s with this do-wop vibe. Prices however run pretty high. All of my purchases to the left were from The Record Collector. He had a lot of Bowie but I'm not insanely collecting every piece he's put out. I opted for Station to Station and Tonight which has the song "Blue Jean" on it. Public Image Ltd's First Edition keeps taunting me as I finally picked it up to pretty much complete my PiL collection. Patti Smith's Wave was cheaper here compared to other stores I've seen copies in. Dork fan-girl moment but when Carrie Brownstein did her Portlandia tour with Fred, her and Annie played along to The Stranglers "Hanging Around." I picked it up since the song was on this album. Plus I heard they're good. The Record Collector also has live bands play which is pretty cool. My total was around $80 for all of these so not too shabby, PiL being the most expensive thing I picked up.

The second store I hit up was The Man Cave. They sell albums, cds, and all kinds of other things like memorabilia, books, soda, food, etc. I looked through and really didn't find anything I needed. I did not understand why two copies of Bowie's Blackstar were priced at $100. He had so many copies of Earthling I could've just bought it from there instead of turning to ebay (my next post). Walking out empty handed I wasn't that disappointed.

Scored: Patti Smith Group - Wave, Public Image Ltd - First Edition, David Bowie - Station to Station, David Bowie - Tonight, The Stranglers - IV

On Second Thought: (albums I put back) Shamir. I just couldn't kick the $23. I had the Talking Heads and Mission to Burma albums in my hands but could not decide. Another time.

Customers: There was an older couple and a younger couple in both stores. It was so cold out barely anyone was buying records. Bordentown apparently has a "chocolate walk" on the main drag but who knows if there was a big turn out. It was so cold!

.new places, new records

This weekend I hit up two record stores I've never been to. Here were the results....

Record store #1 isn't necessarily a record store, it's more of a collection of sorts. Located in the upstairs of a flooring department store it was a tad overwhelming. All you see is this...

Against the walls were some newer releases but super expensive. Siamese Dream for $44?! Looking through the boxes everything was very organized, alphabetized, categorized. That wasn't an issue. The main issue I had was almost all of these albums looked like they came from dirty basements and were in poor condition. The prices asked were extremely unfair considering the condition of the albums. The large majority of the collections were 60s, 70s, and very little 80s. They also had cds but I no longer collect those.

Scored!: Nothing!

On second thought: (albums I put back) Amy Winehouse's "Back in Black" because I could really find that anywhere and probably for a better price. There was a Live at Carnegie Hall Nina Simone album but priced at $20 when it had tons of scratches wasn't worth it.

Customers: I was the only one! The guy asked me three times if I was looking for something in particular and I said I was browsing. I later inquired if he had any Bowie but he rechecked the same places I already looked in. I returned to my car defeated.

Record store #2 I will give the name of because it was a great experience. It's called the Haddonfield Record Exchange. I always pass it on my way to Collingswood and decided to finally check it out. The inside is a bit trippy with the orange and psychadelic posters but it's very well organized and those albums are taken care of. They mostly sell classic rock and have a modest selection of 7" singles. I'm a pretty fast flipper so it didn't take me too long to peruse the entire store.

Scored!: Bowie, Queen, Yaz, Eurhythmics, Gloria Estefan (you KNOW you blared that when you were 9), Elvis Costello and The Cure 7" singles. 

On second thought: (albums I put back) some of the Bowie albums only because I could afford the one.

Customers: At first I was the only one in the store then a few others came in as I was leaving. I loved that Stevie Nicks was blaring and the woman working was kind enough to hold my records at the counter when I shopped. She was super friendly too and complimented all of my picks. We had a great conversation. She asked when I started collecting albums, how I knew of the bands I picked out, etc. She also complimented my David Bowie album and told me I picked out a good one with some great songs. Then she let me help myself to the candy bowl at the register before I left. :) Definitely returning there next month. They've been open for 6 months now. I wish them the best of luck.

Here's my Saturday haul...

      

.record shopping weekend

After venturing to the movies, I took a little trip to a record store called Tunes that buy and sells cds, dvds, vinyl, etc. I did spend a lot of time looking through the albums, especially the discounted albums for $1. My first find was on the wall display, The National's "Boxer." I know it's a certain someone's favorite and being I only own "High Violet" I wanted to try another. Then I stumbled upon my favorite Bjork record so that was an easy "yes." Not too far away in the tabs was my second favorite Depeche Mode album "Some Great Reward" for $20. Definite yes. My last find was Morcheeba's "Big Calm." My very first concert was Lilith Fair in 1998. Morcheeba was on the side stage and I remembered not really liking their set. Then a few years later I found myself listening to some of their songs and eventually purchasing this album. I really like this album, it's very relaxing to listen to and very late 90s sounding if that makes sense.

The dollar vinyl section is really inconveniently located on the floor so I had to crouch and flip. Really I almost made it through all the albums but got impatient towards the end. Too many Barry Manilow, Chicago, and Rod Stewart albums that I kept seeing during my flips. They were having a special, "Buy 10 albums, get 5 for free." Honestly I couldn't really find 10 that I wanted and settled for these. Out of these four I was the most excited for Samantha Fox and the Pointer Sisters. Jump for my love! I already pulled that album out first when I got home and danced like a complete dork to that song in my room. Mission of nerdy album listening bliss accomplished!

Scored!: Jefferson Airplane - Gold, Samantha Fox - I Wanna Have Some Fun, The Pointer Sisters - Break Out, Yes - 90125, Bjork - Post, Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward, The National - Boxer, Morcheeba - Big Calm

On second thought (albums I put back): Blur - The Magic Whip, David Bowie - Earthling, Lush - Best of Singles

Customers: During my visit to the record store, again I was practically the only female in the store. One customer had a MASSIVE sale of crates and crates of cds. The clerks said it would take them 4-5 hours to price everything. A shame I don't collect cds anymore otherwise I would've been interested in what he was turning in. One girl came in and said she had no clue what she was doing but wanted to sell back some Wii games and cds. Another younger girl came in with her dad. He kept suggesting albums to her but the only thing I heard her mention was New Found Glory. A good handful of college guys were browsing through the Jazz section along with the R&B / Soul section. Interesting. It's funny because I never cease to amaze my fellow male record collectors of my vast music knowledge. Older guys who know their shit are pretty amazed at what I pick out or make positive comments when ringing up purchases. So that gives me hope!