With a fair percentage of music junkies down in Austin this week, the competition just might be a little less stiff for scoring used gems at some of our fine local record slingers. It's easy to overlook, what with all of the flashy displays hawking new releases like Arcade Fire, Air and !!!. But, while trying to stay on top of the shit pile each Tuesday it's easy to forget about all those gaps in your collection that could be filled with some quality, yet inexpensive spackle. So before you start in with that fresh coat of glossy paint- take a gander in the Recent Arrivals used section.
Eli Anderson, current Crocodile assistant booker and former Sonic Boom employee, recommends getting there bright and early, because putting out a fresh batch of gently used discs "is the first thing you do after counting the till in the morning."
What are some of the best used records you've given a new home to?
UPDATE: Eli has a whole lot more to say on the matter via email, you might not ever buy new again:
"What we used to say when I worked at the Sonic Boom was that eventually everything comes in used. I used to use that as my own little mantra to keep me from buying everything in sight everyday. As someone who is a real record/cd addict, working in a record shoppe was really really hard.
But the longer you work there the more you realize that EVERYTHING COMES IN USED. Everything from brand new hott bands, to the most ridiclously obscure titles that you can think of. If it exsists, somebody in the neighborhood owns it...and, eventually, they just get sick of having so much crap and they come into sell it. There would be times where I would be like "man, it really sucks that basically the entire Harry Nilsson catologue is out of print" and then THAT DAY someone would come in and sell 5 impossible-to-find Nilsson CDs. It was crazy...or maybe I just have some sort of psychic power.
I found a few really odd things in the used bin. It's a great place to find things that you didn't even know you wanted. Like this comp I found that is all songs with the "Bo Diddley beat" which is the most amazing DJ Cheating CD. I found a copy of Beck's first (or maybe second?) album called "Golden Feelings." I still can't really find too much info about it other than the fact that Beck hates that it was ever put on CD at all (it was orignally just cassette release). I think there are only something like 2000 of them and I've certainlly never seen it anywhere else. I also got a copy of the 10CD Improvised Music From Japan box set. They only made 800 of them...and 300 went to the particpating artists and the other 500 were sold at an improv festival...in Japan. It's a pretty insane package too...handmade wooden box with these really detailed sleeves. Really beautiful."
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