4 posts tagged “morrissey”
Wow, it's been a while since I've posted here. I guess I've just been really bored. Some jerk just got his car towed from in front of my place though, so that was pretty exciting.
They were probably parked there to watch the big fireworks display tonight. We live pretty close to the beach so we get all the traffic. The fireworks are pretty good, I just find it funny when there's a really bright one and everyone in the whole damn city goes "OOOOHHH". It cracks me up every time.
What else is new? I got some good records on trade-in, a few Morrissey's and "Big Lizard in my Back Yard" by the Dead Milkmen. I always really liked those guys as a kid so I was glad to find that one.
Unfortunately I was not glad to find out that the bass player, Dave Blood committed suicide in 2004. How did I not hear about this until today? He seemed like a pretty interesting guy, it's too bad. I was really hoping for a reunion tour.
In trying to describe yesterday's record show, I can only say that it was like Christmas and your birthday all rolled into one. It was pretty much the exact opposite of getting kicked in the nuts. The fun thing isn't so much finding great records, it's finding great records for CHEAP.
Basically I came home with a whole bunch of killer stuff, for not that much money. The secret is when finding something you really want you must remain calm, especially if it is unpriced. I cannot stress enough the importance of a good poker face. If a dealer sees any excitement, you will pay more.
But, that being said, they're there to get rid of stuff, and they're happy you're willing to give them a few bucks for the privilege of carting it away.
When first entering, you kinda wanna cruise around for a bit and not get stuck at any particular place. I had to be really careful with my time since the show started at 11 and I had to work at 1. (Luckily I booked off until then, I was originally supposed to start at 12)
My first buy was an old book on the Smiths for only $3! A good start!
Just around the corner I found the Motley Crue "Helter Skelter" Picture disc I've been looking for. I've never seen it under $35 so I was glad the guy accepted my offer of $10.
After that I saw the Ramones "Road to Ruin" for $3. I almost bought it, but I already have that record and I knew I would regret buying something I had, especially since I don't really have anyone to trade stuff with.
At the very next table I saw Iron Maiden "Powerslave" peeking out of a box. I already have that one, but I figured it was a good sign. A guy was leafing through that box, so I started with the one next to him and wow, was I ever glad that I did. I was flipping through when I saw a Smiths record that I had never seen before. I was overcome with excitement, what the hell was this thing?
Needless to say, I quickly shoved it under my arm and kept flipping. I found some more OK stuff, but decided to go with just the aforementioned Smiths album. I got it for $5. I didn't even know what the hell it was yet, but I just threw it into my bag and continued on. I figured I couldn't waste time figuring it out now, I was on a schedule and I had to keep my game face on!
After that I came across a Morrissey single for $6 but since the guy couldn't break my $20, I got it for my pocket change, which amounted to $4.56. Yay!
Almost immediately after, I saw an Iron Maiden die cast car for $5. Not really what I came there to find, but still kind of neat. It was right by the exit so I figured, "If I still have $5 when I'm leaving, I'll grab it.
I managed to snag one more Smiths record, the US 12" of "How Soon is Now?" which features the band on the cover. (Well, 3/4 of them, poor Mike Joyce ended up on the back, but oh well) As far as I know, this is the only official Smiths release to feature the band on the cover, since they figured the original European cover was too risque or something. If you're interested you can get more info here.
I also happened upon some cheap records I couldn't pass up: AC/DC - If you want Blood..., Violent Femmes, Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry, the Soundtrack to Decline of Western Civilization II (one of the greatest LA metal documentaries ever... if not the only one... definitely worth seeing) and Red Hot Chili Peppers - Mother's Milk. Now I know I said I hated these guys, but I have a soft spot for that disc.
Of course I had trouble leaving with so many boxes of records unlooked at, but I had spent my entire budget (except for the $5, so I ended up with the IM car after all) and gotten some impressive stuff so I figured it was as good a time as any to quit.
So I had to run all the way to the train station, and then all the way to work, but I made it just in time! I also found out that the mysterious Smiths record was the demo version of their first album, not an easy find, especially for $5! So all in all, it was a pretty kick-ass day, check out the pix below!
So I learned yesterday that Morrissey will be playing in Seattle on May 6th, mere days after my birthday! Unfortunately, there's a lot of obstacles between me and the show. Passports for one, and the fact that we don't own a car. I suppose there's a bus that goes there, so maybe that's an option. The other big one is price. I don't know yet how much the show will be, but concerts seem to be ridiculously expensive these days, so I dunno... It's gonna be in a pretty good sized place too, the Paramount, so I know it will be a rad show. I wish he would just come here to Vancouver, that thing about boycotting Canada because of the seal clubbing seems like a lame excuse. Don't get me wrong, I'm against clubbing baby seals, I just think he could call more attention to it if he came here and made a big fuss about it, instead of not coming here and nobody (besides perturbed Morrissey fans) noticing.
It's funny, you'll go for months without seeing something, then all of a sudden you can't get away from it. Case in point, Smiths records have in my experience been pretty hard to come by. (Reasonably priced ones, anyway)
I'd been lucky enough to find "Meat is Murder" (did Morrissey coin that phrase?) at Value Village for $1.50 about a year and a half ago. Then I happened upon "Rank" and "the Queen is Dead" shortly thereafter.
Then nothing.
I saw a few singles sure, but at $25 a pop, I said "no, thanks!"
Until a couple weeks ago when I walked into a record store and saw Morrissey's first single "Suedehead"(not pictured, it made things uneven, sorry!) for only $4!
After a bit more digging I unearthed "Hatful of Hollow" and "Strangeways, Here we Come". Wow, that was pretty
A few days later, same store, but this time I found the 12" single "the Boy with the Thorn in his Side". Dang, I was having a good week, I thought. Then just a day or two later, I found a 7" single, "This Charming Man" in a thrift store of all places! Holy Crap!
I nearly passed out when I pulled it out from between a Diana Ross picture disc and a Police 45.
Well, after that I figured my run must have ended, but lo, fate had a few more surprises in store, as I found out yesterday when I went to trade in some CD's and found another 12", "William, it was really nothing". I quickly scoped it out of the "New Additions" bin and headed over to the "S" section to see if my roll was still holding, and there it was, the Interview picture disc pictured above on the bottom left.
And luckily, I was able to trade it all straight across for CD's, yay! Man, you haven't lived until you've heard Morrissey whining at 45 rpm, he sounds like a chipmunk with severe depression!
So, hopefully this isn't the end of my current Smiths finds, but unfortunately, now I'm getting weirdly superstitious about it, I'm hoping it'll pass...
