Today's Trip To Cheapo's

I haven't been there in several weeks, perhaps a couple of months. My wife and I are working hard to save our extra money (after all, we have a trip to China to bring home our daughter in about a year), so spending money on frivilous entertainment is ausschließlich verboten.

But, this morning - after receiving my beautiful wife's blessing - I enjoyed a Saturday morning trip that used to be a weekly outing.

I drove down to Uptown, to hit my favorite record shop: Cheapo's.

Arriving a bit early, I spent a few minutes driving around and soaking in Uptown. I love this neighborhood. Even at 8:30 on a Saturday morning, Uptown has a vibe about it. Exit I-94 near the tunnel and climb up Lowry Hill, and my heart begins to race. The morning was warm, the car windows down, my music flowing along with the road.

I love the rustic apartment buildings, the plethora of ethnic restaurants and the wonderful independent book sellers. I always take note of what's showing at the Uptown Theatre. Not that I've ever been there. It's just that they tend to screen offbeat films. (Not this week, though: they're showing the new Jennifer Aniston film Friends With Money.)

The people in Uptown fascinate me. I notice a man walking up Lake Street, very slow and steady, concentrating on a hot cup of Dunn Brothers java tightly gripped in his clutch. He is walking so gently that his upper torso doesn't move - not even trace of sway or swagger, just very very stiff and slow.

He must have had a rough night.

At the stoplight, a young lady on a bicycle rides up to my right, standing way too close to my car. She must have been listening to my tunes (David Bowie "Ashes To Ashes" at this particular moment - I like to think of myself as retro chic, while deep down knowing I'm really retro stuck).

Finally, 9:00. Cheapo's is open. I park the car, feed the meter, remind myself of my spending limit ($20) and enter.

What did I come home with? Let me share...

Tim Hughes Here I Am To Worship (Survivor, 2001)
Beautiful worship music. Perfect for time between you and God.

The In-Laws (original motion picture soundtrack) (Bulletproof / WSM, 2003)
A must for Paul McCartney fans. A great soundtrack with fun, wonderful songs by Badfinger, ELO, Elvis Presley, Ella Fitgerald (doing a fantastic of version of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love", with a horn section replicating Eric Clapton's original guitar parts)... I bought it mainly for two of the three McCartney tracks, which are available nowhere else: "A Love For You" (an outtake from his 1971 Ram album, with 1979 Wings overdubs) and an unreleased version of "Live and Let Die".

Cocteau Twins Evangeline EP (Fontana, 1993) (UK import)
Part of the 4AD stable of artists, I first heard Cocteau Twins back in the mid 1980's on WISU in Terre Haute IN. Elizabeth Fraser's etherial vocals must have been the inspiration for Enya. Gorgeious music. Worth the 95c I spent for "Mud and Dark" alone.

The Cure Friday I'm In Love EP (Elektra, 1992)
I love singles - always have. I'm a sucker for them. Why? Two reasons: 1) they're cheap, and 2) they often have unique 'B'-sides that can't be found anywhere else (that is, until the record label puts together a "rarities and flip sides" collection).

Often singles feature demos or outtakes or cover versions. The Pretenders had several fabulous flipsides ("In The Sticks", "Nervous But Shy", "Swinging London", "Cuban Slide", "My City Was Gone" [you know, Rush Limbaugh's theme song], an incredibly faithful cover of The Beatles' "Not A Second Time"). REM are another band known for incredible flipsides (far too numerous to mention - just check out the Dead Letter Office or In Time (disc 2) compilations, or almost any of their singles).

The Cure were among the best at great 'B'-sides. The first Cure albums I bought were both singles compilations: Japanese Whispers (which featured both sides of the singles "Let's Go To Bed" and "The Love Cats", as well as the entire EP The Walk), and the cassette version of Standing On A Beach: The Singles, which had all of their single 'A'-sides (up to 1986) on side one, and the corresponding 'B'-sides on side two.

These compilations also mark the point where The Cure stepped over the line from underground band to pop superstardom. The albums after this were not nearly as good. However, "Friday I'm In Love", while no artistic heavyweight, is sticky pop for the ears. I bought this for "Halo", one of the non-album tracks on this CD, is just as engaging as the hit track, with fine jangly guitars.

Eight Miles High: 19 Tracks Inspired By The Byrds (various artists) (Uncut Magazine, 2003)
Speaking of jangly guitars... Roger McGuinn had quite an influence on a lot of my favorites musicians / bands (The Beatles, The Pretenders, REM, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, etc...) This collection features a lot of indie bands playing Byrds covers and songs that sound like they could be Byrds covers. Includes The Replacements' "Sixteen Blue" (which I think my brother would like), and - for reasons I cannot understand - a rare live version of "Don't Fear The Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult, a recording that bears no relationship to The Byrds, performed by a band that is most decidedly NOT indie.

However, it includes "The Little Black Egg" by The Nightcrawlers, which more than makes up for the BOC faux paux.

(And, while we're on the subject of jangly guitars: hey, Matt - I grabbed a couple of REM CDs for you: Document and Up. Document is classic; Up will grow on you, if you let it.)

Duran Duran Seven and the Ragged Tiger (Capitol, 1983)
Sometimes nostalgia overcomes taste. One lesson I have learned in life: music from my youth usually seemed much much better then than it really was. I can remember being in high school when this album came out, and being far too excited over it. My friend Joe (who introduced me to Van Halen and AC/DC) hated it. (He hated every tape I owned; his tastes were far harder than mine). I can't believe I just bought it. I also can't believe I bought into the whole bit about it being an obscure concept album when I was a kid (as a grown man, I now find it to be obtuse). Of course, I recently admitted to still owning a couple of Adam & The Ants CDs, so I have very little self-respect left.

This CD also makes me think of another old friend, Keith. While I do not know his feelings on this particular Duran2 disc, I seem to remember him liking side two of their eponymous debut album - the "artsy" side with songs like "Tel Aviv" and "(Waiting for the) Night Boat" as opposed to the hits ("Girls On Film" and "Planet Earth", which open side one).

I used to be proud of the fact that I was a first generation MTV fanatic. I watched mesmerized back when all they showed were these English new wave bands. MTV is where I discovered David Bowie's Eno-era work, Talking Heads, Genesis and loads of fine musicians I still listen to all these years later. However, this is also where I got hip to the aforementioned "Antmusic", Duran Duran, and lots of other now-awfully-dated technopop groups with three-storey high feathered mullets (although, oddly enough, I was never real big on A Flock of Seagulls). I used to be really quite pleased that I was listening to Duran Duran before they hit it big with Rio and U2 before War.

That pride has mellowed considerably with age. (Except for U2. I'll still crow about that one. Makes me look cool to be hip to pre-"Sunday Bloody Sunday" Bono.)

Speaking of Bono...

U2 Last Night On Earth EP (Island, 1997).
Remember what I said about single flipsides? Here are U2's cover versions of M's 1980 hit "Pop Muzik" (in fact, U2 sample quite liberally from the M original, to the point that one questions how much U2 there is on this recording) and The Beatles' "Happiness Is A Warm Gun", as well as a dub version of "Numb". Marginal stuff.

Billy Joel Piano Man (Columbia, 1973)
I joke to people that I know I'm getting older, because I like Billy Joel more and more. This stuff isn't bad. Pure pop for middle aged people.

All that for a few cents more than $18. I had enough left over for a Coke Zero.