Happy Shopper

One of the bummer things about having a regular job-type-situation at the moment is that I no longer get to shop at the local thrift store during the day, when the crowds are sparser (read: competition for cool junk less intense). And no, I'm not running directly to the record and book section. I'm sure someone somewhere is still finding unscratched Esquivel records for a dollar a pop, but I doubt it.

Maybe I was just spoiled by my mid-90s run of luck at a thrift in the Boston area where I'd regularly take advantage of their awesome selection and low, low prices (10 cents per LP!) by loading up my cart with vinyl and equally el cheapo kiddie record players. But when I feel the urge to peruse the dusty and battered selection of vinyl at your typical thrift, my eyes start to glaze over and fingers stop digging at around the third Elton John or Firestone Christmas LP.

Dire as the thrift store record situation may now be, I manage to find cool music-related crap on at least every other visit. Last time, it was an old-style, wire 45 RPM record holder, with clef note end pieces. And on Saturday, it was a Discwasher record-cleaning brush and solution. The previous night I'd been looking for mine and couldn't find it, thinking godammit, now I gotta find somewhere that sells record-cleaning supplies so I can buy another. Bizzaro.

Even stranger (or perhaps not), neither of these items was found in the music section of the store. Both were placed in the knick-knacks/odd junk section (my favorite), priced most fortunately by store personnel who either didn't know or didn't care what the heck they were. Then I remembered what I first learned by reading the informative, funny and fascinating guide to the world of thrifting, Thrift Score: check out all sections of the store, even the kiddie section. Seriously, where else do you think I'd be able to score something like my precious box of Fuzzy Puffy Shrinky-Dinks?

If you're in the Seattle area and looking for some thrift-style record shopping, check out J.A.M. Records, where last week I scored a small stack of 80s 45s, mostly priced from 39 to 99 cents. Not to mention the UK pressing of Nick Heyward's first solo LP for 49 cents. Time to slice the baggie containing my new record brush open and clean the dust off that sucker...