Music Shoppin': What're your Tactics/Stipulations?

I was in an indie store and was completely flummoxed by their system. They had sections labelled "establishment" and "up and coming". The Wedding Present was in "up and coming", what does it even imply? I was so confused by the whole thing. They also had a disconcerting amount of Motorhead memorabilia for a store staffed by hippie girls.

I hate shopping at indie stores though because A) they always have confusing systems like the one above that basically amount to "we just put this wherever we felt like it" B) they usually sell great things like Rick James t-shirts and I end up spending $1,000 by the time I leave. I almost bought the Miami Vice soundtrack in an indie store once, that's how compelling the irony is when I find myself in one.

Tower is much safer. It's huge and well ordered and anonymous and not at all cool.

I think I just dislike CD stores in general. I spent far too much time in one when I was 16 because I had a mad crush on the guy who worked there and we'd hang out for like hours. We're talking like 4 or 5 hours a day, spent in a fucking used CD store. Now they creep me out.

But I'm too lazy to shop on the internet.

!

Nope.

(b) Do you strictly patronize only specific disc shops or do you buy the item wherever you find it (be it Other Music or Sam Goody)? If you were to spot an album you wanted in a shop you otherwise don't like (for whatever reason), will you leave it there and wait until it shows up at a shop you support?

Mostly I patronize independent stores, but that's because they're more likely to have what I'm looking for. If I lived in a city without independent stores, I'm sure I'd just go to Best Buy or whatever.

(c) Is ordering something online via Amazon or eBay more convenient but less fun for you? Are you someone that enjoys the challenge of the hunt, or are you only interested in acquiring the item and getting on with life?

I like both, but I tend to go on "the hunt" more often. For some reason, I like giving my money to local governments through sales tax, but not to UPS.

(d) Are you someone that buys discs in quantities of more than three at a time, and if so -- do you make time to listen to each? Do you listen to a new album straight through in one sitting?

Yes. Yes. Yes.

(e) Do you keep a tally/database/log of what albums you have? Do you alphabetize your collection?

Yes and yes.

You're talking about Mondo Kim's, aren't you! I sort've resent that dismissive tone to the word 'establishment,' as if to suggest that you're just towing the party line by buying something that isn't deemed hip and underground. Fuckin' Indie cock-jockeys!

I keep a datbase of everything I own. I started it when I only had 200 LPs - and it was to give to people who wanted to know what they could tape from me ... I've kept it up to 2000+, but only out of routine..

I alphabetize - but in groups of A-list, B-list C-list and Why-list.

I try to listen to new purchases all the way through 3-4 times before shelving them indefinitely.. unless it's something I already know well - then I buy it and shelf it and never listen to it.... Or if it sucks on first listen, I put it away for 2-3 years before giving it one final listen before putting it in a pile to be sold 2 years later.

Haha yes, Alex, Mondo Kim's. I was worried by the tone of establishment too, it seemed to just mean "bands that are defunct, unless they are the Wedding Present".

The other thing that really pissed me off was their counter, it's taller than I am?!?! I mean, what is the point of that? I had to climb on stepstools to pay for my CDs. That's just fucking wanky.

FYI to anyone who hasn't met me, the thing about the counter is weird because I'm 5'9"! It really pissed me off! The counter was like 5'10"!

Yes, what a great attitude! Good business sense, too.

Alex, you're really, um, vivid today.

Anyway...
a. Not usually.

b. I shop at indie places a lot mostly because they have better used sections and I like cheap CDs. In general I like to support independently owned businesses (although I've known enough people who worked at them to know that they don't necessarily treat their employees any better than chains). But if I can't find something elsewhere, I don't have any problem with going to Virgin or Tower. And I like the listening stations at Virgin.

c. I order things online occasionally, when the mood hits. What I like about it is I tend to forget I've ordered something, so it's a nice surprise when it shows up. But I prefer browsing the racks in person.

d. I frequently buy in clusters of 3-10 discs. Typically, I'll listen to one or two all the way through, then I'll just stick the rest of them into the 50-CD changer, put it on random, and wait to be surprised by something.

e. A database, no. Alphabetical, yes, for practical purposes -- I like being able to find what I'm looking for. Jazz and classical are separate, everything else is mushed together.

a) absolutely. I check NME.com, Amazon.com and .co.uk, etc.
b) These days I drive by Aron's first before going to Amoeba because Aron's seems more "indie", but there's always some other tiny store on Melrose that's even more worthy/indier-than-thou. If there's something I really really want I'll sometimes go buy it at the Virgin Megastore at 12:01am on Tues morning since they stay open just so they can sell it then - I think that's cool.
c) I always procrastinate too long with online ordering and I usually want it NOW! But I still do a random "my bloody valentine" search on eBay every once in a while.
d)I used to buy stacks of discs. Now I only buy one and will usually put it on in the car and then finish it when I get home.
e)No and No, but I have alphabetized some of my single-artist "portable" CD-Rs that I've made.

(a) Do you scour the `Net and other outlets for release dates?

For certain albums, yes, notably Killing Joke and Firewater.

(b) Do you strictly patronize only specific disc shops or do you buy the item wherever you find it (be it Other Music or Sam Goody)? If you were to spot an album you wanted in a shop you otherwise don't like (for whatever reason), will you leave it there and wait until it shows up at a shop you support?

If I have the time, I'd sooner give my hard-earned dollars to a struggling Mom'n'Pop store in the Village than to some slackjawed idiot at a chainstore, but if it's something I've been searching far and wide for, I'll pick it up then and there. Unless, of course, it's at Bleeker Bob's, in which case I'll make a point of leaving it there. Fuck Bob. That guy is such a jackass.

(c) Is ordering something online via Amazon or eBay more convenient but less fun for you? Are you someone that enjoys the challenge of the hunt, or are you only interested in acquiring the item and getting on with life?

I'll only order something online as a very last resort. I mean, where's the fun in that?

(d) Are you someone that buys discs in quantities of more than three at a time, and if so -- do you make time to listen to each? Do you listen to a new album straight through in one sitting?

There are fewer and fewer new albums I'm searching for these days, so the chances of me picking up more that three at a time are pretty slim. But, even so, I'm bound to end up neglecting something if I buy in such mass quantities. And, once I've picked up an album, I try to listen to it straight through a couple of times. In the days when I could wear headphones (before Tinnitus set in), I used to simply tape an album and then walk around with it for the next few days, ingesting it that way.

(e) Do you keep a tally/database/log of what albums you have? Do you alphabetize your collection?

Absolutely, and yes....alphabetical.

I'd like to second this sentiment. Total a-hole. I'm not even sure if the L.A. store is around anymore because I look to the other side of the street when I drive by.

B- I dont work during the week (YAY!) so at some point (usually 2-3 times) I'll get in the car make a dash for the industrial corridor where all the thrift shops live and do a run and grab in each. (about 5 in a one mile stretch). If this fails to produce at least three LPs I head downtown to Magic Bus or New Orleans Music Exchange which are very friendly and pleasant to spend time in. I remain faithfull to the two stores because I never feel I'm overpaying and the staff are cool. They are also the closest to the Saks parking garage where I park and get my coffee.

C-I the only thing i order online are shirts and record sleeves/discwasher shit

D-I have come home with as many as 50 records but its usually around 5 a day

E-No. there in no order, just last played in front of the stacks

b.) I try to buy off of the local places, but living in a small town in Kentucky it isn’t easy, as the local shop can’t get small label music for crap. There is a good record store in Lexington that I go check out every month or two. There is a shop in Bloomington (TDCD’s& LPs) that I have been buying things from for years and even though I haven’t lived there for years, I always go by when I am in the area and send some mail order to them.

c.) I think Forced Exposure and Amazon know about me. I’ve used the used disc sales via Amazon a whole lot in the past year or so. I’d like to find an online store that specializes in small label rock and roll like Forced Exposure does for more outside music. I miss being able to go from store to store to browse, but the hunt for me is more about finding about something and getting to hear what it sounds like.

d.) My music purchases come generally in bunches. I try to listen to everything I get two or three times right after getting them. If I cannot get though an entire record, I feel like I have bought a lemon. I listen to a lot of CDs while I work doing a lot of dull database work. I probably average listening to three to eight complete discs a day, depending on how much listening I end up doing at home.

e.) I started keeping a tally on October 1st, 1996 with a spreadsheet and database of every album/cd that I give a complete listen. Pretty geeky, I suppose, but I did it so I would know how much I actually listen to things. It probably has kept me from buying even more music than I have now, which is saying something. It also leads me to do series listening of particular artists or styles, which I enjoy.

Sorta my answer. In brief:

1) Never.

2) I buy new CDs from local store Noise Noise Noise when I'm there and from Amoeba if I'm in the area and have some credit. I will buy used CDs from anywhere.

3) I don't really order online from Amazon or all that. I've done it once or twice over time, that's about about it. I prefer stumbling across things. However, I will order online from very specific specialty outfits, like Eclipse Records, or from labels like Burning Shed, or bands directly.

4) HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I eventually listen to them. Maybe.

5) I did have a database once. They are alphabetized by artist.

No, but I do keep a running list of newish things I'm interested in hearing, and if I put something on the list that's not yet released, I'll try to make a note of the release date to save myself from hunting for it prematurely.

(b) Do you strictly patronize only specific disc shops or do you buy the item wherever you find it (be it Other Music or Sam Goody)? If you were to spot an album you wanted in a shop you otherwise don't like (for whatever reason), will you leave it there and wait until it shows up at a shop you support?

It's flexible rather than strict, but...
- In the town where I work, there's only one shop that's really any good; a big independent place with both new and used stock. (I buy used when I can.)
- I do most of the rest of my shopping in San Francisco (I live nearby); I buy used discs mostly at Amoeba, new discs there and at Aquarius (which is my favorite place to pick up stuff I've never heard of, since there's lots of obscure stuff with in-store reviews attached).

(c) Is ordering something online via Amazon or eBay more convenient but less fun for you? Are you someone that enjoys the challenge of the hunt, or are you only interested in acquiring the item and getting on with life?

What's eBay? < /pinefox>
I'll make an occasional purchase on Amazon -- or specialist sites like A Different Drum -- when I've had no luck finding a disc in local shops. I'd much rather shop for CDs than get on with life.

(d) Are you someone that buys discs in quantities of more than three at a time, and if so -- do you make time to listen to each? Do you listen to a new album straight through in one sitting?

Three's about average for me. Okay, four. Four's about average for me. Five? Well... anyway, I usually give everything an initial listen within a couple of weeks, making liberal use of fast-forward unless every track grabs me the first time. (But haha I remember spotting Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden in my collection just the other day and realizing I've had it for maybe a couple of months and never listened to it -- I already know I'll like it, and in fact I know a couple of tracks from the Best Of compilation.)

(e) Do you keep a tally/database/log of what albums you have? Do you alphabetize your collection?

Yes, database. Yes, alphabetized by artist, compilations at the end alphabetized by title (also, one bunch of shelves for contemporary classical music and experimental stuff that leans heavily in that direction, and another bunch of shelves for "everything else" which means mostly pop/rock).

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Your CD-shop Modus Operandi

(b) I buy where-ever really, I'm not fussed.

(c) The hunt is all that matters. I don't buy online, and only download the odd MP3.

(d) I listen all the way through. I listen to about 5 hours+ music a day. I buy about 5 or 6 if I'm in the city, and probably just one or two if I'm local.

(e) No database. No order. I'm surprised that I don't lose track of what I have more often.

(b)99% of the time I buy from a couple of local stores, but if I see something I've been searching for thats cheap and can't find it elsewhere I'll buy it.

(c)Ebay occasionally for stuff I can't find and it's cheap.

(d) I go through phases of Buying-listening alot/a little. I listen to the whole album.

(e) No but someday I might.

b) When in CT, I patronize the nearby chain stores - I've a Media Play, a Circuit City, a Best Buy, and a Borders within 5 minutes of my home. (Lucky me.) When I was employed, I used to use and abuse Insound - they even sent me a messenger bag FOR FREE because of my generosity. (Thanks, Insound!) Now, though, I just scrounge up any cash I can spare and wander aimlessly from A-Z through the aisles of the chain stores instead of shoppping the web - immediate gratification rules. This is why I'm the, um, proud owner of the new Cave-In and Longwave albums, instead of, for instance, some Hyped 2 Death CD-Rs, or the stuff from Catsup Plate I've been eyeing. I hit Other Music & Kim's Mondo every time I'm in NYC (their scattershot classification systems feed my wanderlust), but my favorite place to shop is Newbury Comics. If they actually deemed rap worthy enough to share stack space w/ the guitary stuff, I'd move into the store at Harvard Square.

c) Challenge of the hunt for me. Plus, I'm impatient. If it's something I've been hunting for unsuccessfully, I'll suck it up & place the order. Besides, I like receiving packages, even if they're things I'm sending myself.

d) I ALWAYS buy multiple discs at a time. I can't justify spending as much time as I do wandering around without finding more than one thing to buy. If I do find The One Thing I want, I end up trying to find something else that I might not ordinarily buy. If I can't find The One Thing, I usually just leave. (NOTE: This only applies to big ol' chain stores; I can't leave OM or Newbury's empty-handed if I tried.)

And, lord, I have enough unheard albums in my collection that I really shouldn't go out and buy any new stuff for at least a couple of weeks (if not a full month).

e) I used to alphabetize, but the lack of space in my living quarters ends up leaving some section of the alphabet in one of my closets, and therefore unheard. To fix this, I've resorted to a hipster doofus type of system, wherein I seperate out all the stuff I just about know by heart & shove THAT in the closet, while the newer type musics, the stuff I don't listen to that much, and anything remotely post-punkish (i.e. the stuff I live on) get the prime real estate within my eyesight. One of these days, when I feel sufficiently motivated / unmotivated, I'll type up a list (with details on where stuff is located, so I won't fall in the same trap I did when using A-Z fanciness).

In early college, I bought about 5-6 cds a month, from Plan 9 music in C'ville, VA where they would order anything for you, you didn't have to buy it and you could listen to it before you bought. Whenever I went on trips all I would do would be go to record stores and scour their selection, (by this time I was strictly an independent store girl).

In the second half of college is when my hunting spirit died. I started working at Plan 9 Records and I was the music director of the community radio station (where Malkmus and Berman used to dj). So basically with my employee discount (we only had to pay what the store paid for used cds ($1-$4) and 33% percent off new), my hold shelf where we could ransack the store and put on hold boxes of cds to eventually buy, and because of promos at the station, i was swamped by music. Each weekend I would try to clean out my hold shelf and would buy about 20 cds a weekend. Sad to say, 3 years later I still have albums I haven't listened to yet.

So due to all this and my ability to still go back to my old record store whenever passing through on my way to my parents house and still order things and get my employee discount, the thrill of record store hunting is over for now. I only will hunt through vinyl. And more for vinyl that has some kind of aesthetic beauty to it. Like the covers to Let It Be or the Marble Index.

Plus another thing is that since I only shop in independent stores (I've bought a handful of cds from bigger stores, usually due to seeing something while using the bathroom)I'm kind of cynical towards me actually finding something of value. I know how record store employees are and if anything of value was to show up, I know that someone working there will buy it first or put it aside for a friend.

I alphabetize. I don't keep tallys because I don't care. I could tell you though where I bought every single record and why I bought it which I think is more interesting.

I shop on the net only when I need something right away (and because where I live now I kind of hate all the record stores) and if it's directly from the artist or if I get a gift certificate to B&N or something.