a guy walks into Other Music...

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... to buy some CDs for a friend. he happens to be Michael Stipe, and his friend is super-chef Mario Battali. about whose musical tastes all we, the viewers of Iconoclasts (the Sundance Channel's celebrity-friends tete a tete miniseries) know, is that he likes the Grateful Dead and that PJ Harvey's 4-Track Demos was blaring at his restaurant, Babbo, when and where the two friends first met. Stipe's shopping list starts off with Gang of Four's Entertainment ("we used to open for these guys") and the first Stranglers album. he leaves the Other selections up to a helpful OM associate, who suggests a Dennis Bovell comp. after some intense wracking, Stipe remembers "that Athens band," Neutral Milk Hotel and adds their CD (we never see which) to his stack. we can also see the unmistakable back sleeve of Emperor Tomato Ketchup when he's reviewing his purchases in the car.

Stipe and Battali are whisked away to a U2 show on a private plane, where Battali has a brow-furrowed reaction to NMH's name and Stipe explains that the Bovell is vintage dub.

so, ILM, how do we think he did?

― loxmyth, Monday, 19 December 2005 00:28 (twenty years ago)

emperor tomato ketchup isn't really that good. neither is entertainment. i don't picture batali as an NMH fan AT ALL... too jovial.

if i were michael stipe buying records for mario batalli, i would probably just get him some yardbirds (over under sideways down?) and neil young (on the beach? comes a time?)

― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Monday, 19 December 2005 00:34 (twenty years ago)

GREAT thread!

― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Monday, 19 December 2005 00:34 (twenty years ago)

Two days later, the EIC of The Wire magazine gets a 2am phone call from a man with a cajun accent: "No Sufjan, No Credibility. Bam! Kick it up a notch!"

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Monday, 19 December 2005 00:35 (twenty years ago)

yeah, i thought NMH was a bizarre choice. Athens pride, maybe?

did someone catch the other names on Stipe's hand-written shopping list?

Other Music and ILM being what they are, it wouldn't surprise me if said salesperson who so impressed Stipe was even among us. speak up!

― loxmyth, Monday, 19 December 2005 00:35 (twenty years ago)

did someone catch the other names on Stipe's hand-written shopping list?

yes, with my intensely powerful satellite that i use to monitor celebrity shopping lists from beneath the sea.

― u saved me (dubplatestyle), Monday, 19 December 2005 00:37 (twenty years ago)

xpost Wait, you're not one of the staffers? So where did you hear this story?

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Monday, 19 December 2005 00:37 (twenty years ago)

Yardbirds/Shakey OTM. and Slits instead of Bovell, unless OM was out of stock.

i was waiting for the guy to foist Hemat or Gardet or some other weedy swedey jamz on him.

― loxmyth, Monday, 19 December 2005 00:39 (twenty years ago)

as broadcast in living color on Sundance Channel's "Iconoclasts." check the listings for one of the inevitable bazillion reairings.

― loxmyth, Monday, 19 December 2005 00:42 (twenty years ago)

THANKS STREET TEAM DUDE

― u saved me (dubplatestyle), Monday, 19 December 2005 00:42 (twenty years ago)

xposts:: hurting, you know that even though emeril's cuisine is cajun-influenced, he was born in Fall River, MA and his accent is a Massachusetts one.

― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Monday, 19 December 2005 00:43 (twenty years ago)

Ha, caught. I've never actually seen his show. I just buy his pasta sauces.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Monday, 19 December 2005 00:44 (twenty years ago)

But now that I think about it maybe I can call up Big Hassle, have them send him to one of our shows and then leak the rumor to the music press.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Monday, 19 December 2005 00:55 (twenty years ago)

I saw him buying vegetables at the farmers market over the summer. He had carrots and a bag of greens. What do you think of that? Good choices?

― Stupid Man Telling Truth, Monday, 19 December 2005 01:25 (twenty years ago)

all i know is, when i saw the name of the show *Batali On Stipe* i pictured a less than pretty picture.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 19 December 2005 01:33 (twenty years ago)

cheers to that subversive OMer to suggest Bovell

― Beta (abeta), Monday, 19 December 2005 01:34 (twenty years ago)

emperor tomato ketchup isn't really that good.

wtf are you talking about, ian

― cutty (mcutt), Monday, 19 December 2005 01:36 (twenty years ago)

Other Music and ILM being what they are, it wouldn't surprise me if said salesperson who so impressed Stipe was even among us. speak up!

Other Music being what it is, I'm surprised they didn't kick Michael Stipe out of the store for being signed to Warner Bros.

― Myke Weiskopf (Myke Weiskopf), Monday, 19 December 2005 01:43 (twenty years ago)

that does not make any sense at all.

― cutty (mcutt), Monday, 19 December 2005 01:45 (twenty years ago)

because they're elitist indie snobs, duh!

― lauren (laurenp), Monday, 19 December 2005 01:46 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, indie snobs selling Blur CDs.

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Monday, 19 December 2005 01:52 (twenty years ago)

One time I was at Other Music and I ran into the owner of the record store I go to Every week and talk to here (Toronto) that was a good "so a guy walks into other music" story

Michael Stipe eh.

― Tokyo Ghost Stories (Tokyo Ghost Stories), Monday, 19 December 2005 01:58 (twenty years ago)

Story is false- nobody actually buys CDs anymore.

― Reggie, Monday, 19 December 2005 02:06 (twenty years ago)

Two days later, the EIC of The Wire magazine gets a 2am phone call from a man with a cajun accent: "No Sufjan, No Credibility. Bam! Kick it up a notch!"

Emeril is from Massachussetts

― helperbird, Monday, 19 December 2005 02:07 (twenty years ago)

That was already addressed above. Thx.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Monday, 19 December 2005 02:17 (twenty years ago)

Story is false- nobody actually buys CDs anymore.

Of course not, Michael was looking for tapes.

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Monday, 19 December 2005 02:20 (twenty years ago)

this thread is psychotic

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 19 December 2005 02:22 (twenty years ago)

i dont care about fattey from celebrity poker, i'm still pissed about the time i sold a ghey anti-pop consortium cd used for $4 but sneery bitch at counter shortchanged me a dollar.

also, ive worked in a restaraunt, why do all cooks like the Dead?

― .- \(O_o)/-' (mookie wilson), Monday, 19 December 2005 03:25 (twenty years ago)

the OM employee who suggested the blackbeard joint was Daniel Givens.

― FY!, Monday, 19 December 2005 03:31 (twenty years ago)

Actually, I'm a little confused -- would this be viral marketing for Babbo, R.E.M., OM, or the bands that Stipe bought?

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Monday, 19 December 2005 03:32 (twenty years ago)

xpost-
Because the Dead sounds great when you're drunk.

― .-\o_O)/-', Monday, 19 December 2005 03:33 (twenty years ago)

I cooked for years and never met a cook who liked the Dead!

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Monday, 19 December 2005 03:40 (twenty years ago)

this show was sort of unbearable to watch in a 'how does it feel to be so AMAZINGLY AWESOME' way. like if i want to watch celeb-slurps, i'll program the tv guide channel back into my tivo (or, in the case of batali, read more of frank bruni's articles).

― maura (maura), Monday, 19 December 2005 03:43 (twenty years ago)

i haven't seen this show... is it ON DEMAND?

― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Monday, 19 December 2005 04:43 (twenty years ago)

omg they had a french version of this show where udo kier was hanging around with that transexual fella who won the turner prize in london and they had nothing to say to each other!

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Monday, 19 December 2005 07:36 (twenty years ago)

the turner prize guy was a lot smarter than udo kier btw.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Monday, 19 December 2005 07:36 (twenty years ago)

Mario Battali's pasta sauces are great. I don't know anything about him, but I was disappointed when my local Trader Joe's stopped carrying them.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 19 December 2005 09:28 (twenty years ago)

that U2 shit was gun-to-head style torture

― noizem duke (noize duke), Monday, 19 December 2005 09:47 (twenty years ago)

we can also see the unmistakable back sleeve of Emperor Tomato Ketchup when he's reviewing his purchases in the car.

??? I thought E.T.K. was some crazy spiral shit..

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Monday, 19 December 2005 11:30 (twenty years ago)

iC:\Documents and Settings\student\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5XEJSDU7\B000002HK2.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_[1].jpg

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Monday, 19 December 2005 11:30 (twenty years ago)

fuck i'm tired... maybe he was buying Metallica

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Monday, 19 December 2005 11:31 (twenty years ago)

Uhmmm, how about some Sunn O))))) -- DUH!

― nancyboy (nancyboy), Monday, 19 December 2005 11:38 (twenty years ago)

(No Sunn O))), no credibility)

― nancyboy (nancyboy), Monday, 19 December 2005 11:41 (twenty years ago)

Other Music walks into harvard square...

...and goes out of business.

man, that was some funny shit when that happened.

all hail twisted village!

― Lawrence the Looter (Lawrence the Looter), Monday, 19 December 2005 14:53 (twenty years ago)

OH. UNMISTAKABLE BACK sleeve. i kept reading it as black.... i've been at the library for 10 hours writing a paper while living through a hangover.

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Monday, 19 December 2005 14:56 (twenty years ago)

BOBST

― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Monday, 19 December 2005 16:18 (twenty years ago)

Doesn't explain how OM employees saw what he was buying -- just cause he's Michael Stipe don't mean he found a parking spot right in front of OM.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Monday, 19 December 2005 16:50 (twenty years ago)

Sorry, I mean, not what he was buying in general (which OM employees obv. saw) but whoever saw him opening ETK thru the car window.
Right.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Monday, 19 December 2005 16:50 (twenty years ago)

i have parked my car many times in front of OM

― cutty (mcutt), Monday, 19 December 2005 16:51 (twenty years ago)

Stipe's driver parked the car right in front of OM and waited for him. he didn't open anything - they were gifts for Batali, remember? - but the camera caught him doing what any music geek fresh from a record store run would do: ripping open the bag - so to speak - and flipping through his purchases.

Honestly, AB, not one of your comments on this thread has made any damn sense. i'm sure it's me.

― loxmyth (echoinggrove), Monday, 19 December 2005 17:05 (twenty years ago)

Glad to see he picked The Stranglers first album. That's a great record.

― musicjohn73 (musicjohn73), Monday, 19 December 2005 17:51 (twenty years ago)

stipe seems like an alright dude.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 19 December 2005 18:01 (twenty years ago)

Saw the video for Driver 8 on VH1 last night.

That was a good song.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Monday, 19 December 2005 18:06 (twenty years ago)

thats one of the 6 "licks" i can play on guitar....very similar to bowie's "andy warhol"..

um, Daniel doesn't werk there anymore...

no Sonic Youth....seems like Murray Street would be a given

― bb (bbrz), Monday, 19 December 2005 19:15 (twenty years ago)

Wouldn't Stive have owned Entertainment by now?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 19 December 2005 19:18 (twenty years ago)

If he's hearing it for the first time, maybe the next REM album will be fucking awesome.

― A|ex P@reene (Pareene), Monday, 19 December 2005 19:21 (twenty years ago)

emperor tomato ketchup isn't really that good. neither is entertainment.

I have no opinion on the former, but disrespecting Entertainment gets you banished from the land of sanity, as far as I'm concerned.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 19 December 2005 19:26 (twenty years ago)

Glad to see he picked The Stranglers first album. That's a great record.

Amen. I'm also somewhat surprised Stipe likes them, given their unrepentant penchant for thuggish misogyny (which, of course, only makes me love them all the more).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 19 December 2005 19:28 (twenty years ago)

Wouldn't Stive have owned Entertainment by now?

isn't he buying it for someone else??

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Monday, 19 December 2005 19:50 (twenty years ago)

Other Music walks into harvard square...
...and goes out of business.
man, that was some funny shit when that happened.
all hail twisted village!

LOL. They were okay on certain things. I always felt like Twisted was better for the psych/garage/vintage rock/noise stuff, whereas Other had the market on left-of-center pop and international and a way better selection of European experimental music (e.g., Ash International and Touch catalogues). Twisted can still order lots of stuff, true, but Other had it on hand, which was rather nice.

They were a sight better than Newbury Comics, that's for sure...

― Myke Weiskopf (Myke Weiskopf), Monday, 19 December 2005 23:20 (twenty years ago)

ah, but newbury comics could be a bonanza if you're seeking inexpensive imports. they would sometimes have those extremely discounted because no one shopping there was interested. got all the walker brothers reissues for $8 each, likewise with orange juice reissues. i think all of those are out of print now.

i really have fond memories of the cambridge other music. it was a good place, although they never really got the used section going. i suspect boston just isn't new york.

also, we were in a recession back then. i wonder if it could make a "go" now. on the one hand, the economy is doing better. on the other, with mp3s etc., people are shopping in record stores less (i assume).

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 02:48 (twenty years ago)

boston sucks for everything, not just opening a record store.

― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 02:54 (twenty years ago)

xpost: I liked the Cambridge OM, too. Maybe it isn't NY, but more than that I'm not sure the location helped -- you have Planet, In Your Ear, Tower, whatever that other megastore is, Newbury, and Twisted Village all in spitting distance. When they opened a lot of people said, 'Another one?'

― TRG (TRG), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 02:57 (twenty years ago)

xpost: Spoken like a true Bostonian.

― TRG (TRG), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 02:57 (twenty years ago)

i'm waiting for this thread to turn into jokes that start with:

"so, a guy walks into other music and..."

― cutty (mcutt), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 03:35 (twenty years ago)

and FUCK THIS GAY-ASS THREAD.

(is that a good punch line?)

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 03:39 (twenty years ago)

not very creative

― cutty (mcutt), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 03:40 (twenty years ago)

just like this thread.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 03:40 (twenty years ago)

i mean c'mon, this is sub-poor theatrean.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 03:45 (twenty years ago)

sub-breezy

― cutty (mcutt), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 03:46 (twenty years ago)

same diff.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 03:47 (twenty years ago)

Very fond memories of the Cambridge OM, and how they recommended me this mysterious cd from Kompakt, a label I had never heard of before.

― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 03:48 (twenty years ago)

i've seen the stiper in there before. he got pretty pushy with his elbows once while looking through the used vinyl section; though i don't remember him actually buying any vinyl when he was online in front of me. he did 'cause the clerk behind the register to get so wet in the pants that she rang by 99 cent purchase up as 149 dollars and something cents. my main point being: WHY DOES OTHER NOT HAVE ANY MORE 99 CENT ITEMS? i mean, they used to have that dumping of awesome cheapo 7"s and then the graveyard of 99 cent cds where you could find unpurchased elefant imports.

worst "man walks into other story" has to be when i overheard vincent gallo talking to his buddy about his impeccable record collection.

― is selzer pronounced like the water (certain), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 15:25 (twenty years ago)

Did anyone else catch that phat bankroll stipe was carrying around when he changed clothes in the backseat of that gas guzzling Escalade limo? Musta been 3 grand in cash. Who carries 3 grand in cash around nowadays?

― white boi, Tuesday, 20 December 2005 15:32 (twenty years ago)

Wouldn't Stive have owned Entertainment by now?

my thoughts exactly.

― mike a, Tuesday, 20 December 2005 15:57 (twenty years ago)

HE WAS BUYING IT FOR HIS FRIEND, OK?

― cutty (mcutt), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 16:07 (twenty years ago)

OM in Camb was awful, they had very little in stock and the clerks couldn't even be bothered to be sneery. My favorite memory is when I asked about an import album and the counter dude looked it up on allmusic and responded, "Yeah, it exists." That's helpful. Most of the time I'd end up at Newbs where the desired CD would be waiting for me in proper alpha order.

― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 18:28 (twenty years ago)

"important album"? was it... silverchair?

― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Tuesday, 20 December 2005 19:01 (twenty years ago)

ten years pass...

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/arts/music/other-music-record-store-closing.html?_r=0

― Evan, Monday, 9 May 2016 16:55 (ten years ago)

Oops, didn't see the other thread.

― Evan, Monday, 9 May 2016 16:58 (ten years ago)

Resisting temptation to revive the Noize Borad thread as well.

― Old Familiar Toonces (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 9 May 2016 17:03 (ten years ago)

So a catfish walks into Other Music and says "I represent Les Rallizes Dénudés and they are very interested in doing an in-store here next month..."

― Old Familiar Toonces (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 9 May 2016 17:06 (ten years ago)

Am v glad this thread got revived in add'n to the main OM one to counter this obv sad/sobering news (subject of thread starts at 6:50): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vldNLoZ0RXM

― Rad Macca (Craig D.), Monday, 9 May 2016 21:07 (ten years ago)

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