Oh, Monseur le Fopp, you are really spoiling us...

It about two feet above and 10-12 inches behind my sitting position in the middle of the couch (speakers are very high in this massively compromised arrangement), so I expect to develop fantastic neck muscles, like Garth Cr00ks.

Is the delicate technology well away from the reach of jammy, curious fingers?

No, the missus can reach it. Ho ho! DVD, VCR and power amps are all at Ava-level, unfortunately. Pam's a dab hand at knocking together nifty-looking panels and stuff from a bit of cheap tongue'n'groove, so I'm sure she can come up with something to shield them. I suggested a minefield.

Thing is, I don't just want to listen to Joe Brown and the Bruvvers, I want to be them. I want to be groomed for stardom.

Secrets of the Beehive is a film, isn't it? No, that is Spirit of the Beehive. I have seen it, at the pictures. I prefer "Furtivos":

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073028/

Perhaps John Cale is an artist best listened to in the winter months. I think I am going to file this record with that Gene Clark one that everyone says is great but I don't like - No Other, that's it.

I am surprised the Doc dislikes GP so. I like him, as most people seem to do. I recently discovered how much I like 'I Can't Dance', in a way.

I am thinking of buying SAINT MORRISSEY, the book, from this shop. Should I?

Most surprising recent bargain: Magnetic Fields, HOLIDAY, £5!

But the first copy I bought didn't have a CD in it!

I took it back and got the CD from a copy that said £7 on it.

Bargain!

haven't been able to gauge if the web prices are as good as the on-street yet but a good thing surely.

I bought "Mr Isaacs" by Gregory Isaacs

TCR has got confusing new categories, the main one being "alt/modern". Everything earlier than c.1995 comes under "classic rock/singer songwriter".

... which isn't strictly accurate as there's plenty of stuff from pre-1995 in the alt/modern section and there's a fair bit of stuff from post-1995 in classic rock/singer songwriter section, e.g. Can are in the alt/modern section while Faust are in classic rock, even more confusingly Frank Zappa is alt/modern and Petra Haden is classic rock!

Also pricing policy is a bit all over the (record) shop - I noticed the same CD on sale (in different sections but sometimes even in the same section) for £3, £5 and £7! And not just once either! So shop around. So I bought:

Lou Reed - Take No Prisoners £5
The Doors - Strange Days £3
Todd Rundgren - The Healing £1(!)
Lee Perry & Friends - Chapter 3: Live As One £1 (!!)

Chuffed with the last one as it's got a lot of tracks I've been looking for on it.

Of course, shitloads of other stuff I coulda bought and I think prices will tumble even further as the record industry lurches inexorably towards disaster and extinction *rubs hands with glee*

nice.

gotta be said, that hmv really has had to follow fopp lots; it's not the thing it used to be.

I will go tomorrow morning.

Hmm, bit of a way for a Soho-ite like me, but, if EDF stick a pickaxe through our cables again (only jokin', EDF), it's not like I'll be pushed for time.

Although there is quite a good one somewhere in the Soho area actually. I forget exactly where but it it on the junction of two roads at acute angles to each other and thus kinda juts out at you from the front. I bought Earth's first record there for a rip-off tenner...

Most of the tracks also appear on the 8CD re-issue of the wonderful Atlantic 1947-73(?) box set that came out c. 1987/88. Fopp are selling each of these for £3 each. Vols 7 & 8 are particularly fine: The Spinners "Mighty Love", Beginning Of The End "Funky Nassau", Persuaders "Thin Line Between Love & Hate", Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, and the absolutely STONKING "Compared To What" by Les McCann & Eddie Harris.

Witness the demise of all these over priced rip off mechants in the past decade: Andy's Records, Sam Goody, Tower Records, MVC, Our Price.

Replaced by specialist online shops such as boomkat, e-tailers such as Amazon, supermarkets selling new/chart Cds at discounted prices, plus Jersey/Guersney VAT loop hole etailers, and the growth of discount chains such Fopp and Music Zone.

parp!

I shall Report Back later. I may be some time.

Here it is:

http://www.fopp.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=2530

I used to have this anyway, but decided it was a bit too thorough, compared to the near-perfection* and boundless misery of the first Singles album. But I didn't get the first Singles album to replace it. It is, you may remember, a chance to hear "Your Navy Requests".

Postage is 1.50 if your order is less than 25 pounds.

I don't think I ever want to go to Fopp again after looking through that lot.

* I don't like "Top of the World".

-- RJG (RJ...), July 29th, 2006.

REALLY? You don't say!