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

I was pleased to think that buying the Gram thing cheered you up. I hope you haven't been saddened by its continued state of shrinkwrappedness.

I say "favourite" but that just means it's one of about a dozen records (like House Tornado and Secrets of the Beehive) that assumed untouchable status in my head about 10-12 years ago and that I don't feel the need to revisit very often or reassess. This is probably a bad thing, I dunno.

In other news, I have unpacked all my CDs and set up my stereo for the first time in five months. The first CD tune I played (very quietly - it was nearly 1am when I finished plugged everything in) was Noel Akchote and Marc Ribot havin' a bash at Ornette Coleman's "New York" and the first vinyl tune was The Blue Aeroplanes' hooj summer smash "Yr Own World".

Perhaps I will blow the next Child Tax Credit payment in Fopp.

Congrats on the return of your stereo, MJ. Have you ascertained the precise location of the Sweet Spot, yet? Is the delicate technology well away from the reach of jammy, curious fingers?

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!