A House Divided or I Just Quibble Over Music Stores

I am a woman torn between two stores. On the one hand there is my teeny little Spy Records store all the way down Tates Creek Drive. Way decent selection playing when you walk in - fantastic rec's and really thorough used section. I love this store - anything I want, they will order it for me.

But, since I moved, it is on the other end of town. This means it is really easy for me to restrict myself to the once a month visit. Cause I have to support my independent music shop, yo.

So yesterday I stopped by and bought The White Stripes' "Elephant" used (cause when do you ever see The White Stripes in a used bin?) and The Tragically Hip's "Live Between Us" (because of sweetestdrain's "Scared" a Mal vid that premiered at VVC. I love that vid. And that song).

Except I still have music purchases I *have* to make this month. I don't have Kanye West's new album and that really needs to be corrected. And the soundtrack to Elizabethtown is coming out and I *have* to have that immediately. Like today. Like right now. Seriously - I can't believe Cameron Crowe filmed a movie in the town I always thought of as mine (cause when you are a little kid and a town up the interstate from you is called your nametown, you are gonna feel possessive) and the soundtrack has My Morning Jacket (locals!)on it and Sun Kil Moon singing "Kentucky Woman" and Bill Monroe and I just... I must have this. NOW. Not to mention new stuff from North Mississippi Allstars and Death Cab for Cutie and what is the deal with all of this coming out all at the same time? And there is some kind of Bob Dylan thing going on as well cause everytime I walk into Starbucks now, they are playing something by him. Not that I am complaining - I just feel really out of touch.

So I am gonna go to my more centrally located independent music store for all of this. Well, not all of this. Some of this. I feel as if they have seduced me away from Spy Records with their seductive email newsletters and free compilation CDs and fancy schmancy in-store shows and swanky website (http://www.cdcentralmusic.com ) and I am just a little whore for it all. Cause really - they are so appealing to me - I cannot help it.

Also? They are taking up money for the New Orleans Musicians Relief fund (http://www.nomrf.org) and that just gets to me. I am putty for this store.

And it isn't really cheating if I still make a point to spend half of my music money at Spy Records - is it? And they don't have a website or email list and if it wasn't for CD Central emailing me every other day - I'd be hopelessly behind on everything. As it is - I am barely able to keep up with today (and I still need to find out about that Bob Dylan thing... is there a PBS special coming soon? Is that what it is?) so it isn't as if they aren't giving back to me in spades.

And, and, and! CD Central is just down the street from me, practically. And I have to have Elizabethtown. I have to have it.

So just ignore me in the corner - we should all have my problems. I am very thankful that I never need give my hardwon music money to Best Buy or Walmart or the like again. This is me being thankful.

Message for pipsqueaky: Citizen Cope is playing tomorrow at Headliners. I think it is about $15 a ticket and it is probably ridiculous to even bring it up on a school night and all, but hey - let's talk.


Message for anyone in my area: Interested in seeing Peter Mulvey 10/6 in Louisville or 10/7 in Covington? Cause, hey! Peter Mulvey. Live. Like right there. And he sings! And plays guitar! Right in front of you.

(no subject)

http://wwoz.org is the link for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage station and if my memory is correct - they used to broadcast out of Louis Armstrong Park. TBQ, Lum - am I right? My memory is fuzzy but if this is the station I used to listen to - that is where they were located. Seems right. And that park as of last week, at least, was under water.

Anyway - this is a great link to find out where and how some local NOLA artists are faring post-Katrina. Also, you can donate or join or do something. I know everyone is already doing everything that they can for a gazillion different causes but hey - here is another one.

Also, they have a web-stream enabled (I think - I'm at work and can't access that kind of thing) and you don't want to miss that.

ETA: I was right! This is the same station I used to listen to and it is fantastic - real New Orleans music and shows and just a great community resource! General Manager David Freedman writes in his blog on 9/9 (after getting back into the city to inspect the facilities)

In former times WWOZ resided in Armstrong park-- a park with man-made lagoons. Now it is a nature-made lagoon with a piece of park in it. Happily, our studio is still in the park part and not in the lagoon part. We did take water, perhaps a foot or six inches, so we will loose the flooring. But Damond went into the building and ALL of our equipment seems to be fine -- downstairs in the production room and upstairs in the control room. Ditto for our recordings. However, a wide portion of roof shingles have been torn off, exposing the tarpaper underneath. If we don't fix that roof in a hurry, our equipment and recordings will be ruined.


I'm trying to read this and work on files and answer the phones and so I am doing everything a little half assed but I can say that the destruction of this station's library would be a tremendous loss, not just to New Orleans, but to, like - the world. Or history.