Once again, that time has arrived. Time to think up the best of 2019.
But first, G.S from Only Solitaire used to have plenty of new reviews, but he seemed to disappear from my reading sources. I discover this lengthy novel from earlier this year.
http://only-solitaire.blogspot.com/2019/09/music-where-hell-is-it-heading-to.html
You'll have set aside about two hours to read the whole novel but G.S does have a point. The only time anybody pays attention to anything is by the old guard artists of the 60s and 70s (80s and 90s) and anything after 2000, nobody gives a fuck. The internet has made everything just about accessible and most new stuff is shit. Don't even bring Kayne West into this, he's worthless. Maybe Kendrick Lamar but again rap is crap and I'm not interested. Florida Georgia Line? The expiration date has expired. Their last album was a flop. That girl that don't know who Van Halen is? Hell, I don't even know who she is.
This is the end of the second decade in the new Millennium, and anybody born around 1999 or beyond are not going to have a clue of classic rockers of the past, unless their parents have CDs or albums and I'm sure they rebelled against their folks with EDM bad rap pop. Which makes me glad I didn't have children. They would be listening to Kanye West or FGL.
It's been a half century since Woodstock, Altamont and the free love and sex that was promised but never delivered to most of us. I was too young, tho Arlens and Woolworths had 3 for a dollar 45s that kept me up to Jimi or The Doors or Steppenwolf. I grew up listening to AM top 30 and then hitting the FM dial and hearing a whole new world of albums and bands I never heard before. Back then, FM radio was the new frontier. Fifty years later, The Telecom act of 1994 gave us Corporate Radio. And since then, radio has not been a friend to the new artists out there. We're still stuck with the same shit, different formats. Even in 1975, five years after 1970 the underground stations were slowly being wiped away. But if you have a computer, you can stream on the forgotten stuff. there's plenty of that out there. Too bad it isn't on the radio dial anymore.
The teen idols of the 50s and 60s are now senior citizens if they're still alive. Sweet Brenda Lee is now 75 years old and most of the Rolling Stones are over 70 too. The music is still young but the artists are now old and any new releases will be barely mentioned on radio before going to another overplayed oldie. The new WHO album is out, but let's play Baba O'Reily to celebrate.
Still the biggest problem was trying to find new releases on CD. This year was off the wall difficult, it took me two months to get the new Darkness album, half a year to get the Dream Syndicate. I'm sure had I asked, Moondog Music would have ordered the CD. I rather not order from Amazon.com, simply of the fact that Jeff Brezos has enough money as it stand. Plus it's best to support the local record stores, even they are in Moline, Davenport, Madison or Dubque. Wally World and Target only had the most popular. They certainly don't have the latest from The Darkness, Ride or Redd Kross for that matter. And screw Best Buy anyway. They don't sell CDs, but if you can order them online. What's the fucking point then? I go to record stores to discover something new. Online stores don't give you that option of seeing actual inventory.
A couple things happened this year that has changed my buying habits. One, I quit listening to the radio and focused more on old cheap music from the past and secondly, I started seeing somebody that is a real musician. And girlfriends are not cheap, especially in emergencies when they short of cash for bills. And basically new music is as disposal at it gets. But let's face it, I've been subject to seven decades of music, the 50s through the 00's and whatever old rock bands had to offer in the 10s. To my surprise, many of the best bands were the ones from back then. It's strange how Drivin n Cryin' or Redd Kross have still sounded viable over the years more than Kings Of Leon or Dawes, who's last album found itself in the dollar bins at Half Price Books. Even old fart Neil Young gave us three albums this year, all enjoyable even if the new Crazy Horse album is the most mellow they ever put out. While Hootie And The Blowfish went country, their latest album is no more country than Cracked Rear View, which got a 2 CD upgrade. But rest assured that reissue will not sell a scratch of the 16 million that the original did, and can be found at every junk shop in town. Or REM Monster for that matter, which also seen a reissue.
Reissues of the year, the only that mattered was Buck Owens Complete Capitol Singles 1971-1975. To which I gave on default tho, Gene Clark's No Other might be runner up. The Bobbette's I Shot Mr. Lee overview on Jasmine is also fun to hear, one of the lesser known Atlantic doo wop groups of the 50s. Maybe somebody will put out The Soul Brothers Six's Atlantic output but unless Ace Records Uk does that, nobody will pay attention. Purists would either give The Rolling Stones Let It Bleed or The Beatles Abbey Road 50th Anniversary albums but at this point, I've bought both albums about 10 times and not about to pony up for a 11th. Or the Bob Dylan Sessions with Johnny Cash.
Anyway, the best of 2019 I doubt will be remembered unless some bored web surfer comes across this and gets a LOL. So here my picks in no particular order but probably the 10 best of the year. Come what may, this will be buried in the archives till blogger goes belly up and we lose everything, just like we did with the other lesser known social media sites that have become the K Mart of the net. (right My Space).
The Best:
King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard-Infest The Rat's Nest (Flightless)
Their metal move. And right off the bat, I played this CD twice in a row. It's a throwback to the fun heavy metal of the 80s and traces of Anthrax and Slayer figure into this as well as a sense of humor (Remember Stone? No you don't, or Spinal Tap) King Gizzard has made about 12 albums the past five years but I really never gotten much into these guys till this came out. Perhaps I'll get adventurous and seek out more of their albums. Or maybe not.
Whiskey Myers (30 Tigers)
30 Tigers is home to some of the best Americana and rock and country out there (Blackberry Smoke, Chris Knight) and Whiskey Myers have been around, more of a poorman's Blackberry Smoke. This time out, they lose Dave Cobb (who went to bombast The Highwomen's overhyped debut) and self produced and for the majority of the album made some of the best Southern rock since Holding All The Roses from The Smoke. Lose the damn soul sisters and trim about three filler songs off this and this album would be one for the ages that people remember. Well, people might remember this album 10 years from now.
Todd Snider-Cash Cabin Session Vol 3 (30 Tigers)
The ghost of Johnny Cash is all over this collection of songs inspired by the man in black. This might be Todd's best album since East Nashville Skyline. Funny and haunting all at the same time.
Drivin N Cryin'-Live The Love Beautiful (DNC Records)
Kevn Kinney's distinctive vocals has always been the one of the most memorable vocalist that you can't name. But the band's music has always been rock n roll up front and personal. Given the Tom Petty sound that's Free Ain't Free starts out the record, it's a guaranteed good time. I have never heard a subpar DNC album (even Smoke, the lesser of their albums, is worth hearing still). and Live The Love Beautiful doesn't disappoint.
The Dawn-Live At The Hotel Raccoon (Cartouche)
Sean Ryan and company continue to be the premier jam band of Iowa. Or is that Western Illinois (Ryan lives in Freeport Ill). This live setting takes the best moments from their last two albums and turn them into jam anthems. 1984 and Dance All Night elbows moe. and Phish out of the way on the way to sonic heaven.
Redd Kross-Behind The Door (Merge)
The Melvins connection has never been stronger since they picked up Dale Crover, who adds a sonic whomp to their glam power pop rock and roll.
Collective Soul-Blood (Suretone)
25 years onward, and Collective Soul's new album was better than their former labelmate Hootie And The Blowfish one. This actually compliments their 1994 S/T album better, tho people don't seem to care anymore.
Steve Earle-Guy (New West)
Tho it pales to the failed So You Wanna Be A Outlaw album, this tribute to the late Guy Clark is another winning album from Steve Earle.
Queensryche-The Verdict (Century Media)
They lost Scott Rockenfield to being a full time dad, but otherwise Todd De La Torre continues to take the band back to the early screamo metal years of the mid 80s. Zeus' production reminding so much of Peter Collins. In a perfect world of rock radio Portrait would be given lots of airplay.
The Darkness-Easter Is Canceled (Cooking Vinyl)
In a perfect world of rock radio, The Darkness would be getting lots of airplay. Out of all the bands of the 2000s, The Darkness is the link to the past and Queen.
Other great albums of note:
The Dream Syndicate-These Times (Anti)
The Specials-Encore (Island)
John Mayall-Nobody Told Me (40 Below)
Neil Young/Crazy Horse-Colorado (Reprise)
Ride-This Is Not A Safe Place (Wichita)
The Ocean Blue-Kings And Queens/Knaves And Thieves (Korda)
Lukas Nelson/Promise Of The Real-Turn Off The News Build A Garden (Fantasy)
Nik Turner-The Final Frontier (Purple Pyramid)
Diplomats Of Solid Sound-A Higher Place (Pravda)
Leonard Cohen-Thanks For The Dance (Columbia)
Basically the best of the rest are basically the rest of the albums that I bought this year. The Dream Syndicate These Times, might be even better than their comeback album of a couple years ago. The surprise would be The Ocean Blue, with a new recording that sounds more 1994 than 2019 and sometimes that is a good thing. While Jerry Dammers has nothing to do with The Specials, this album has the return of Terry Hall on vocals. And Encore is their most reggae sounding album ever. Which is saying something. Ride's second album since their return is a bit more focused, Nik Turner still retains the spirit of Space Ritual Hawkwind than the band itself and Promise Of The Real is more garage rock than Crazy Horse. Speaking of which, Colorado might be the most laid back Crazy Horse album ever. John Mayall, at 85 is beginning to show some cracks in his voice but he continues to defy the odds and make great blues albums. The Diplomats Of Solid Sound continue their soul moods and good time vocals from the the girls. And Leonard Cohen's last album is beyond the grave but the title is the most perfect way to end the 2019 best of.
The Rest:
The Who-Who (Polydor)
The Warlocks-Mean Machine Music (Cleopatra)
Graham Parker-Cloud Symbols (100 Percent Music)
Grateful Dead-Ready Or Not (Rhino)
Weezer-Black Album (Crush/Atlantic)
Sturgill Simpson-Sound And Fury (Elektra)
Miranda Lambert-Wildcard (RCA)
Santana-Africa Speaks (Concord)
Hootie And The Blowfish-Imperfect Circle (Capitol)
The Highwomen (Elektra)
Hozier-Wasteland Baby! (Columbia-Rubyworks)
At this point in my life, I don't have time to list the crappy albums of the year. If they are crappy albums, they're not in the house. And I didn't buy them. You'll notice no rap, no Cardi B, no FGL, no Kanye West. Why waste money on crap you'll never listen to anyway? I ended up getting the Who's latest album right at the time I was compiling the best of, it may not be Who's Next or even Who Are You but it's much better than Endless Wire. Probably just as good as It's Hard or Face Dances, but let's face it, Keith and John would have no place in the Who anymore. I think I listened to the Black Album from Weezer once and forgot all about it, even when I was going to hear it again. Sturgill's rock album is not essential but it makes a good soundtrack getting to work. Those top three albums may find themselves as best of the rest, at least they have a fighting chance better than say, Miranda's latest to which Jay Joyce's screwed up production turn Wildcard into a Joker, Santana's interesting take on African is commendable, but I can't take the female singer very well. And Hootie's latest album is no Cracked Rear View, acceptable but they didn't need a oversinging American Idol reject on track 3, or Sheryl Crow, who managed to sabotage that album and the worst cut off Turn Off The News Build A Garden. And Dave Cobb, who usually does wonders as producer, did no favors for the quickly forgotten Highwomen album. 15 years onward, Miranda Lambert is now one of the old guard of country music and whatever the case may be, gave us another album that didn't live up to my expectations. Producers can make or break an album, but in the case of Wildcard, the joker was Jay Joyce. Maybe in the next decade or album, Miranda will finally get back to her country roots, rather than trying to fall for the flavor of the day, only to be dated one month later.
There were other albums that I did pick up, one was from a certain gospel popper, who's name I can't recall but found their CD for 99 cents and played it once. The Mavis Staples appearance counts but since we can't hear her the record was a bore. The Backstreet Boys had a new album out as well, DNA they call it and the Dubuque Goodwill had it in the bins for two months. Even for a dollar I couldn't bring myself to review it.
There were other albums of note. Local favorites Tripmaster Monkey and Crystal City made vinyl only albums but I got the Crystal City album instead and come to find side 1 is pretty good, side 2 not so much. Neil Young's Tuscaloosa was a nice live document but Time Fades Away still needs a standalone issue. Steve Miller's Sections From The Vault is a nice sampler for those who care and finally with a version of Macho City that is tolerable.
I almost overlooked The Grateful Dead Ready Or Not, a collection of unreleased live tracks of ideas that might have been slated for another studio album but Jerry Garcia's passing in 1995 put the kabash on that. Freedom did find itself on Phil Lesh and Friends' Columbia album There And Back Again, and is more at home there. Vince Welnick adding more off the wall vocals might be hard to take but then again, The Dead have always had eclectic keyboard players and singers in their band. For the Dead completest, Ready Or Not belongs in your collection, for the casual fans you may want to skip this one. It's really not that great.
Late to the party was The Warlocks-Mean Machine Music, a collection of shoegazing drone rock and roll that sounds like drugged out Ride. This band has been around since the late 1990s. Side 2 has instrumental versions of the songs on side 1, Technogaze perhaps? A fun listen, tho I did buy it for the Tribute to Hawkwind song, which, does sound like Hawkwind. However the reprise songs from the first side gets a bit tedious towards the end.
I also forgot about Graham Parker's Cloud Symbols, which Graham adding the horns. Brinsley Schwartz remains but Parker never sounded more cheerful than he does on that album. Maybe he wasn't the angry young man Rolling Stone tagged him to be. Very soulful.
Finally, the Hozier Wasteland Baby CD was found for a dollar at Stuff Etc and played once. I really don't know what to think of it and tho' Mavis Staples sang on it, I couldn't tell what songs she was on. The opening track perhaps. For Christian pop music, there's worse but for me, there was a couple of later songs that had some melody but overall it went on way too long and nothing stood out.
And with that, this completes my 2019 best of lists. It was a struggle to find half of these CDs since Best Buy discontinued the CD department and Wal Mart couldn't be trusted. However the fine folks at Moondog Music in Dubuque, Mad City Music Exchange and Strictly Discs in Madison and Co Op Records Moline did have copies of these albums, which saved me from exploiting the overworked Amazon.com workers and giving Steve Bazos more of my hard earned cash.
Still, the times are changing and it's hard to keep up with the latest disposable crap that the Corporate labels and radio stations promote, rap I don't get and not about to. Robert Christgau, the cranky old music reviewer who I would glanced at his reviews and chuckle over the years has taken his Consumer Guide to a pay site called And It Don't Stop and at this point, I wish him well in giving A's to the rap and world beat artists he tends to favor and has no need for rock n roll. And it seems like the internet is going toward pay sites anyway, despite the 49 dollars per month to be connected, you can now add 9.95 here and there, and now for the future.
As for myself, I will continue to mine the thrift shops for cheap music and if I get some sort of ambition, write about the latest batch of 45s that I wanted to document for shits and giggles. But the ambition is getting less and less, hell it took me about three weeks finally compile this best of. Besides, I got so much going on elsewhere, playing music and being in bands and that has been where my mindset has been. Another reason why there hasn't been much here in Record World land.
And with that. I conclude this year with yet another thank you for at least reading along the way. I'm sure we'll meet again sometime in 2020.
Monday, December 30, 2019
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Best Of 2019-The Record Stores
Right.
As we limped on to the end of the year, it's time for the annual bragging of what was the best albums of 2019. Each year, it gets to the point that we post the best and then forget about them when the New Year's Day rolls around.
With corporate radio sticking to same fucking bullshit playlist of the past 30 years, new bands have to rely on NPR, a local college station still playing new music or satellite radio or streaming. Deep Tracks will promote commercials of new music and then revert back to a overplayed classic rock. Despite what they tell you, The Weight nor Somebody To Love are deep tracks, they're played consistently on regular radio.
But then again I'm old. I still enjoy hearing something not being played to death, which is why I continue to search for the off the wall LP and CD that is out there. There'll be no shortage of off the wall music that you will not hear on the radio. 2019 has a few albums that you won't hear on the radio. My picks of the year BTW. It's a losing battle to seek the new album on CD. Best Buy don't sell them anymore and Wal Mart and Target cherry picks the usual. Only artist I heard about is Cardi B telling the world her booty is her smorgasbord. Yeah we have come a long way down the poop chute. What used to be a way to tell people to fuck off is now passe. Unless, there's Cool Whip and Hershey's Syrup, shit still taste like shit. And I'll pass on Cardi B's offer of booty burgers.
It was decided that this year would be my final year of reviewing new music on a regular basis. It's been more irregular and me having to make special trips to Madison and Dubuque to get new albums. Moondog remains the best of the bunch. CO OP Moline a distant second. So, for best record stores in the area that sells CDs. Here's my picks
Best Record Store (within a 2 hour drive)
1) Moondog Music-Dubuque IA
2) CO OP Tapes and Records-Moline ILL
3) Analog Vault-Cedar Rapids
4) Ragged Records-Rock Island ILL (The Davenport Store has been closed since the March Flood)
5) Wax Static-Marshalltown IA
6) CD's 4 Change-Dubuque IA
7) Books A Million-Dubuque/Davenport IA
8) Record Collector-Iowa City IA
9) Wal mart/Target-Various Locations
10 Metro Records-Cedar Falls IA
Upon trying to find that Waterloo store that sold records, I came across Metro Records in Cedar Falls but I never been there to check out their selection. Moondog and Co Op are 1 and 2 simply of the fact that they still have a decent used CD selection and still sell new ones. Analog Vault in town, is the best place for records if you're looking for new albums. Wax Static in Marshalltown has grown by leaps and bounds to the point that they now have the Deep Cut Song of the day, which most of the time are not Deep Cuts. I have still yet to check them out, maybe next year. If I need to head to Madison, Mad City Music Exchange and Strictly Discs are the best places to go. Weird Harold's in Burlington is another place I need to check out and after the flop Davenport record hunt, perhaps I should have gone the extra 35 miles.
Best Used Music Stores:
1) Half Price Books (Marion, Madison and Des Moines)
2) St Vincent De Paul (Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and Madison)
3) Stuff Etc. (Dubuque, Coralville, Iowa City, Davenport, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo)
4) Goodwill (Various Locations)
5) Salvation Army (Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Moline)
6) Housewerks (Iowa City)
7) The Source Bookstore (Davenport)
8) Crowded Closet (Iowa City)
9) Money And More (Iowa City/Waterloo)
10) Sweet Living Antiques (Iowa City)
11) Vintage Vinyl (Cedar Rapids)
To be honest, this is where I find the majority of albums and CDs, the thrift stores, the kindness of strangers, the travels that have put 25K on my car this year. I do not agree that the CD era is over, I read and see some of my hoarder friends across the pond paying big bucks for certain CDs. Stuff Etc in CR hasn't been selling CDs of late and neither has the Waterloo location. But the opening of the Dubuque Stuff Etc, (next to Goodwill) I managed to find more than I usually do. Out of all the areas, the Coralville location still continues to have a decent turnover of inventory. The surprise has been the DBQ location, the best bargains are at Davenport at 99 cents per cd. All have been hit and miss except sometimes I do score a few, which isn't too often.
For 45's The Salvation Army in Davenport was the go to place but the last four times I have been there I found nothing and a couple times there were no 45s anywhere. This summer, the Cedar Rapids location had quite a few but the best ones were picked off a long time ago and basically the leftovers are too scratched up for playing. Which the St Vincent De Paul Madison area is the best place for 45s tho they are mostly pop standards of the 50s. Or for that matter, Mad City Music Exchange or Moondog DBQ, I enjoy the quarter selection of Mad City Music X or the dollar section at Moondog, Analog Vault also has various 25 and 50 cent selections worth seeking out too.
What galls me is some of the record stores that have to look up certain records on the internet and then priced them out of my price range. A certain record store that I used to frequent when in town made that big mistake of pricing a 45 at 30 dollars and I'm not about to pay 30 dollars for a VG stock copy that have seen better days. I know they have to make a living but I also know that I have to pay bills and keep a roof over my head. And girlfriends are not cheap either.
But since their appearance in Marion since 2005 it's been Half Price Books for the bargains and they do have 45s from time to time. I love the Marion store and the West Madison store, but the East HPB has always been the lesser of the three. And maybe I'll see what the Des Moines store has to offer. I haven't been to Des Moines in 10 years, if I can stomach the traffic congestion, I might pop a couple Xanax and go for it and head west again. But it's not high on my list of things to do.
The bargain hunts don't usually go outside of Dubuque nor Davenport anymore. I enjoy taking a couple days up and hit Madison but this year's took a lot out of me. The constant hurry up and run from Goodwill to Half Price Books to St Vincent De Paul took two days to sort things out. And a whopping three hours total at Mad City Music X as well, but then again it's more worth going to Madison than Iowa City, which only has Record Collector that sells records and CDs. Once they lost FYE and Real Records, it wasn't the same. Pawn Shops are about as trash as it gets, sometimes there'll be some quarter finds, as there was when I went to Waterloo last month but it's a rare occasion if I find anything. Therefore, they get a honorable mention.
Sweet Living Antiques is a very good place to find records but I do admit I haven't been there in a while. Vintage Vinyl in Cedar Rapids used to be part of the old Antique Mall in Marion but I don't think BDW is a part of them nowadays. I have yet to go there since they moved.
In 10 years time I have seen the disappearance of Hastings Entertainment, FYE and most of the mall record stores. We're better off just ordering off Amazon or Second Spin to get new music but I continue to have pretty good success of finding them at Thrift stores and the Half Price Books Clarence Bins. The question remains if Stuff Etc will phase out the CD section, like they did in Cedar Rapids or Waterloo. And record and CD hoarders will be out and about. As long as Half Price Books still keeps going on, we'll continue to find the off the wall CDs and albums. I rather hit the music stores than give Jeff Bazos any more of my money, the reason why it took so long to get the new Darkness album. It's great to know that Co Op Moline had a copy but in theory I should have let the guys at Moondog order up a copy for me. But I did buy the latest Specials album from Moondog.
A way to let them know that they're still the best store in this area.
PS I got off subject about the best music of 2019 and went with the best record stores instead. We'll do that next time we get together, pick the best albums.
As we limped on to the end of the year, it's time for the annual bragging of what was the best albums of 2019. Each year, it gets to the point that we post the best and then forget about them when the New Year's Day rolls around.
With corporate radio sticking to same fucking bullshit playlist of the past 30 years, new bands have to rely on NPR, a local college station still playing new music or satellite radio or streaming. Deep Tracks will promote commercials of new music and then revert back to a overplayed classic rock. Despite what they tell you, The Weight nor Somebody To Love are deep tracks, they're played consistently on regular radio.
But then again I'm old. I still enjoy hearing something not being played to death, which is why I continue to search for the off the wall LP and CD that is out there. There'll be no shortage of off the wall music that you will not hear on the radio. 2019 has a few albums that you won't hear on the radio. My picks of the year BTW. It's a losing battle to seek the new album on CD. Best Buy don't sell them anymore and Wal Mart and Target cherry picks the usual. Only artist I heard about is Cardi B telling the world her booty is her smorgasbord. Yeah we have come a long way down the poop chute. What used to be a way to tell people to fuck off is now passe. Unless, there's Cool Whip and Hershey's Syrup, shit still taste like shit. And I'll pass on Cardi B's offer of booty burgers.
It was decided that this year would be my final year of reviewing new music on a regular basis. It's been more irregular and me having to make special trips to Madison and Dubuque to get new albums. Moondog remains the best of the bunch. CO OP Moline a distant second. So, for best record stores in the area that sells CDs. Here's my picks
Best Record Store (within a 2 hour drive)
1) Moondog Music-Dubuque IA
2) CO OP Tapes and Records-Moline ILL
3) Analog Vault-Cedar Rapids
4) Ragged Records-Rock Island ILL (The Davenport Store has been closed since the March Flood)
5) Wax Static-Marshalltown IA
6) CD's 4 Change-Dubuque IA
7) Books A Million-Dubuque/Davenport IA
8) Record Collector-Iowa City IA
9) Wal mart/Target-Various Locations
10 Metro Records-Cedar Falls IA
Upon trying to find that Waterloo store that sold records, I came across Metro Records in Cedar Falls but I never been there to check out their selection. Moondog and Co Op are 1 and 2 simply of the fact that they still have a decent used CD selection and still sell new ones. Analog Vault in town, is the best place for records if you're looking for new albums. Wax Static in Marshalltown has grown by leaps and bounds to the point that they now have the Deep Cut Song of the day, which most of the time are not Deep Cuts. I have still yet to check them out, maybe next year. If I need to head to Madison, Mad City Music Exchange and Strictly Discs are the best places to go. Weird Harold's in Burlington is another place I need to check out and after the flop Davenport record hunt, perhaps I should have gone the extra 35 miles.
Best Used Music Stores:
1) Half Price Books (Marion, Madison and Des Moines)
2) St Vincent De Paul (Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and Madison)
3) Stuff Etc. (Dubuque, Coralville, Iowa City, Davenport, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo)
4) Goodwill (Various Locations)
5) Salvation Army (Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Moline)
6) Housewerks (Iowa City)
7) The Source Bookstore (Davenport)
8) Crowded Closet (Iowa City)
9) Money And More (Iowa City/Waterloo)
10) Sweet Living Antiques (Iowa City)
11) Vintage Vinyl (Cedar Rapids)
To be honest, this is where I find the majority of albums and CDs, the thrift stores, the kindness of strangers, the travels that have put 25K on my car this year. I do not agree that the CD era is over, I read and see some of my hoarder friends across the pond paying big bucks for certain CDs. Stuff Etc in CR hasn't been selling CDs of late and neither has the Waterloo location. But the opening of the Dubuque Stuff Etc, (next to Goodwill) I managed to find more than I usually do. Out of all the areas, the Coralville location still continues to have a decent turnover of inventory. The surprise has been the DBQ location, the best bargains are at Davenport at 99 cents per cd. All have been hit and miss except sometimes I do score a few, which isn't too often.
For 45's The Salvation Army in Davenport was the go to place but the last four times I have been there I found nothing and a couple times there were no 45s anywhere. This summer, the Cedar Rapids location had quite a few but the best ones were picked off a long time ago and basically the leftovers are too scratched up for playing. Which the St Vincent De Paul Madison area is the best place for 45s tho they are mostly pop standards of the 50s. Or for that matter, Mad City Music Exchange or Moondog DBQ, I enjoy the quarter selection of Mad City Music X or the dollar section at Moondog, Analog Vault also has various 25 and 50 cent selections worth seeking out too.
What galls me is some of the record stores that have to look up certain records on the internet and then priced them out of my price range. A certain record store that I used to frequent when in town made that big mistake of pricing a 45 at 30 dollars and I'm not about to pay 30 dollars for a VG stock copy that have seen better days. I know they have to make a living but I also know that I have to pay bills and keep a roof over my head. And girlfriends are not cheap either.
But since their appearance in Marion since 2005 it's been Half Price Books for the bargains and they do have 45s from time to time. I love the Marion store and the West Madison store, but the East HPB has always been the lesser of the three. And maybe I'll see what the Des Moines store has to offer. I haven't been to Des Moines in 10 years, if I can stomach the traffic congestion, I might pop a couple Xanax and go for it and head west again. But it's not high on my list of things to do.
The bargain hunts don't usually go outside of Dubuque nor Davenport anymore. I enjoy taking a couple days up and hit Madison but this year's took a lot out of me. The constant hurry up and run from Goodwill to Half Price Books to St Vincent De Paul took two days to sort things out. And a whopping three hours total at Mad City Music X as well, but then again it's more worth going to Madison than Iowa City, which only has Record Collector that sells records and CDs. Once they lost FYE and Real Records, it wasn't the same. Pawn Shops are about as trash as it gets, sometimes there'll be some quarter finds, as there was when I went to Waterloo last month but it's a rare occasion if I find anything. Therefore, they get a honorable mention.
Sweet Living Antiques is a very good place to find records but I do admit I haven't been there in a while. Vintage Vinyl in Cedar Rapids used to be part of the old Antique Mall in Marion but I don't think BDW is a part of them nowadays. I have yet to go there since they moved.
In 10 years time I have seen the disappearance of Hastings Entertainment, FYE and most of the mall record stores. We're better off just ordering off Amazon or Second Spin to get new music but I continue to have pretty good success of finding them at Thrift stores and the Half Price Books Clarence Bins. The question remains if Stuff Etc will phase out the CD section, like they did in Cedar Rapids or Waterloo. And record and CD hoarders will be out and about. As long as Half Price Books still keeps going on, we'll continue to find the off the wall CDs and albums. I rather hit the music stores than give Jeff Bazos any more of my money, the reason why it took so long to get the new Darkness album. It's great to know that Co Op Moline had a copy but in theory I should have let the guys at Moondog order up a copy for me. But I did buy the latest Specials album from Moondog.
A way to let them know that they're still the best store in this area.
PS I got off subject about the best music of 2019 and went with the best record stores instead. We'll do that next time we get together, pick the best albums.
Monday, December 2, 2019
The Final Bargain Hunt-Davenport
One of the things I need to remember is that I seldom find anything worth a shit during Thanksgiving weekend. I talked myself into going to Davenport rather than Madison. I tended to regret that decision.
Ragged Records In Davenport still hasn't opened but they moved the CD section over to the Rock Island Ragged Records. I do wish they can reopened the Davenport store, it's been out of service since the spring flood. I didn't find nothing at the Rock Island store, their 45 section is not even half as good as the Davenport location.
So I got to check out most of the thrift and second hand stores. I found 6 cds. 10 CC Original Soundtrack, Point Blank-Second Season, A Charlie Parker Rhino set, The Singles Soundtrack, Roy Buchanan's first album and The Darkness new album Easter Is Canceled. I did bank on Co Op Moline having that CD and they did.
I found no 45s but found a near mint copy of Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson on MGM plus a 7th CD, Johnny Tillison's Early Greatest Hits on Ace. I can always count on The Source Bookstore to have something off the wall.
Nothing was found at the Salvation Army Junk store, Goodwill-Moline, Salvation Army-Moline, Books A Million and the Vets Thrift Shop.
Today marks the second anniversary of being a special somebody to Julie. I'm surprised that we have managed to stick together through rough and strange times together. In hindsight, we should have stayed being social friends, I've helped her in her bands and trying to keep a roof over her head. It's a relationship that has been one of more strange that I've ever been in, but I have to accept her for who she is. But she captures my heart all over again when she sings. Love is always strange, and tho we keep separate homes, my loyality to her remains always. But we still remain special n safe friends. Anything else would be a shock to the system.
Overall, the Davenport Bargain Hunt was a disappointment. But I did find a few things and CO OP Moline had that 10CC CD there for over a year. It was time to rediscover that album.
Ragged Records In Davenport still hasn't opened but they moved the CD section over to the Rock Island Ragged Records. I do wish they can reopened the Davenport store, it's been out of service since the spring flood. I didn't find nothing at the Rock Island store, their 45 section is not even half as good as the Davenport location.
So I got to check out most of the thrift and second hand stores. I found 6 cds. 10 CC Original Soundtrack, Point Blank-Second Season, A Charlie Parker Rhino set, The Singles Soundtrack, Roy Buchanan's first album and The Darkness new album Easter Is Canceled. I did bank on Co Op Moline having that CD and they did.
I found no 45s but found a near mint copy of Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson on MGM plus a 7th CD, Johnny Tillison's Early Greatest Hits on Ace. I can always count on The Source Bookstore to have something off the wall.
Nothing was found at the Salvation Army Junk store, Goodwill-Moline, Salvation Army-Moline, Books A Million and the Vets Thrift Shop.
Today marks the second anniversary of being a special somebody to Julie. I'm surprised that we have managed to stick together through rough and strange times together. In hindsight, we should have stayed being social friends, I've helped her in her bands and trying to keep a roof over her head. It's a relationship that has been one of more strange that I've ever been in, but I have to accept her for who she is. But she captures my heart all over again when she sings. Love is always strange, and tho we keep separate homes, my loyality to her remains always. But we still remain special n safe friends. Anything else would be a shock to the system.
Overall, the Davenport Bargain Hunt was a disappointment. But I did find a few things and CO OP Moline had that 10CC CD there for over a year. It was time to rediscover that album.
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