My salute to consumerism. (Clockwise from top left) Robert Plant “Band of Joy”, White Stripes “White Blood Cells”, White Stripes “Icky Thump”, The Clash “Give ‘Em Enough Rope”, Willis Earl Beal “Acousmatic Sorcery” (CD), Joe Strummer “Live at Acton Town Hall”, Beck “Sea Change”.
I stopped at an estate sale on my way home from work the other day. I was interested in the $20 Black & Decker leaf blower that was “featured” in the online ad for the sale. You know, a leaf blower, the thing you use to make your problem your neighbour’s problem? Anyway, while I was there I asked about the records that were also listed in the ad. The guy said he had them in the trunk of his car because he was going to take them to a used record store and try and unload them. Obviously I asked to see them and he obliged.
Now, I don’t know what the weather is like in your part of the world, but here–where I live–it’s full-on winter. We’re talking 10 to 15cm of snow and day time highs of -12 Celsius. I’m sure the seller wasn’t in the mood to stand there on the street while some guy thumbed through the entire 200 LP collection in the trunk of his car and I certainly wasn’t in the mood either. I asked him what was in the collection. He said he wasn’t sure but, in his words, “It’s mostly contemporary.” He then added, “I think there are some Beatles records and some Ella Fitzgerald, maybe some Ray Charles…” It wasn’t much to go on, but his asking price wasn’t out of line (not even close) so I loaded the records and my new leaf blower into the backseat of my car and sped off into the snow and ice.
I’ve since had a chance to thumb through the collection in the warmth and comfort of my home and, “He shoots, he scores!” In total I got 197 records and the leaf blower for less than $100. Of those 197 records, 150 of them are German and British imports. Clearly, the woman that owned them had once lived in Germany (I’m guessing between 1958 and 1970) and had acquired a pretty good collection of jazz (especially female vocal) rock and pop. She did, however, write her name on the back of each and every album, but the records themselves are nearly spotless. And aside from her name on the back covers, the jackets are in very good condition. Some of the highlights:
The Beatles – Hard Day’s Night (original German pressing)
The Beatles – The Beatles Greatest (original German pressing)
The Animals – self-titled (German)
At least 5 Ella Fitzgerald (German)
At least 5 Lena Horne (German)
At least 7 Eartha Kitt (German and UK)
4 or 5 Sarah Vaughan (German and US)
Stan Getz, Duane Eddy, June Christy, Vera Lynn, Joan Baez, Gene Pitney, Cliff Richard, Chubby Checker, Della Reese and, of course, the perfunctory ABBA.
Part of the 197 LP collection I picked up on my way home from work on October 31, 2012
Oh, and a leaf blower.
The leaf blower I scored from the estate sale.
Now, good day and good record hunting.
Garn
If I had a time machine I would focus the bulk of my attention on the years of 1958 to 1972. I’d be back there two, three, four times a weeks slapping ball-point pens out of the hands of teenagers before they could write their names on their album covers. And then, if there was time, I’d go tell all those people not to get on the Titanic. But, for the most part, I’d be slapping pens out of hands. 
Garn
My $6 Cult “Live at the Lyceum” mispressing. Side 1 is correct, Side 2 is actually Side 2 of Canadian folk rock icon Bruce Cockburn’s “Further Adventures of” album.
When it comes to thrift store record scores I have been in the midst of what can only be described as an historic slump. Until this past Thursday. Thursday was one of those magical days that all record hunters/collectors dream of. The dream where you walk into the thrift store just as they’re brining out the “new” stock from the back.
I was standing at the racks thumbing through the thrift store usuals (Charley Pride, Linda Ronstadt, Herb Alpert, Roger Whittaker) when I heard a shopping cart crash through the swinging doors that separate the record collecting masses from that magical, mysterious, enchanted, off-limits place that is the thrift store sorting room. The girl pushing the cart pulled right up beside me and started jamming the new arrivals into the shelves no more than 5-feet away. ( TANGENT: why do the thrift store workers put records into the shelves backwards, upside down, opening facing up, opening facing down? They don’t put the books on the shelves that way, why the LPs?)
At this point fireworks are going off in my head. Alarms are sounding. Microscopic children take turns whacking the pinata that hangs inside my skull in the space my brain normally occupies. And then, as quickly as she appeared, the thrift store lady disappeared. I looked around and there was not another soul. No one. Just me and, well, who knows? A Beatles “Butcher” cover? An original Island pressing of Nick Drake’s Fruit Tree box set? Sadly, neither of those but of the 70 or 80 records she put out, I grabbed 12. There were more–like the complete Police discography, some Queen and some Rush–but I threw those back like a fisherman tosses back a pike. In the end I walked away with an original import (Holland) first issue of The Best of Pink Floyd. I grabbed 3 Joni Mitchell LPs, 3 Traffic LPs, some R.E.M., the Pogues, Lou Reed and a copy of the Pretenders Get Close.
A dozen VG++ to near mint records for less than $24. You’ve got to like that. Feel free to share your super-amazing thrift store scores in the comments section. Thanks for reading and thanks to Brad for calling my radio show the other day and nudging me to update this blog.
Now, good day and good record huntin’.
Garner
garnerandrews.com 