September 2004

Grandpa Buys CD's Again Last Month, This Time in NYC

Joy Division Les Baines Douches
Spoon Girls Can Tell
Ordinary Boys Over the Counter Culture
The Jesus and Mary Chain Darklands

I was in New York a couple weeks ago, but not to buy CD's. The plan was supposed to be simple - go to the City, hang with Godzilla and his favorite ex-girlfriend, eat burritos, drink margaritas, and try not to fall in a gutter. We found this excellent burritos-for-brunch place near Bigfoot's college with all-you-can-drink margaritas with brunch. I had a few of those monsters while eating a pretty decent brunch (it needed french-fries.)

All was going well until late in the meal when a guy in Hassidic garb walked up to the window and began picking his nose. The window must have been one-way because he did not seem to notice either my shock nor my horror. He bored his right index finger into each nostril, searching for something precious. Without even looking at his finger, or tasting it, he left. If he was not looking for a gooey treat, they what was that about? Did he have a marble in there, or a possibly diamond, that need to be away for safe keeping? I guess the world will never know.

Not even a disgusting display like that could prevent me from finishing my burrito. I eat the whole thing. At the same time, Godzilla and I drank three sweet and frosty margaritas each. We could have had twice as many if they were not so dang cold. Whenever we tried to drink quickly, we'd get a terrible case of 'brain freeze', which is unfulfilling when it's not grape flavored.

After eating, we moseyed around NYC, looking at clothes and knick-knacks for a friend's birthday. Of course, I had to look in a record store. Unlike on recent trips to the Princeton Record Exchange, I did not have my homemade list of CD's with me, so I was left to my own devices (or passions, as the case may be.)

The prize catch of the day was the Joy Division CD. It's a collection of live recordings from 1979 and 1980, made in Paris and Holland. As far as small club recording go, the sound is spectacular. Ian Curtis' deep, nasal voice sound almost laid on top of the rest of the music, giving the listener a next-to-
the-best-speaker experience.

"Love Will Tear Us Apart" is played with a psycho-synth that, at times, gives the illusion of someone playing at 45 speed along with the rest of the band. The song, of course, is held together tenacious drumming, which is inhuman. "Shadowplay" and "Digital" are excellent as well. I'm seriously pissed that I will never see these guys in concert.

I bought three other CD's, and while I don't regret buying them now, at the time, I was pretty angry with myself. Certainly, I'd been aching to buy all of those records for a while, but I COULD have found them for cheaper at PRE, or on Amazon.com. That's the kind of thing that happens when you watch an elderly Jewish man pick his nose while you try to eat brunch!!!

As I write this, the new Interpol record, 'Antics', is being released in the US. You don't have to get me all liquored-up to buy that one. They've been playing a fair amount of it on the BBC for the past three or four weeks, and recorded a session played on Zane Lowe's show. It was pretty good. The sound reminded me of some of the tracks on "Les Baines Douches" - what with the wicked bass and drums on both driving every song. 'Antics' may surpass Franz Ferdinand's album as my favorite buy of the year. We'll have to wait and see.

With a little luck, I'll have another story about burritos, cold drinks and men picking their nose to pile on top of my buying experience. I'm always happy to share a good story about me eating a burrito.