Robin's comment below reminded me of the record store of my youth - Pop Tunes. Poplar Tunes was the downtown store, but Pop Tunes was a bike ride away from Grandma's in east Memphis. The LPs on the shelves were just samples - you could plop them on a record player for a test listen. You had to take the samples to the register and they would fetch a copy from the back room. Jimi Hendrix's "High, Live, and Dirty" was sealed to prevent sampling.
Is it just me? There something wrong with a 1950's neon sign saying, "Now On Myspace?"
Uncle Elliot taught me to respect records and and turntables. One time I sampled Monty Python's The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I carefully placed the record on the player and directed the needle gracefully into the first groove. Then I heard a rude announcement, "THIS IS SIDE TWO. IF YOU WANT TO PLAY THE RECORD FROM THE BEGINNING, PLEASE TURN OVER!" I almost broke the tonearm in my haste to turn the record over.
It took several trips to buy a record from the guy who sang Walk on the Wild Side. I'd visit the store, thinking of the song, and think, "Lou? Lou? Lou who?" The best I could come up with was Lou Rawls. I got lucky one time - the album New York happened to be on the front of a shelf.
Can you say "eee-ooo-uuu?" Robert Klien can, so I'm sure you can. I wasn't going to mention the time I visited Pop Tunes and saw a Laurie Anderson record. "Wait a minute! I saw her on SNL" According to wikipedia, Lou and Laurie were wed last year.
Interesting to read these memories of your youth. And speaking of Uncle Elliott, I wonder where he is.
ReplyDeleteT
I used to have that Python LP, one had to skip the needle over that first groove to get it top play the rest of the side. too bad that this is now a lost possibility, at least as far as I know, with CDs and DVDs. Good to recall that and chuckle at my initial surprise!
ReplyDelete