Perusing Portland's Record Bins

After three years of living (and record shopping) in Seattle, I have begun to widen the net a bit. I have no idea if the locals consider it one of the better shops in Portland, but roughly three hours down Interstate 5 I discovered a vinyl oasis.

Crossroads Music (3130 SE Hawthorne, pictured above) is not a record store in the traditional sense. It's a bunch of dealers sharing space under one roof. This makes for thorough coverage of every genre imaginable, but it also presents some unique challenges for the customer. The organization is atrocious. I asked where I could find a particular Everything But the Girl 12", and I was directed to a few areas. So, in other words, this isn't the ideal shop for a quick pop-in. You're going to need some time, but treasures abound. This is not like a flea market. You don't deal with a slew of sellers for each area of the shop. When you gather your goodies, you take them to the one counter just like you would for any other record store. The staff at that counter seemed to know their stuff and were good for a chat. I came across a handful of albums I thought were priced a bit high, but most of the stock seemed right on the mark. I even managed to pick up a few nice pieces for under $4 each.

I know there are other well-known Portland-area records shops with stellar reputations, and I have visited a couple of these so-called "gems," but I can truthfully proclaim Crossroads the best I have visited thus far.

Now for a couple I picked up while in "The City of Roses." Back in February 2012, Dirk over at the well-done blog Sexyloser (You are missed!) presented a post on mod-revival band Merton Parkas. Being a huge fan of the Style Council, I was curious about Mick Talbot's old group. I really liked the retro sound of the song Dirk chose, and I told myself if I was ever lucky enough to find their one, somewhat obscure album, 'Face in the Crowd' from '79, I would snatch it up. Thank you, Dirk... and Crossroads.

The other record that made my heart skip a beat when I flipped to it was a 12" single from the legendary June Brides. "In the Rain"/"Every Conversation" also includes "Sunday to Staturday" and "Disneyland." Keepers one and all. If you already have the fantastic double disc 'Every Conversation: The Story of June Brides & Phil Wilson' that Cherry Red put out a while back, this might not seem like such a big deal, but June Brides on vinyl in this country is a rare find, indeed. I'm still after some of the band's 7" singles, but I didn't have time to tackle that area. I'll look forward to that endeavor the next time I'm in town.

The Merton Parkas - Face in the Crowd (mp3)
The June Brides - In the Rain (mp3)