The first, the cozy Vintage Vinyl in Evanston, Ill., is an old haunt I have returned to several times since my college years there two decades ago. Back then, my pockets were full of lint, and this not a store for the poor. For the most part, all I could do was dream. Even now, with a shekel or two in the piggy bank, I still can't waltz out with much of a stack. There are no bargain bins, and I have never bought even a 12" single for less than $15 to $20. The most absurd price for an album I saw this time around was $100 for 'The Sound of The Hit Parade.' Still, if you can get past the dollar signs, the selection is a real head turner.
You can find every imaginable genre, including a very impressive selection of '60s rock, but the real treasures are unearthed in the UK-heavy punk/new wave section. Just to give you a taste, there aren't too many spots in the U.S.A. that would even have an Associates section, let alone one with 18 pieces of vinyl, as I witnessed on a recent Friday afternoon. I picked up a few gems, including a handful Lloyd Cole 12" singles that have eluded me for many years.
For a terrific mention of Vintage Vinyl from a real writer, read this piece from the great Dave Eggers that appeared in the Guardian back in '06.
Lloyd Cole & the Commotions - My Bag (Dancing Mix) (mp3)
The second shop I visited this month was one I heard about in a most unusual way. Back in February, during my trip to Scotland, I was looking for the works of several local bands at
Elvis Shakespeare in Edinburgh. As you may have guessed from its name, it was equal parts record and book store. I struck up a conversation with the owner and asked about the likes of Close Lobsters, Altered Images and others. He was out of virtually everything I desired. He explained he usually had what I was looking for but there were these two Americans that recently came in and cleaned him out. He said they fly over to the UK a few times a year and hit dozens of record shops, including his, to stock their own store back in Los Angeles. I took all of the info on this mystery store and hoped for a reason to be in SoCal.
Perusing the stacks at Wombleton Records made me anxious and giddy all at once. There were so many albums I had always wanted. There were so many more I had read about but had never actually seen before. Like Vintage Vinyl, the prices are out of my league. Since these fellas go to Europe, handpick the albums, hire a customs agent to take care of the bureaucracy and ship them to America, you can sort of understand why the Sounds' first album, for example, was $60.
Other than the prices, just about everything else at Wombleton is wonderful. It's an intimate and fantastically decorated shop. It's -- more or less -- all vinyl, and the real hard-to-find albums are given their own section. I have never seen so much C86 in my life, and I didn't see a single reissue. These were very old but well taken care of originals. And, oh, the 7" singles! At one point I had six from Postcard in my hand... even though I knew I would never be able to afford them all. It just felt good to hold them. When the dust settled, I got a Hit Parade 7" on Sarah, Orange Juice's "Poor Old Soul" and Josef K's 'The Only Fun in Town,' both on Postcard, a few rare Go-Betweens albums and an old favorite from Strawberry Switchblade. Seriously, if money was no object, I could have spent thousands of dollars. The scary thing is, according to the owner, his stock was low. They will be hitting the UK again next month. I hope I can find another excuse to head to Cali.
Josef K - Sorry for Laughing (mp3)
