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A little over a year ago, I bought a record player and began collecting vinyl records. It’s not a great player, but it does its job, which is all that I ask of it. A real audiophile would probably laugh at me for having such a cheap setup.
Records were almost killed off by cassettes and CDs, but in the past decade, they have had a real reemergence. Most new albums are now released on vinyl as well, and many of the albums released in the last 15 years that were not available on vinyl are being re-released.
In my year-plus, I have picked up around 60 pieces (including a few I stole from my dad’s old collection that just sits in my parent’s basement). In Kansas City, it’s not easy to find good records. There are the resellers that have some small collections of differing quality, like Half Price Books and Vintage Stock, but they are either limited or way overpriced. I’ve stopped even looking at Vintage Stock since I’m not interested in Ted Nugent or torn-up, scratched to hell records. I’ve actually had pretty good luck at Half Price Books with some older records, so I stop by there every few weeks and just give it a look. I’ve managed to walk away with The Beatles’ “Let It Be”, John Lennon’s “Imagine” (while not in good shape, it was only $1 as was “Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits”), Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” and “Animals”.
When it comes to new vinyl, there are only really 3 places in the area worth visiting (while Best Buy does carry vinyl and was where I purchased The Beatles’ “Abbey Road” and The Police’s “Certifiable”, it only offers up the most popular bands).
If you’re willing to make the drive, Love Garden Sounds in Lawrence, KS has a pretty decent collection. If I’m in the city with some time to kill, I usually wander over there and just take a look around. I’ve only found a few things there I was interested in, but they seemed to have a pretty good collection.
Closer to home, there’s Vinyl Renaissance in Shawnee. This is the closest to me, so it’s also the one I visit the most (every 2-3 months). They have a large collection of used records (mostly from 60s, 70s and 80s), and a decent sized collection of new records. Except for a few bands (The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Queen, for the most part), I’m mostly interested in new records and usually find at least 3 records I’m interested in on each visit (though paying $40 for a copy of Beck’s “Sea Change” keeps me from buying them).
Today I visited a new one, Earwaxx Records in Gladstone, which is north of the river up near where I lived for the first year I was out here. It’s only a couple years old, but it already has a very impressive collection. I found out about Earwaxx when I went to the Hooligan Record Swap Meet at the Beaumont Club. I don’t recall if I bought anything from them that day, but the owner gave me his card. So I took some time to make the drive up today and check the place out. I ended up walking away with a copy of The Beatles’ “Revolver” (leaving me just “Rubber Soul” short of my collection of “must-have” Beatles’ records – also featuring “Abbey Road”, “Beatles (White Album” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”) and a new copy of The Black Keys’ “Thickfreakness”.
Speaking of The Black Keys, I think they were made for vinyl. They’re a real bluesy garage rock band. It’s just so rough that vinyl seems to capture it perfectly. You would probably recognize them from Hung or various commercials.
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I meant to write this up yesterday night, but I got busy (ie left work late, got home, started playing video games and never stopped) so it had to wait until tonight.
Thursday night I saw one of my all-time favorite bands, Something Corporate, for the first and likely last time. I started listening to Something Corporate around 2002 or so. They were one of the first bands that I actually downloaded a CD from (though I did later purchase it), Leaving Through The Window. And over the next 2 or 3 years, I managed to never see them.
Then the band went on hiatus while their lead singer, Andrew McMahon, worked on his side project, Jack’s Mannequin, which has gone on to have far more success than Something Corporate. Their guitarist, Josh Partington, also formed another band, Firescape, who I did manage to see once in Atlanta and then again in a tiny dive bar (at the time called The Hurricane, now known as Riot Room) out here in Kansas City. Just as recording of the Jack’s Mannequin debut was completed, McMahon was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He recovered and has released another album with Jack’s Mannequin as well as lots of touring.
Last year they announced that Something Corporate would be reuniting for a tour and working on new material. However, they did send out an email last week claiming it was their final tour together, though a recent interview with Alternative Press suggests they may be working on an album and further tours, so we’ll see.
But anyways, I saw them at Uptown Theater here in Kansas City. Doors were set for 7, and I arrived around 5:45 behind at least a hundred other people. I figured I would surely be stuck in the middle of the floor and have a difficult time seeing the stage. When I finally got in, I was in the 3rd row on the left side of the stage. After some adjustments by people, I managed to make it to the second row. Around 8 the band came on (they had no openers, which was somewhat nice), and they played for the next hour and a half or so (with a slight break before returning for an encore). I didn’t really track the time, so it could have been later. They played the only 2 songs that I was really hoping they would, “Globes And Maps” and “Konstantine”, and I recorded them both on my phone. Sound is a bit difficult at times due to the crowd, but they are still fun to look at and a semi-permanent remembrance of the show.
I hope it’s not the last time I get to see them, but if it is, it was an absolute blast to finally see them after all these years. It’s one less band on my “I wish I could have seen them live” list.
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