Paradise Can Be Painful

  Some scrounging opportunities are so overwhelming that it’s difficult to take full advantage of them.  This morning I went to the WCLV Garage Sale, where they were selling more than 6,000 CDs to clean house before moving their offices downtown.  $2.00 each, all you want.  Truly, this is hard to beat, for the classical music fan.  

   So off I went, getting there an hour early, because I suspected that there would be a giant crowd.  It turns out that I was plenty early, as they hadn’t set things up yet, and we didn’t even know where to line up.  I spent an enjoyable 20 minutes in the parking lot with a friendly gentleman who works at Case Western Reserve University.  More folks began showing up, and an announcer came out to chat with us.  She told us that the entrance would be around the side, where the CDs were, in the two-bay garage.  Two policemen showed up to make sure that the rowdy classical crowd wouldn’t riot, but we behaved ourselves.  I wandered over to the place where the line would form, and ended up being the second person there.  Robert Conrad, the chief honcho, also came out to say hello, and explained that the CDs were not in any particular order, except that the jazz was in the back.  Jazz?  Now torn, I would have to hit that section first.

   When they opened we filed forward, discovering that we couldn’t use the bags that some of us had brought, but instead were handed WCLV plastic bags.  They are considerably smaller, but I discovered that they hold about 35-40 CDs if one is careful.  The jazz section was magnificent, but filled with artists I’d never heard of.  I moved to my plan B, which is to look for familiar labels, and found several from Zoho, Azica, and other companies.  When I got slightly satiated, I turned around to check the back end of the classical section, which was much, much larger.  I started finding things of interest immediately-- early music, choral works, modern chamber music -- and filled up my bag almost immediately.  I went to ask about getting another bag, and one of the nice ladies got me one.  As I was waiting, I noticed that a huge line had developed.  They were only letting in so many people at a time.  I realized at that point that whatever I got this first go-round would be it.  I wasn’t going to wait for an hour to get back in.  

  My second bag filled quickly.  I began in the front this time, and found dozens of CDs that had never been opened, from Albany, MSR, and other labels.  Most of them don’t fit the programming policy of the station, so they got put aside.  In all, I came out with 75 CDs, a drop in the bucket compared to what I could have gotten, but with $150 on the line already, I wasn’t going to go for bag number three.  But how could I leave all that music still sitting there?  ARRRGG!  One definition of hell is being given everything you want. There’s no way to take advantage of it all.  Ah, well.  I paid for my booty, and headed down the driveway, being eyed enviously by the now even longer line of hopefuls.  A couple of folks asked what it was like.  I could only say that they wouldn’t be disappointed.

Check them out and listen online at http://www.wclv.com/  

   

New Northeast Ohio Music Added to the Collection

We're always looking for more regional music to add to the library's collection, and we've recently cataloged some newer stuff, along with a few oldies.  Not bad for no budget.


 
Joire de Vivre! Chamber Music for Winds, Strings, Harp, and Piano, by Panorámicos, a Cleveland area group.  A delightful CD of contemporary compositions, that you should all run out and buy from CDBaby.  The pianist, Randy Fusco, teaches here at Hiram.    http://panoramicos.org/  




Assah Matah Afakt, by Echo Grove.  Cleveland rock band's release from 2004.  It seems that no other libraries have it, although they might.  http://www.echogrove.com/   



Beautiful Monsters, by Morticia's Chair.  Post-punk/pirate music from Cleveland.  This isn't their latest release, but one from 2006.  We'll see if we can pick up the new one, too.  http://www.myspace.com/morticiaschair


Watch the Rivers Run Red, by DoHM.  This was the debut release by this progressive metal group from Lakewood.  http://www.myspace.com/dohmsound

Scrounging in Michigan

Vacation time is a great time to scrounge, although my wife might disagree. I don't brake for every garage sale, but this time around I hit a few places of interest in Western Michigan. Goodwill occasionally has some mighty fine bargains. Every small town has one, and the ones near tourist areas may result in some unusual finds. These were $2.99 each:

Margareth Menezes. Elegibo. Her first US release is a samba/reggae affair, and has some great moments.

Aterciopelados. Gozo Poderosa. This is a Mexican rock band, and while AllMusic thinks that this is one of their lesser albums, I think it's pretty good.

The Pernice Brothers. Live a Little. Haven't listened to this one yet.

Rachel Barton Pine. Solo Baroque. An odd find to say the least, but perhaps not. The label, Cedille Records, is based in Chicago, so being in Western Michigan is not so far-fetched. This one is autographed by Rachel, with accompanying smiley face.

Eastern Michigan isn't so bad either. A delightful bookstore in a town with a prominent theater (The Purple Rose, founded by Jeff Daniels) has used CDs for sale, with a small but highly tasteful selection.

Marian McPartland. The Concord Jazz Heritage Series. The pianist recorded for Concord beginning in the late 1970s, and this collects some tracks from her albums.

Terence Blanchard. Wandering Moon. This came out about ten years ago. Excellent trumpeter.

Katherine Kember. Lipstick. Okay, this one is off my charts. I wasn't sure what to expect from this flutist, but it's a set of modernist (post-modernist?) compositions by various contemporary composers, with Kember joined by Griffin Campbell on alto sax. This one may take me a while to get used to. Flute and sax and nothing else?

Vacation was delightful with or without the scrounging. But I may be back there next year.

Mystery of Two. Mystery of Two. Exit Stencil Records, 2009.

I thought I would send out another salvo to Exit Stencil Records. I guess I just like the music that they're putting out. I ran across Mystery of Two's CD a few months ago, and I've been enjoying it frequently. It's been out about a year. The group is actually a trio, with Ryan Weitzel on guitar and vocals, Jeff Deasy, bass and backing vocals, and Nick Riley, drums (Why do music critics always put the drummer last? We're so predictable.). The band has a good hard edge in the post-punk vein, and has fine rhythmic sense. Weitzel's vocals remind me of David Byrne of Talking Heads, and some of the tracks wouldn't be out of place on their earliest albums. He also plays an excellent guitar, mixing several styles into his own unique sound--punk, psychedelic, and even a touch of surf here and there. Deasy and Riley also do a great job, driving the music forward in powerful strokes. In all, an excellent release, that I recommend you get ahold of.

http://www.myspace.com/mysteryoftwo

Flea Markets as Scrounging Sources

Flea markets are wonderful places for scrounging. One can find bargains of almost any kind, including items that libraries might find interesting and useful. They’re also hot, dusty, and to get the best stuff you have to go early in the morning before the bulk of the buying crowd gets there. I’ve always had that ambivalent feeling about them--punishment for the hope of reward. I guess it fits with my Puritan heritage.

I seldom buy books at flea markets anymore. Often they are dirty, beaten up, and more expensive than I’d like. More importantly, the selection is often limited to acres of paperback fiction, most of which does not appeal. In fact, paper items in general are a losing proposition, since they often sit for hours in the hot sun, fading and gathering parking lot dirt. Sheet music is better found in antique malls where the climate is more suitable. Record albums, if one wants them, are plentiful, but most libraries don’t care about them anymore (I think this is a shame). As with paper, condition is a problem, and I don’t usually pick up anything unless it’s something unusual that I may never see again. I think my last purchase was a album of Finnish-American music by Viola Turpeinen, who I read about in Victor Greene’s A Passion for Polka. Born in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, she played button box accordion through all the Finnish communities and lumber camps in the North Country. I love this kind of stuff.

Usually I look for CDs. They are less likely to be ruined by flea market conditions and if your tastes are eclectic enough, you are likely to find something. I seldom spend more than $3.00 per item, and generally look for those priced $1-2.00. I occasionally find them for much less. Once I ran across a booth where a fellow was selling CDs that he must have picked up in a batch from some remainder store, as they had price stickers of $1.00, but he was selling them for 50 cents. As I began working through the piles I started finding some unusual items--Native American music, Latin CDs, and other items I wasn’t likely to find anywhere for the price. After I had piled up a couple dozen, the proprietor turned to me and said, “Oh, if you’re going to buy a lot, take them for 25 cents each.” Frenzy ensued, and I ended up with 56 CDs. Narcocorridos from Northern Mexico, harmonized Peyote songs, hammered dulcimer music, New Jack Swing, Broadway tunes, and I can’t recall what else. “Yes, Doctor Fever, I have a problem.”

Review of

HotChaCha. The World’s Hardest Working Telescope & the Violent Birth of Stars.

Exit Stencil Records.

I don’t often write about contemporary rock music. Much of it escapes me (I go more for jazz and folk music these days), and I miss a lot. When I search for comparisons the way all good music critics are supposed to, I am usually several generations removed from the inspirations that likely reflect those of the artists. But, we'll give it a try anyway.

I chose HotChaCha because I enjoy what they are doing. The band consists of four young women, Jovana Batkovic, vocalist, Mandy Aramouni, guitar and keyboards, Heather Gmucs, bass, and Lisa Paulovein, drums. They rock hard, with lots of energy, play what they’ve written effectively, and set a mood that seems right for them—romantic, forceful, edgy, with an air of tragedy. Based on their web site and bio, one could also include an element of deliberate eroticism, but of an adult rather than adolescent sort. I am especially impressed by Batkovic’s emotion-filled voice (she sings in more than one language, so the lyrics aren’t always obvious) and the fuzzy/clean guitar lines of Aramouni. It’s clear that they are informed by punk and post-punk sensibilities, but with an overlay that reminds me of the New Romantic movement of the early 1980s. I hear Chrissie Hynde, Siouxsie Sioux, garage rock extending back for decades, and a host of other predecessors who may or may not be important to them, but they are to me. There’s not a bad song among the eleven that they dish up, and the music holds up to repeated listening. Consistency like that is not so common. Put this one in the car and turn it up.