06: In the Booth
Shut the fuck up, Donny.
Record Store Snarky
Of COURSE I was in love with The Record Store. Even the record sections in department stores - I loved them. (Love them.) As soon as I was independent enough to get to the Mall on my own, I haunted Sam the Record Man in the Lambton Mall. I flipped through every record, reading the backs of the records, reading the magazines, plotting where I would spend my paper route budget long in advance. I practically memorized the inventory. (Nowadays I am less thorough by a long shot, because experience has taught me that the odds of finding treasure are the same no matter how long you look. It’s all luck.)
I was not confident enough to chat with the clerks - they were Older. But thank god the clerks in my early shops weren’t snobby or spiteful. Any record store employee who gets it knows that music is music, and people will give you money for it. And you don’t want everybody to have good taste - it’d spoil it.
Dear Reader: Yacht Rock?
Wanna know what Yacht Rock was? There’s a podcast on Slate with an episode all about that. If you still care after this explanation, go listen.
But for now, the term “Yacht Rock” was invented way after the fact; basically it’s all those slick, coke-polished Michael McDonald/Kenny Loggins/Christopher Cross records from the late 70s/very early 80s. Inoffensive, well-played EZ listening rock. Toto. That’s what it was. It was Toto. Look at the expression on this dude’s face. That’s Yacht Rock.
Hit Parade Podcast
I highly recommend the podcast Hit Parade. Episodes look at significant moments in music chart history (Billboard Hot 100) and dig into the circumstances, characters, technologies and movements involved. When I’m interested in the topic (I’m not always) the episodes are riveting. The episode on George Michael and Elton John hooked me; I came to understand Donna Summer in another episode. And the episodes I don’t care about still have some educational value. The host is well-informed.
As ever, thanks for reading. If you dig it, tell your friends.
Can’t Get Enough?
There are lots more jepcomix, ranging from terrible to good! I will share them here over time. The latest:
How About a Nice Big Cup of Climate Grief? is the title and theme of JepComix #10. A collection of a weekly spite-meditation on how it feels to be here for the climate catastrophe after watching it unroll for thirty years. Not a light topic but I think it’s a good comic. You can buy it here - 8 bucks. You can look at it here. Full colour.
And here’s a short film.
