comments heard in music stores...

[K1969]

In 1978 I visited a friend in Los Angeles. He had just moved there. We looked in the yellow pages and found an independent store that specialized in jazz albums. We drove there, quite a distance. We asked the owner if he had any Sun Ra albums. He said, "no, Sun Ra's only popular on the East Coast. No one likes him out here."

Did the owner look like this?

[Hot Ptah]

In 1978 I visited a friend in Los Angeles. He had just moved there. We looked in the yellow pages and found an independent store that specialized in jazz albums. We drove there, quite a distance. We asked the owner if he had any Sun Ra albums. He said, "no, Sun Ra's only popular on the East Coast. No one likes him out here."

Did the owner look like this?

No. He was a middle aged African American man, quite pleasant to talk to.

[Guest donald petersen]

in virgin two days ago a seemingly normal middle aged native english speaker guy entered the jazz section as i was browsing (looking for "compulsion" without success) and he asked if they had any lee morgan and then when they said "yes" he asked if the CDs was alphabetized by first or last names. he also knocked over a whole CD display...

[DTMX]

Not overheard in a music store, but in a carpool I was in. One guy was digging through a shoebox of cassettes (yes, it was in 1982) and pulled out one, looked at it, and asked "Who's this Beeth-thovan guy?"

The wit of the group (all things being relative) said, "You know - used to play rhythm guitar for Ted Nugent: Derek Saint Beeth-thovan".

[K1969]

In 1978 I visited a friend in Los Angeles. He had just moved there. We looked in the yellow pages and found an independent store that specialized in jazz albums. We drove there, quite a distance. We asked the owner if he had any Sun Ra albums. He said, "no, Sun Ra's only popular on the East Coast. No one likes him out here."

Did the owner look like this?

No. He was a middle aged African American man, quite pleasant to talk to.

OK he can't been the guy I know then. His records were scratched and they all had cut corners

[Stereojack]

he asked if the CDs was alphabetized by first or last names.

This is a question I have been asked hundreds of times. Apparently some people were just dropped onto the planet this morning.

[Aggie87]

he asked if the CDs was alphabetized by first or last names.

This is a question I have been asked hundreds of times. Apparently some people were just dropped onto the planet this morning.

Probably from people who can't figure out if Jethro Tull belongs under J or T.

[Hot Ptah]

Capers Corners, one of the greatest record stores of all time, alphabetized its artists by first name, just because the owner felt like it.

This Kansas City area store was owned by Ben Asner, the older brother of actor Ed Asner. It had a phenomenal selection of jazz-I wish I had been able to afford everything I wanted to buy there, back when it was open. It was truly a special store.

[J Larsen]

Paraphrasing:

"Who else is really famous on saxophone besides Duke Ellington?"

[rpklich]

While working in a record store, one customer, a German, returned an LP (Kenny Davern and Steve Lacy). I asked why. He said "it was too decadent for me."

[Teasing the Korean]

While working in a record store, one customer, a German, returned an LP (Kenny Davern and Steve Lacy). I asked why. He said "it was too decadent for me."

There's a ringing endorsement for an LP if I ever heard one!

[Hot Ptah]

Streetside Records in Kansas City used to have a frequent buyers card and a discount program for very frequent buyers. They had sales a few times a year when the store was open to only the very frequent buyers, by invitation only, and then everything in the store was marked down significantly for that group.

I was at one of those sales, in the basement jazz room. It was filled with middle aged men, all with towering stacks of CDs which they were going to purchase. Happy, animated conversations filled the room. As the men talked about jazz, they ran around, adding to their stacks of CDs. Then a cell phone rang. A man listened to it for a short time, turned around, said "that was my wife. Fun time's over!" and trudged out of the room.

Edited June 12, 2007 by Hot Ptah

[sidewinder]

That would make a damn good Monty Python sketch.

[Teasing the Korean]

...Then a cell phone rang. A man listened to it for a short time, turned around, said "that was my wife. Fun time's over!" and trudged out of the room.

Words I NEVER want to hear while record shopping: "Honey, I'm gonna wait in the car."

[Stereojack]

...Then a cell phone rang. A man listened to it for a short time, turned around, said "that was my wife. Fun time's over!" and trudged out of the room.

Words I NEVER want to hear while record shopping: "Honey, I'm gonna wait in the car."

My mind reels at the number of sales I've lost because the wife came in and said, "Honey, are you done yet?"

[Hot Ptah]

...Then a cell phone rang. A man listened to it for a short time, turned around, said "that was my wife. Fun time's over!" and trudged out of the room.

Words I NEVER want to hear while record shopping: "Honey, I'm gonna wait in the car."

That actually happened once. I had a credit slip from a used store, Exile Records at 75th and Metcalf in Overland Park, Kansas, and she waited in the car while I used it. That was the one time that the store had literally nothing that grabbed me. I could tell that too much time was passing, and started literally sweating and feeling warm and tense. Finally I decided that with the amount of time that had passed, I simply could not go out to the car with nothing, which was my preference. In desperation I grabbed a used LP of Ry Cooder's "Boomer's Story". She could not believe that I had taken "so very long" just to get that one!

[Chas]

While working in a record store, one customer, a German, returned an LP (Kenny Davern and Steve Lacy). I asked why. He said "it was too decadent for me."

Did this store happen to be in Argentina or Paraguay ?

[rpklich]

One Christmas Eve I had to work (in the record store), for any last minute shoppers. I was working with the owner, who could charitably be described as "thin-skinned". He got into a heated argument with one of our customers (not a rare occurrence). Insults started. As he threw the guy out he uttered the Hallmark inspired "Merry Christmas motherfucker".

[Spontooneous]

"Merry Christmas motherfucker".

That's a tune on the Jimmy Smith Christmas album, isn't it?

[slide_advantage_redoux]

Also not heard in a record store but worth sharing:

A certain female sax player attending the U of North Texas in the late 80s and early 90s was riding to a big band gig in Dallas with a number of other jazz students.

She was heard posing these memorable questions:

"So, what's the big deal about Coltrane??"

and:

"Billie Holiday... what does he play?"

[K1969]

Also not heard in a record store but worth sharing:

A certain female sax player attending the U of North Texas in the late 80s and early 90s was riding to a big band gig in Dallas with a number of other jazz students.

She was heard posing these memorable questions:

"So, what's the big deal about Coltrane??"

and:

"Billie Holiday... what does he play?"

I take it she hadn't yet graduated

[Randy Twizzle]

Two guys in J&R discussing Frank Rosolino's murder/suicide:

First Guy: That was pretty crazy of him to shoot his kids like that.

Second Guy: Who are we to say what's crazy?

[Hot Ptah]

I went to a used music store about ten years ago and the owner made this comment, "I am closing the store for good. This is my last day. If you bring cash, I will sell you this box set of John Coltrane, the Complete Prestige Recordings, really cheap."

[Eric]

Streetside Records in Kansas City used to have a frequent buyers card and a discount program for very frequent buyers. They had sales a few times a year when the store was open to only the very frequent buyers, by invitation only, and then everything in the store was marked down significantly for that group.

I was at one of those sales, in the basement jazz room. It was filled with middle aged men, all with towering stacks of CDs which they were going to purchase. Happy, animated conversations filled the room. As the men talked about jazz, they ran around, adding to their stacks of CDs. Then a cell phone rang. A man listened to it for a short time, turned around, said "that was my wife. Fun time's over!" and trudged out of the room.

I may well have been that guy.

She is now my ex

[Kalo]

Also not heard in a record store but worth sharing:

A certain female sax player attending the U of North Texas in the late 80s and early 90s was riding to a big band gig in Dallas with a number of other jazz students.

She was heard posing these memorable questions:

"So, what's the big deal about Coltrane??"

and:

"Billie Holiday... what does he play?"

So, what did he play?