I had a few extra bucks burning a hole in the pocket of my Levis. I stopped into one of my favorite local record stores Squeezebox Books & Records. They have used CD section, pristine copies of new and old CDs for $5. It’s always a kick to rummage thru the racks and see if I can find a treasure.

Yesterday, I scored 3 treasures. 

Neil Young’s “Songs For Judy,” solo acoustic songs recorded on a cheap cassette player in 1976. Raw. Beautiful. Thrilling. “… often fortified by a smoke or two just behind the curtain.” Just fantastic singing and playing out on the edge. A few rare songs never officially recorded or released. There are couple really funny monologues too. The ghost of Judy Garland speaks to Neil. Lo-fi magic.

Also nabbed a pristine copy of The Pogues, “Rum, Sodomy the Lash.” (1985) Shane Macgowan and the boys at their raucously-poetic finest. Rambling, shambling. Funny. Produced by Elvis Costello. Fabulous. Essential. A band alive in a room, raging, blazing and engaging.

And Stereolab’s “Margerine Eclipse,” (2004) – kicky fun. A feast for the ears. A great trip with a good pair of headphones. The band said it was recorded as “dual mono.” What does that mean?

“Margerine Eclipse was mixed with full stereo separation – or as Stereolab termed it, in “dual mono”.[21] For every song, the band made two recordings – each with a different arrangement – then created a final mix by synchronising both recordings together, with one on the left channel and the other on the right channel.” Hi-fi magic.

The results are pretty amazing.

Cheap entertainment. Plus soulful, thrilling and inspiring music. Love. – Jammer