Amped up on stereo

Still loving the stereo ...

... and now deep into crafting a story about others like me who love it too ...

For the last couple weeks, I've been scouting area record stores and searching for the people making up this groovy sub-culture -- mainly 20-somethings like me -- who love the nostalgia of record albums and refuse to let them die ...

So last week, during the River Root concert, I ran into a kid who, with his female cousin, collects records (he's into newer stuff, mostly Sufjan Stevens, while she's into all the classics). ... today I met up with both of them to chat a little bit and peruse their collections ... the girl's collection was respectable (... Beatles: 20 Greates Hits, The Who: Tommy, Fleetwood Mac: Rumours ... ), considering she hasn't been collecting that long and she's managed to find some great deals in odd places. Example: She found a near mint edition of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' -- the biggest selling record in the history of music -- for 10 cents at some book fair ... 10 cents!

... While the conversation alone made the meeting the highlight of my day, the girl also tipped me off that the local St. Vincent thrift store always has a pretty decent collection of records ...

So ... I figured out the place was on my way home from work and stopped. Turns out the girl wasn't lyin' ... I left with good conditioned copies of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, John Denver's Greatest Hits, Cat Stevens' Tea For the Tillerman and James Taylor's Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon -- and Harry Caray's 'Holy Cow', in paper back -- all for $3.85. ... and a grin on my face as big as the sunset.