| January 15, 2001
Bootleg Capitol of
Connecticut
Today I spent the afternoon with a friend in Waterbury, the
Bootleg Music Capitol of Connecticut. Waterbury is the unlikely home of two great music
stores: Phoenix Records and Brass City Records.
Phoenix Records has a great selection of
non-mainstream music and bootlegs/rarities. Most of the browsable space in the store is
given over to old LPs. There are a few boxes of used CDs, nothing special there. But most
of the new CDs are kept in glass-top counters and you have to ask to look at them. But the
good stuff is behind the counter. There are rows and rows of cardboard boxes full of CDs
sorted by artist. In the boxes I've looked in, more than half the stuff is rare or
bootleg. Prices are high, but not too bad as far as bootlegs go. I've bought REM and
Indigo Girls bootlegs here; my friend Laura has bought Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Bob
Dylan, and The Band stuff. I have seen a lot of hard-to-find stuff here from Matthew
Sweet, U2, Big Star, David Bowie, kd lang, and others. Ask one of the guys behind the
counter for what you're looking for, and chances are they've got it or they can get it.
There's a wide variety of quality in the boots -- from well-made CDs to shitty-looking
CD-Rs, and everything in between. You can't always tell much about the stuff until you buy
it. But I've been lucky with my purchases so far.
The only other problem is, Phoenix Records is really hard
to find. Every time I go, I bring directions, and I always, always get lost. In fact,
today it was so dark and rainy that we didn't manage to get to the store at all. But it
didn't matter much because we had a very successful day at Brass City Records.
Brass City Records is a tiny
hole-in-the-wall store located upstairs over a shopfront in Waterbury. The first good
thing is, it's much easier to find than Phoenix. It's a tiny little place, but the
selection is fairly good. The owner and staff are really friendly and knowledgeable about
the music they carry, too. They've got a lot of used CDs, and when I was in there today
there were signs all over the store saying, "New Pricing: All Used CDs $3 Each."
You can't beat that with a stick. I got three used CDs.
As far as bootlegs at Brass City, your success will depend
on what you're looking for. They seem to have a pretty good turnover. Today they had some
cool rare stuff from The Band that my friend was overjoyed to find. They didn't have much
in stock from Matthew Sweet, and no rarities at all from Stone Temple Pilots, Indigo
Girls, or REM. But the owner was pretty sure they'd be getting new stuff soon. And when I
asked about the Indigo Girls, the owner did give me a free two-song promo disc sent out by
the record company. One thing we both liked about this place was that the overall quality
of the boots seemed to be better than at Phoenix. You could tell which discs were CDs and
which were CD-Rs, and they were mostly priced accordingly. Also, they have listening
stations so you can listen before you buy, even the bootlegs. Always a plus.
I understand they have live shows at this store regularly
(can't imagine where they put the band in this tiny space, but okay). Brass City Records also has a website, but
it's tough to read. Very bad background choice.
Other than the music stores, Waterbury is one of the most
run-down, godforsaken towns I have ever had the misfortune to see. Sure, very few towns
look their best with a foot of dirty snow on the ground, but I have visited Waterbury in
every season of the year and it never looks much better. Every time I go there, I manage
to get turned around and spend fifteen minutes lost, circling among the broken-down strip
malls and corner package stores until I finally find the interstate and breathe a sigh of
relief.
Listening to . . .
Johnny Cash has a cover of U2's
"One" on his new album. Give it a listen, you won't believe your ears.
Right this minute I am playing Tracy
Chapman's debut; got it used a couple of days ago. I've loved this album for 12 years or
more, as depressing as it is. Just a great album by a great female songwriter.
Recently picked up "Talk Show,"
the album by the Stone Temple Pilots sans Scott Weiland. It's not bad. Not as good as any
of STP's albums, but not bad.
Eddi Reader's solo debut. It's good. She
clearly came into her own as a songwriter/arranger a couple of albums later ("Angels
and Electricity" is marvelous), but this is very pleasant music.
A home-cooked CD, "Happy Spirits."
I made this CD about Ricky Martin. Yeah, I know. What can I say, he makes me happy.
Other stuff too, but I am too scattered to
think of all it right now.
I decided to take today off work for Martin Luther King,
Jr. day. We don't get the day off, but we have 3 "discretionary holidays" we can
take throughout the year to make up for all the religious and patriotic holidays when the
company doesn't close. This holiday is not religious or patriotic, exactly, but to me it's
an important day. I like it that there is a day that in essence honors civil rights.
Besides, Martin Luther King, Jr. is a hero of mine. He was a great thinker, and way ahead
of his time. All those times I taught "Letter from the Birmingham Jail" to Penn
State freshmen only made me respect him more.
"Don't you know? Talking about a revolution sounds
like a whisper . . .
And finally the tables are starting to turn."
~ Tracy Chapman
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