A Writing Break to Go Record Shopping

August 19, 2019

Back in the early 2000's, I began a love affair with vinyl and DJing and turntables and gigs in dark, nasty venues and big, loud clubs. And I enjoyed the hell out of it, collecting over 5,000 records during my 9 years pre-San Francisco doing it. It took me several weeks to get rid of all of my records before moving to the west coast, and it's a decision I still regret today.

Not so much because of the financial value of the records, but instead for their sentimental value and their playability. Because of the hours I spent looking for those records, both online and in person at record stores that no longer exist here in Kansas City. And it's weird to think all four of those places are gone now, having been replaced by newer upstarts and used bookstore bins.

And this past weekend, I went record shopping with my friend Shannon. I kept a few records from my old collection - some original Miles Davis, some old punk records, some picture discs that go for entirely too much now, etc - but I've started getting the urge again. Not nearly the same as before, since I no longer own a turntable (much less a pair of them), but it's slowly growing.

Something like this is a good creative release, too. I've been so deep into promoting the second book and writing the next collection of stories that I haven't really come up for air in any real measurable way. On one hand, it's nice to have that kind of focus and productivity back again after having spent most of last year completely non-creative and unproductive. On the other, I've cordoned myself off from a lot of things in order to ride the wave of the muse. It's a balancing act.

We stopped for breakfast at a great place called Urban Table. From there, we stopped at the nearest Half-Price Bookstore and snagged a pretty good collection of things. Then we headed down into the more bustling area of KC called Westport, where another Half-Price Bookstore existed. I think I bought 14 records there and I was pretty surprised at what all I found, to be honest.

Most of the records I scooped up were reprints or re-releases on 180g vinyl. I don't really get too into paying top dollar for original pressings these days; I'm trying to listen to the records, not save them for posterity or wealth reasons. But, I found an original copy of The Specials' album "The Specials" that was absolutely pristine. Same, too, with all the Grover Washington, Jr. and George Clinton/Funkadelic/Parliament records I came across. I couldn't believe my luck at how good a condition the records were in AND that they were as cheap as they were.

We started at 9am and didn't get back to her place until around 4:30 in the evening. It was a pretty solid day all around. Check out my haul below.