An Oasis In The Desert
I picked up more CDs from the library the other day. Having read many of Carl’s posts about Jarvis Cocker, I was delighted to find Jarvis’ debut solo album. It was incorrectly located in the “J” section between Jars of Clay and Jet, probably because it only says “Jarvis” on the cover. Before even hearing the CD I got a laugh from the label the library coded it with:
Las Vegas only has two qualified new/used record stores, both being Arizona-based Zia Record Exchange. Although Zia is decent and promotes the local music scene, their inventory (at least in Las Vegas) is only mediocre.
The point I’m trying to make is this: with the closing of Virgin Records, Tower Records and all the independent new/used record stores, finding a Jarvis Cocker CD in Las Vegas is like finding Jimmy Hoffa sunning himself in Tijuana.
Thank god for libraries.
If culturally-challenged Las Vegas has a decent selection of music in it’s libraries, I’m sure your local (uh, metropolitan) library does too. It’s worth checking out. It’s a great way to listen to music, new and old, before deciding whether or not to spend money on the album. In Las Vegas it’s known as a safe-bet.
Of course I always just listen to the CDs from the library and never burn them on my computer, as that would be illegal. I don’t mind Jarvis getting my money for buying his music but thanks to the library, U2 isn’t going to get a cent from me for No Line on the Horizon.
As noted above, the library may not have their stuff organized correctly but it reminds me of randomly searching through the different sections of a used record store and finding that long out-of-print album you’ve been looking for.
Tyge also blogs at The Neon Lounge.
Related posts:
