Metallica - ...And Justice For All LP Reissue

Worst sounding record I own??? Quite possibly. I was so psyched to unseal this mother to max volumization, but the result? Garbage. Total Garbage. Horrible level = cranked volume = ridiculous surface noise = really upset. Made it to the beginning of the second side and just had to remove it. I have instead turned to Bitte Orca to give my ears the vinyl chills they deserve. Disappointing.

SMASH Records

Lovely but brief afternoon stop to Smash Records yesterday in between appointments. Went in hoping to find the first Killing Joke record, but I will definitely settle for the Requiem 7" plus their second. This is the kind of store where you can go in with an agenda for a specific genre, sound, or band and come away totally satisfied, almost instantly. Their selection of solid records is huge, meant for rounding out collections and it's about time I started on The Cure... sad but true, Disintegration is my first and rightfully so. I pulled the following and put back a bunch of D-mode 12 inchers... next time my friends, next time...

Killing Joke - Requiem 7"
Ray & Porcell - S/T 7"
New Order - Thieves Like Us 12"
New Order - Murder 12"
The Cure - Disintegration (finally!!!)
Killing Joke - What's THIS For...!

I Think Heaven Just Exploded

WOW.

Terrible Blueberry

First of all, never get the blueberry pancakes at the Herndon Amphora. They make it with blueberry batter and it tastes like a freakin' doughnut. It's terrible. Second, I bought a ton of records in Alabama and North Carolina:

PEGASUS RECORDS (Florence, AL)

Metallica - ...And Justice For All (Half Speed Remaster)
A-ha - Scoundrel Days
Todd Rundgren - A Wizard / A True Star
Candlebox - Candlebox/Lucy (both albums in a double LP)
Rush - Permanent Waves
Bulletboys - Bulletboys (Sealed)
Bob Dylan - Infidels
Bob Dylan - Empire Burlesque
Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key Of Life (w/ Booklet & 45)
Electric Light Orchestra - Eldorado
R.E.M. - Green
Loverboy - Live from Dayton, OH (w/ Autographs Etched Into Vinyl... wow)
The Plimsouls - Everywhere At Once
Simple Minds - Sparkle In The Rain
Boy Meets Girl - Reel Life
Al B. Sure - Missunderstanding 12"
Father MC - Lisa Baby 12"
The Jets - Make It Real 12"
The Jets - Rocket 2 U 12"
Trixxx - Remember 12" (amazing cover on this one)
Then Jerico - Fault 12"
Cathy Dennis - Just Another Dream 12"
J.A.M. '86 (Jersey Artists For Mankind) - We've Got the Love 12"
Chico DeBarge - Talk To Me 12"
Stacey Q - I Love You 12"
Pet Shop Boys - Domino Dancing 12"
Pet Shop Boys - It's A Sin 12"

I am in love with Pegasus. There are so many incredible 12" finds there for next to nothing. I mean, two Pet Shop Boys singles for a buck each?? Then Jerico, The Jets, Chico DeBarge, Boy Meets Girl (album), all in great condition for a buck??? It's a pop lover/crate searcher's dream. And there is plenty more to grab for the next time and the next time and the... I'd say the best find though was the J.A.M. '86 Jersey Artists For Mankind single. It's all E Street band/Stone Pony musicians doing a We Are The World knockoff. And they are all on the cover in a group photo, everyone except Springsteen who is listed in the credits with a guitar solo, but I guess was too busy touring the globe as a walking american flag to stop by a truck yard under a bridge in Jersey to take a picture w/ Clarence, Max, and Nils. HILARIOUS. The Candlebox literal double album and Songs In The Key of Life w/ 45 are pretty cool too. Actually, I'm super psyched to put each and every one of those records on my turntable for one reason or another. Especially that half speed remaster of Justice... whoooo boy is that gonna RIP.

After Alabama, it was on to Wilmington and CD Alley. Unfortunately, I didn't get to make it over to Gravity Records because I was w/ my Parents and I'm pretty sure they only wanted to wait for me to shop for records once. It was probably a good thing though, because I didn't need to spend any more money than I did. This time I picked up three newer ones that I've been meaning to get, a Fastbreak LP that I have put back the last three times I've been there, two older Michael Bolton LPs (someday, I WILL have them all), and a couple others... good stuff. It was also the beginning of getting all of the Nada Surf records, in reverse. The List:

CD ALLEY (Wilmington, NC)

Obits - I Blame You
Nada Surf - Lucky
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Michael Bolton - Everybody's Crazy
Michael Bolton - Michael Bolton
Desmond Dekker - Compass Point
Fastbreak - Whenever You're Ready
Electrelane - This Deed 7"

And finally, the stuff I've been getting at shows. Nothing more satisfying than coming home with an LP or 7", except for both.

SHOWS

Engineer - The Dregs
A Cosmonauts Ruin - The Inverse of Man 7"
Talbot Tagora - Lessons In the Woods or a City
Japandroids - Post-Nothing
Abe Vigoda - Skeleton
Jay Reatard - See/Saw 7"
Middle Distance Runner - The Unbeliever 7"

Good times... Can you believe I didn't eat ANY pancakes on my trip though??? I'm kind of ashamed of myself. As you can see on my personal blog, it seems like I ate everything else, but for some reason, I was craving more Spanish type breakfast materials (or waffles) in the AM. If I could do it all over again, I think I'd get the pancakes every time. But that's just another reason to go back.