Do you remember the first time you were given pocket money and decided you were going to spend it on a record, a tape or a CD ? Can you remember what artist or band it was ? Is this record still in your collection, and if so, is this the same worn out copy or have you purchased it a second time for nostalgic purposes while browsing the racks of a second hand record shop or during a slightly blurry car boot sale trip on a Sunday morning following a sleepless night in Hackney ? Do you remember the journey back home and the anticipation? Reading the sleeve notes maybe (some of us used to..)? Or just the pleasure of freaking out your parents with the sheer exuberance of your burgeoning decadent music tastes? Do you remember a time when music was that vehicle towards emancipation?
What I love at this shop is that we are constantly put in situation when we actually are asked to help customers, from the lady who’s just noticed the records in the window while walking the streets of Camberwell, to the regular customer, veteran DJ, top head of the industry who’s simply woken up with the obsessive compulsion to hear “that song”.
Some of them would not hesitate to demand your full attention while they embark on a talent contest type rendition of the track in question, and I must say that I would love to have footage of our faces behind the counter as we stand scratching our scalps in bemusement and yet hoping we could decipher that embryo of melody, to turn it into a fully grown recorded song with a generous price tag.
And sometimes, when we happen to recognise the song, and after a trip to the treasure chest in the basement we come back with the coveted “masterpiece”, then for an instant something within us feel complete.
It is of course, just as rewarding to help the most knowledgeable customers towards their goal for the day-just not as much fun and slightly less memorable.
Music has plenty of therapeutic values whether you are behind the counter or across it. It’s power to give us a snapshot of the most cherished moments in our memories is limitless-I swear some vinyls use to have a particular smell (some would argue I am just plain mad) I never managed to find again….as yet. One day…..
And here I just wonder : does anyone of us remember our first music download? Will our children do ?
We rarely ever see anyone below 20 years old at the shop and surely that’s not because they need parental authorisation is it ?
Yes the times they are a - changin’, and maybe I just shouldn’t criticise what I don’t understand….. let me know what you make of it if you like.
Right, this said, my job is to inform you of the content of our New In rack for this coming Saturday.
Unfortunately, I have ( twice is not yet an habit) left my notes at the shop, and so I can only tell you that there’s still some great slabs of Electronica - Jungle - D&B - Two step - Uk Garage, a fair amount Indie, Punk and Post Punk, Classic Rock and Metal, Folk rarities and Proggy delights.
Also in the mix expect a few top notch Reggae, Funk and Soul masterpieces and of course one or two of those tunes you’d have preferred to have left buried in your memories…. one’s treasure is another’s poison innit!
All the best.
Philiippe at Rat Records.