Cheap Music

There's almost nothing in music I like better than the used CD section in the local record store. Most music stores now mix used high-demand titles in with their new CDs, as they probably make as much money selling a new-used CD for $9.99 as the new version for $14.99. It also helps them compete with the chains, since you can buy new CDs cheaper at Costco, Target or Wal-Mart than the local record store.

But it's not those titles I'm not interested in. My local store, Rasputin Music, has a whole aisle of 50 cent CDs. And a few times a year they lower the price to 25 cents. But what's in there?

A lot of it, I'll admit, is stuff that most people wouldn't even pay 25 cents for. There are a lot of genres I'm not interested in (rap, country, or most pop) and there are a lot of CDs by unknown artists, various compilations, foreign pop CDs, cheap classical, etc. You may have to flip through 1,000 CDs, but there's always something good. Take tonight, when I came home with two 70's collections; "The Soul of Russia" by 101 Strings; Brazilian Beat Remixes; Rachael Yamagata; a CD of U2 remixes by Paul Oakenfold; Volume 3 of the Lilith Fair compilations; an R.E.M. single ("Strange Currencies") with a couple of live tracks ("Drive," "Radio Free Europe"); Trance Nation; the "Rush" soundtrack, entirely written and performed by Eric Clapton; George Michael's "Listen Without Prejudice"; a CD called "Paris under a groove"; and, another compilation called "Monitor This!" with songs by Gomez, The Doves, and others. The whole pile was $7.08.

A couple are disappointments: the 70's compilations are described as "New Studio Recordings by the Original Artists," which really means that the producers bought the rights to the music but not the original performances. It's a little unnerving to hear a 55-old-man sing a song intended for a 20-year-old. But it has great, obscure songs like "Indiana Wants Me" and "One Toke Over the Line" that I haven't found elsewhere. The 101 Strings version of "The Russian Soul" is, well, 101 Strings. And it's not really Russian soul, or folk, but some of the post popular Russian classical compositions done in the inimtable 101 Strings style.

The compilations: I think these are some of the best bargains, especially in the discount bin. This Lilith Fair CD has both Suzanne Vega's "Luka" and Sixpence None the Richer's "Kiss Me"; both indipensible addiitions in a 90's collection. Usually soundtracks are great collections, too, but in the case of Rush it's all original compositions by Clapton, except for "Tears of Heaven" which of course appears elsewhere. By I buy everything I see by Clapton, as is the case of R.E.M. I have most if not all of their albums so singles and other EPs are a great find.

Single artists: The George Michael CD popped up recently on VH1's "100 Best Songs of the 1990's" not as a winner, but as one that just missed the cut. Still, it's a good CD and for 50 cents hard to pass up. The other was Rachael Yamagata. I know her name and know I've heard the music but couldn't (and still can't) name any song she's done. A good intro at 50 cents.

Then there's the remixes: who could resist Oakenfold remixing U2? Or MAW featuring Liliana Chachion doing Brazilian beats? The "Paris under a groove" CD is great: just the thing for a quiet (and maybe sexy) evening at home. It's divided into Cocktails, Party Groove, and Light Night Groove. What could be better? The last is an edition of Trance Nation, just to add to my collection of trance music.