Today's burning question: Pulp's 'Common People'... Great song, or greatest song of all time?

First things first: Our things came today, so the turntables, records, stereo and such have returned. Expect a return to crate digging/blogging soon, this time live from St. Paul.

BUT, in the meantime, here I have for you my song of the moment: Pulp's 'Common People' which I've loved since I saw a video riffing off of the song back during the British election (I've posted that one below.)

Anyway, watch the video and follow the lyrics below. Great. And check out below as well.

She came from Greece, she had a thirst for knowledge
She studied sculpture at Saint Martin's College
That's where I caught her eye
She told me that her Dad was loaded
I said "In that case I'll have rum and coca-cola
She said "fine"
And then in 30 seconds time she said
"I want to live like common people
I want to do whatever common people do
I want to sleep with common people
I want to sleep with common people like you"
Well what else could I do?
I said "I'll see what I can do"
I took her to a supermarket
I don't know why
but I had to start it somewhere
so it started there
I said "pretend you've got no money"
but she just laughed
and said "oh you're so funny"
I said "Yeah
Well I can't see anyone else smiling in here
Are you sure
you want to live like common people
you want to see whatever common people see
you want to sleep with common people
you want to sleep with common people like me?"
But she didn't understand
she just smiled and held my hand
Rent a flat above a shop
Cut your hair and get a job
Smoke some fags and play some pool
Pretend you never went to school
But still you'll never get it right
'cos when you're laid in bed at night
watching roaches climb the wall
if you called your dad he could stop it all
yeah
You'll never live like common people
You'll never do whatever common people do
You'll never fail like common people
You'll never watch your life slide out of view
and then dance and drink and screw
because there's nothing else to do
Sing along with the common people
Sing along and it might just get you through
Laugh along with the common people
Laugh along although they're laughing at you
and the stupid things that you do
because you think that poor is cool
Like a dog lying in a corner
they will bite you and never warn you
Look out
they'll tear your insides out
'cos everybody hates a tourist
especially one who thinks
it's all such a laugh
yeah and the chip stain's grease
will come out in the bath
You will never understand
how it feels to live your life
with no meaning or control
and with nowhere left to go
You are amazed that they exist
and they burn so bright
whilst you can only wonder why
Rent a flat above a shop
Cut your hair and get a job
Smoke some fags and play some pool
Pretend you never went to school
But still you'll never get it right
'cause when you're laid in bed at night
watching roaches climb the wall
if you called your dad he could stop it all
yeah
You'll never live like common people
You'll never do whatever common people do
You'll never fail like common people
You'll never watch your life slide out of view
and then dance and drink and screw
'because there's nothing else to do
I want to live with common people like you.....

And the political video riffing off it. (Hint to non-British-election-savvy readers, David Cameron, the main subject of the video below, was the conservative candidate in the last election. He's now Prime Minister.)

Record Store Day: First after-action report

My Record Store Day started at 6:30 a.m. with my cell phone alarm ringing. Note: This is at least an hour earlier than I get up for work every day. But this was Record Store Day. I'd live.

In the days before, I had decided Crooked Beat was the store of choice for the limited releases, since they seemed to have the most. Emma and I made it there by 7:45 a.m. and were officially the seventh and eighth people in line. That would end up being really important.

Over the next three to four hours, people continued to show up, Emma finished a book, I read the paper, got breakfast, etc. etc. Eventually, the line was to the end of the block. That's the boring part. Fast-forward to about 10:35 a.m., and there we are, with the manager explaining how this was all going to work and how many of each release they had. That John Lennon singles bag - only pressed 7,000 times, and coming with a custom adapter, postcards, poster, original album art in an awesome sleeve - that you might have heard about? They had six. SIX. I was seventh in line, and it seemed everyone in front of me was going to buy one. They had even fewer of the Beastie Boys release, of which there are only 1,000 (!) copies on the world. For the full list of everything that was out today - not necessarily everything at Crooked Beat - go here.

Anyway, we were let in the store, and while I waited to tell the people at the counter what I wanted, I watched as the Lennon singles went, one by one, out the doro. I had realized the fact - if I hadn't already - that I was not going to get this release. But then I was second in line... and there were still TWO on the shelf. Turns out, one of the guys ahead of me decided NOT to buy a John Lennon singles bag, purposefully allowing me to get the last one in the store, and probably the last one in the District/Maryland/Northern Virginia area, to be honest. I thanked him. He said, "Hey, I take care of my peoples." I feel like I should've bought him lunch or something. It's seems as though he just decided to let me have it. Seriously.

With those two albums in hand, plus the Flaming Lips and the rest listed below, I had every release I wanted, save a certain Bruce Springsteen release I didn't know much about until I was standing in line and looked at the person's ahead of me. But, given all that, I can, without a doubt, say that waking up at 6:30 a.m. and waiting a few hours on a Saturday morning was entirely worth it. The experience of someone ahead of me in line essentially passing up one of the most exclusive releases of the day - to be fair, a friend or two of his already had one - was just another example of what I've been trying to get at with this whole blog. This vinyl stuff is great. I love the music, but there's more to it. And it was a stark difference considering the guy who showed up this morning from a different record store - he shouted, "I got all that shit you want!" to someone else. He had bought two copies of the Lennon singles bag - he tried to get a third, but the store wouldn't let him - almost certainly just wanted to flip them later for a profit. What a waste.

It's exactly what I was saying in my post earlier this week. Here we were, a handful of people into vinyl in 2010. We had waited hours on the street. Were incredibly excited about the whole affair, and we knew that we were in the thing together. Ultimately, that showed. It made the morning go quicker. There was one guy I was talking with, he was going to run to McDonald's for food and a bathroom break. After talking to him for 10 minutes, he said he'd be right back. But he also asked me if I wanted anything for him to bring back for me in the line. A perfect stranger, just asked me if I'd like some breakfast, since he was going anyway. Show me one other time this would happen, and it can't involve a sign asking for help on the highway. Even then, it's unlikely.

And thanks to all that, and to Record Store Day in general, I'm writing this listening to some great John Lennon music right now. Now, THAT, alone, was worth getting up at 6:30 a.m. today.

Here's everything I got:

• Beastie Boys mystery white release (1,000 pressed worldwide)
• Black Keys - 12-inch singles: Howlin' For You/Tighten Up (limited)
• The Doors - People are Strange 7-inch (2,500 pressed worldwide)
• Flaming Lips - Dark Side of the Moon (5,000 pressed worldwide) - Rare CLEAR vinyl
• Jimi Hendrix live at Clark University 1968 (limited)
• John Lennon Singles Bag (7,000 pressed worldwide)
• Rolling Stones - Plundered My Soul 7-inch (Exile on Main St. outtakes) (limited)
• Velvet Underground - Live 1969 Vol. 1 reissue (1,500 pressed worldwide)
• Neil Young - Heart of Gold 7-inch (limited)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Skeletons 7-inch (limited)

If the world was a record store...

...What a wonderful world it would it would be. Today being a Sunday, and me with little to do, I decided to check out the newest record store in Silver Spring, Joe's Record Paradise. And indeed it is. I've heard the space was a pool hall at one point, so that gives you a sense of how big it is. Wall to wall records, CDs, an expensive rare section, posters, and on and on. It was well worth checking out, and I'll get to what I bought, exactly, and I spin this yarn that, once again, has convinced me of this fact: If the world was a record store, it would be great.

One of the records I (thought) I bought was The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, a sort of white whale for me, since I've never once come across a used copy in a store. It was $10.50, in good shape, and I was sold. Picked up a few others, and I was off, biking back home. Immediately, I put on Freewheelin' and what do I hear? 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' the first track off Dylan's 'Bringing it all Back Home' album. A great album, for sure. But I already have it. Turns out, I had bought one Dylan sleeve and another Dylan album. So I pack up and bike back to Joe's.

No trouble there -- I had thought they might think I was trying to scam them. They ask if I want the cash back or to look around for something else. I choose latter, and they check for another copy of Freewheelin'. No dice. So I head for a Country Joe and the Fish album I had previously passed up. $7.50? You got it. Then I find 'Remain in Light' from the Talking Heads with no price. Upon inquiry? $7. Well, we had a problem. I had $10.50 in store credit, but $14.50 in albums, plus tax. They say it could be settled for three bucks. I have no cash. We've got a problem.

The solution? One of the guys working there says, as the incense smoke swirls in the dusty air: "You know what man, for your trouble, let's just call it an even trade. Besides, [Remain in Light] is a great album, and if you don't already have it, you need it. Just come see us again sometime." Absolutely. So, for my trouble, I got a free $5 from the store, two albums instead of one, and a reason to visit again.

There aren't a lot of stores in which that would've happened. And I don't just think it's because it was a difference in $5 or so. It's as if they knew it probably kinda sucked to think you were getting an album, and then not. And to have to come back. And the "... and if you don't already have it, you need it..." line was great. It's almost as if they're desire to set me up with a classic album trumped their own business interests. It's about the experience, the record store culture, the shared quest for any and all records you'd ever want. It's as if we're all in this record collection adventure together; like I just got a collective, understanding nod from Joe's Record Paradise.

Paradise indeed. And just one more reason why this adventure is more than just a way to listen to music... it's an experience. Cultural. Musical. If only the whole world was a record store. And it(kind of) softened the blow of, once again, not having Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Something to keep looking for, I suppose.

Today's buys:
Country Joe and the Fish -- Electric Music For The Mind And Body
Cream -- Disraeli Gears
Bob Dylan -- Blood on the Tracks
Jimi Hendrix -- Band of Gypsys
Jimi Hendrix -- Axis: Bold As Love
Talking Heads -- Remain in Light

Photo, of course, from High Fidelity.