man of records

I spent a bit of time around town today, surprised I didn't see you. I first of all took Judy back to Jane's place; the floorboards having finally been done (don't frantically race back through previous postings and/or your crib notes for this blog - I hadn't mentioned it before - but Judy has been here since Easter sitting in the corner occasionally biting her feet or shitting but mainly sleeping). I then went down to a record shop in Fitzroy where I picked up a bunch of records I am borrowing from an interviewee for my book, his back catalogue being pretty darn hard to come across. I also bought a couple of records there, including an album by CCS who I remember Mark Louttit being very enthusiastic about a few years back. I had coffee with Greg in a shop he and Peta call (I think) the Secret Shop because it is one of those coffee shops with no name. I am reminded of the truly bizarre conversation I overheard in a Yarraville coffee shop 7 or 8 years ago in which the proprietor of the new shop expressed his ambition to have a shop like the shops in Europe with sick all over the tables. I'm telling you that's what he said and the person he was talking to couldn't believe it either. 'Sick?' 'Yeah, you know, sick!' Anyway I imagine some middle classer backpacked through Turin and saw some of the coffee shops didn't have names and came back to Fitzroy to do the same thing.

By this time I had got a message from Mia asking for minidiscs. The only place in Melbourne I know of for buying minidiscs is JB Hi Fi so I went down there on the tram and did the deed, also got her a vinyl version of Tonight's the Night (I might not have mentioned this previously but she's reading the copy of Shakey that Brad lent her so she's hoping to explore various Neil Young records that have hitherto been unknown to her). I also - this is getting embarrassing but you see I do have a little birthday money - bought a Split Enz DVD, a Cane Toad records compilation of 60s punk (a lot of Vince Meloney who intrigues me) and a $3 DVD of Francis Ford Coppola's first film The People. Then I came back to Fitzroy where the car was still parked in Gertrude Street and drove up to Dixon's, I forget why I wanted to go there although I was keen to sell a few CDs that had been sitting in the back of the car for a month. They only gave me $22 for 'em but this was adequately good swap for a Horslips album (my fourth), the Head Undone album (always liked that one), and a Crazy Horse album because I knew Mia was interested in Crazy Horse too. I have a Crazy Horse album with a beautiful cover but it's a bad record, but this one may be better.

Tomorrow night I am filling in for Alison on Two to the Valley on 3CR, so have a listen. I am still not entirely sure what my theme will be but I think it will be the weather. This will give me the chance to play:

Love is Like a Cloudy Day - Doug Parkinson
It's a Sunny Day - Johnny Young
Clouds - Mackenzie Theory

They're the only three I can think of, so it might just be those three over and over again. I will not be playing:

Rain - The Beatles
Raining in my Heart - whoever sings it