report from this fall's WFMU record fair. the last one I went to, which was about a year and half ago was pretty depressing: not that many people, records were too cheap, and a sullen vibe. However, the scene seems to have hit another gear. this was the most crowded I've seen the fair in years. the competitive hip-hop digger vibe seems to all but disappeared (thank god), and it's more of a well-rounded, good vibe, free for all affair. i definitely saw a stronger jazz presence this year, possibly making another comeback...
whenever i see old, eccentric Asian men, I always think about how I'm gonna end up. leftfield like this dood... or a carbon copy of my parents? I think I've had a pretty crazy past, I wonder if that shit dies and you just get old and give up... or do you soldier it like this dood, keeping the dream alive slanging records, wearing hoody with pills on it, headbanding, and doing whatever he does (he's probably lining up some horrendous tang on the phone). ah, deep thoughts at the record fair.
amongst records, you'll always find weird memorabilia like these bootleg dvds of concerts and russ meyer films, the predictable dichotomy of a record nerdus...
the highlights of the show were definitely these two tables located by the pillar. they both had some incredible African records... the records had a crazy air about them with unfamiliar yellowing colors, great cover art, and pounds of mystery. never seen a concentration of stuff like this before at the fair (or anywhere else).
im mostly a bystander these days, but cheap 80s 12"s were talking to me. the recent Dimitri comp got me inspired to revisit all those great 80s dub version b-sides... this one featured a pretty cool one. early Human League... underrated.
