What's All This Then

Why should I care what this guy has to say?

The correct answer is that you shouldn’t. We’re all entitled to our opinions. Develop your own. I try to be sane and rational, but that may change with the level of caffeine intake. I’m just telling my stories in the hopes they may amuse and/or inform others. And... I Confess... I'm showing off my bitchen collection a bit.


Saturday, April 18, 2015

CD Trader in Tarzana, CA

Tarzana, CA.  Yes, it's named after Tarzan.  Edgar Rice Borroughs had a ranch there.  It's now a fairly affluent suburb of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley.  In an unassuming strip mall on Ventura Blvd lies CD Trader.  It's sandwiched between one of those breakfast places that people stand around for an hour to get a table (That's something I could never do - wait for food) and a BBQ joint called El Paso BBQ.  For some reason, a BBQ joint in a affluent suburb doesn't interest me.  I'm a big fan of Dr. Hoggly Woggly's Tyler Texas BBQ in Van Nuys.  Or anything in Austin, TX.




So anyway, back to CD Trader.   Don't let the name fool you. They've got plenty of Vinyl.  I'm not certain, but I think they were once affiliated with the now defunct Record Trader in Reseda.  I've gotten some gems at both stores.  Just yesterday (the day this picture was taken) I picked up Message From the Country by The Move.  Something I've been looking for a long while.  Also got my mono Blonde on Blonde for $5.  They've got 45's too.  

The store is kind of bright for a record store.  They've got a buy 10 get one free stamp card.  You just have to remember to present it.

If you look at Yelp for this place, you'll see some negative reviews of the staff.  Yes, some of them are snotty and surly.   I once placed a stack of LP's on the counter and the clerk looked down upon me and said 'I'm in the middle of a transaction.'   I really didn't know what that meant.  There was nobody else at the counter.  My vocal response was 'What should I do, come back later when you're not busy? Just give me the 'all clear' when you're ready to receive me.'   My silent response was 'What do you have to be snooty about? You're working retail.'   

That guy isn't usually working when I go now as my daughter's piano lesson has moved to a time when the clerk is this guy who used to run Ear Candy Records in Van Nuys.  It was next door to the RSL Speaker store where I got my original speaker gear (which is still running beautifully BTW after a recone job by Speaker City in Burbank).  He's a nice guy and actually gets excited and starts conversations about what you're buying.  Just like the days of old where those who worked in record stores did so because they needed to, not just because they needed a job.  



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