FIRST RECORD BUYING SPREE OF 2010

January. The Monday morning of the year. The month to abstain, the month to pay for the excesses of the heady, happy hedonism of December. Or a fine time to do none of this, and have a quick, impromptu record hunt.

London today is cold. Everybody is immersed in their own private fog of breath steam, as they doggedly cross items off from their mental errand lists, rushing up and down and around the environs that make up the London E17 post code. I have already done the few things I left my cosy sanctuary for, and recognizing the sudden potential for a wee bit of record hunting, I, beating my gloved hands as I go, pound down the high Street to the good ship Oxfam, which is moored in all its glory at the foot of the noble and afore mentioned Walthamstow High Street.

The cranky, semi-automatic doors grind open with a wheeze. Inside, one endlessly good- willed Indian gentlemen is constantly badgered by his three kids to buy them everything or anything from the shelf of VHS videos. He seems to maintain a zen- like calm throughout these frenzied appeals. "Daad. Daad. Meeestaa Bean film. Daad, I haven't got this one. Look, Look. Please." And so on. Om.

As "Abba Greatest Hits" bubbles excitedly in the background, like a pan of boiling potatoes with too much water frothing over the rim, I once again dive into the murky waters of record collecting.

Something happens to the very fabric of time. I am sucked through a portal known only to those who regularly trawl through box after box of used lps, a place where worlds, cultures, fashions, aching knees and inner sleeves collide...

And then, the spell is broken, I have made my selections.

For £10 I leave the store happy with five albums. That's a lot of music for a tenner. Firstly I land upon the 1985 debut album by "The Kane Gang" called "The Bad And Lowdown World of.." My interest in this specimen is aroused initially by the dicovery of the "Kitchenware Records" logo on the record-the same label that the mighty "Prefab Sprout" recorded on. Has to be a sign...

I then chance upon two John Cale lps. 1982's "Music For A New Society" and 1979's "Sabotage/Live" it is always a thrilling moment when you get the sense that you're actually getting the spoils of someone's cared for collection, as opposed to random detritus from the neighborhoods' recycle bins.

My eyes then fell upon something a bit different. Don't laugh. "The New Strung Harp" by "Maire Ni Chathasaigh." A little bit of folky brew for the cold January nights, and on a label I don't recognize "Temple Records" anyone? I'll let you know how I get on with it...

Finally, I snatched a "Lyle Lovett" album from 1992, "Joshua Judges Ruth."

A fine, eclectic, possibly loopy batch of styles and visions to kick off 2010 with.

Happy New Year friends, and I will report back soon with more tales rotating at speeds of 33 and 45rpm.

Details:

Artist: The Kane Gang

Album: The Bad and Lowdown World Of

Label: Kitchenware Records KWLP2

Year: 1985

Artist: John Cale

Album: Music For A New Society

Label: ZE Records/ Island Records ILPS 7019

Year: 1982

Artist: John Cale

Album: Sabotage/Live

Label: Spy Records sp004

Year: 1979

Artist: Maire Ni Chathasaigh

Album: The New Strung Harp

Label: Temple Records TP019

Year: 1985

Artist: Lyle Lovett

Album: Joshua Judges Ruth

Label: CURB/MCA 10475

Year: 1992