As a certified music addict and card- carrying cheapskate, I spend a fair amount of time pawing through the bargain bins at CD stores. Part of the attraction is the price, of course, but a big part of it is the fact that bargain bins often hide treasures that you missed picking up when they were first released and thought you might never see again. I still get all gushy inside when I remember finding the Fairground Attraction’s long out-of-print debut album for a dollar in the bargain basement at Recycled Records. (Hang on a second, I need a tissue. … OK, I’m fine.)
The problem with bargain bins, of course, is that they’re mainly full of crap, and it takes a little work and a little background knowledge to recognize the diamonds glittering in the trash heap. Here, in no particular order, are 10 bonafide gems that I’ve seen recently in bargain bins around the Reno/Sparks area.
John Doe MEET JOHN DOE(Geffen). The former lead singer of X has had a spotty solo career, and that career began with this spotty solo debut. It’s no great surprise that the album wasn’t a big hit, frankly. But several tracks—notably a brilliant version of John Hiatt’s “The Real One” and Doe’s own emotionally charged “A Matter of Degrees”—are good enough to make this disc a very wise investment of your pocket change.
Murray Attaway IN THRALL (Geffen). When Murray Attaway left Guadalcanal Diary in 1989, his label figured his solo debut would be an enormous hit. So Geffen shipped about a billion copies of In Thrall, leaving the market thoroughly flooded when the album tanked. Bad news for Attaway and Geffen; great news for anyone who likes hooky, well-crafted guitar pop and doesn’t mind a few religious references. Only four or five tracks are great, but then, you can find this album for only $2 or $3.
Inclined BRIGHT NEW DAY (Chaos/ Columbia). With some of the albums on this list, it’s immediately obvious why they weren’t big hits. This one is a mystery. It’s funky, it’s tuneful, it’s happy—it’s the perfect musical combination of sweet, crunchy and chewy. The songs are great, and there’s lots of virtuosic but fun-loving guitar work. You’ll barely even notice the cello. This one has been getting harder to find, so if you see it, snap it up fast.
The Foremen FOLK HEROES(Reprise). One reason this one didn’t take off is that it looks like a straight-faced revival of the chamber-folk format popular among politically earnest Baby Boomers during the Great Folk Scare of the 1960s—standup bass, longneck banjo, the whole bit. But what it really is is a brilliantly funny political parody that skewers both left and right with equal glee. Highlights include “Russian Limbaugh” and “Firing the Surgeon General.”
Little John DERAILER (EMI). When Green Day put pop-punk on the charts in the mid-1990s, major labels went nuts signing loud-fast-hooky bands. Most of them sank without a trace, and Little John was one of them. Which is too bad—its debut album is a high-octane rush of melodic power pop guaranteed to evoke a Pavlovian reaction in any fan of Blink 182 or Bad Religion.
Shelleyan Orphan HUMROOT (Columbia). Granted, moody and self-consciously literate British folk-rock isn’t for everyone. But if a cross between the Sundays and Fairport Convention sounds like your cup of tea, then you’ll find this one perfect for curling up with a Jane Austen novel on a rainy Sunday afternoon. (Not that we have those in Reno.)
Raw Youth HOT DIGGITY (Giant). This is another one that would have been a hit if the American music market made any sense. Funky guitar pop with lots of feel-good vocal harmonies and slightly edgy lyrics—what’s not to love? This is perfect music to accompany a leisurely summertime drive up to Tahoe.
Ruffnexx Sound System RUFFNEX(Qwest/Warner). If you think you might like dancehall reggae if only the DJs didn’t all sound like they were auditioning for death-metal bands, then check out this reggae/hip-hop confection. It offers no substance at all, but the grooves are relentless and the band has the taste to build an entire song around a sample of The Lone Ranger’s “Love Bump.”
October Project OCTOBER PROJECT (Epic). Once you get past the startlingly fruity quality of Mary Fahl’s voice—she’s a contralto who seems to be struggling to overcome some classical training—you’ll hear ravishingly lovely melodies draped languidly over a framework of sturdy folk-pop. Really, you will. The band’s other albums are even better and may finally give you the courage to trade in those old Dead Can Dance CDs.
Beats International LET THEM EAT BINGO (Elektra). This is the mother of all bargain bin treasures. Beats International is what Fatboy Slim was calling himself in the early 1990s, and his debut is a copyright lawyer’s nightmare of uncredited samples, funky breaks, reggae basslines and lyrics that alternate between funny and heartfelt. Not a single track is less than a blast, and you’ll have fun identifying the guest artists. I’ve seen this little gem for $1 in Recycled Records’ bargain basement.
Where to look
Bargain-bin hunting is hit-and-miss by nature, so I’d be hesitant to send anyone to a specific store to look for any specific title. It only takes one or two people getting there ahead of you to ruin your chances. But here are some of the good bargain bins in Reno and Sparks:
Recycled Records, 4930 S. Virginia St., has several shelves of used CDs priced at $4 each or three for $10. But the real mother lode of CD bargains is at Recycled’s branch store near the University of Nevada, Reno, 812 N. Virginia St., which boasts a basement room filled with CDs, records, cassettes and videos all for $1 each. This store is worth visiting on a regular basis, as the stock is replenished fairly frequently.
Soundwave CDs, 971 W. Moana Lane, offers three different bargain bins with discs priced at $1, $2 and $4, as well as new CDs and used ones priced in the $8 to $10 range.
Wherehouse Music, 3370 Kietzke Lane or 685 E. Prater Way in Sparks, may be a soulless chain store, but both branches regularly offer big bins of cutout, overstocked and used CDs at prices that range from $1.99 to $4.99. And if you still haven’t upgraded to CD in your car, you can usually find a similar bin of cassettes for even less. I’ve seen used cassette prices as low as 10 cents in the Sparks store, though usually you’ll pay about $1.