I blame Nick Hornby. Ever since I saw Jack Black goofing around as a record shop assistant, something hooked me. It's got worse over time, and now to the extend that I simply don't buy CD's anymore. My music buying experience, and I do mean experience, these days usually consists of an after work trip to one of Glasgow's fine record stores. Here's how I got on this week.

Venue

Without really thinking about it, I alighted from the train at Argyle Street and headed for Monorail Music. Nested away in Kings Court just round the corner from the 13th Note, it's my favourite record shop in the city. As always the selection is truly eclectic and browsing through the racks always throws something unsuspected. As I got there ten minutes before closing time, my browsing time was severely limited. As for the staff, they are always friendly, though in this instance, my bantering was limited due to them wanting me the fuck out so they can get home! Can't blame them really! I did get a badge, which I have coveted for a while so all in all, I'm happy!

Purchases

As I said, I was limited for time. Not really knowing what I was looking for didn't really help either. Plus money was tight, so that put a few things beyond my reach for this week at least. Starting with the 'New Arrivals' rack I found Arctic Monkey's new single Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair on 10". Not due to be officially released until Monday 30th, this is a bonus. It's an absolute belter of a song as well. Took me a few listens to get hooked, but the grungy feel of this track gets a big thumbs up from me. And I'm also a bit of a collector, and I have every previous Arctic Monkey's release on vinyl, so I took this.

Next up was Glasgow's own The Seventeenth Century and their second EP Part II, released on 2nd May on 10". Firstly it gets a big brucey bonus for having free mp3 download codes. This in my opinion is the way forward for all physical releases, if bands/labels want customers to buy singles/EP's/LP's. Vinyl is making a comeback, but the one drawback for a lot of people is the difficulty, and loss of quality, to transfer vinyl to mp3. Including free mp3 codes with vinyl releases gives customers the best of both worlds. As for the music,
Banks Of Home is the opening track, and best on the EP. Haunting and atmospheric, you can stream it here.

The glares of a shopkeeper who wants to close on time, limited me to my browsing, meaning I never got past the 'C' rack. However, this has it's benefits as it led me to buy Caribou's latest LP Swim. Released back in April last year, I never picked up on it, and I'm glad I have now. An electronic album with heavy influences from techno music, it's a gem of an album, and no surprise it made many 'Best Of' lists for last year. Have a listen to Odessa and get lost in the swooping samples and basslines.