RECORD FLOP DAY

IT might only be Monday, but here's what the weekend taught me:

ONE] Record Store Day is great in some places and not in others: The days leading up to Record Store Day saw
         independent record shops up and down the country readying themselves for one of the biggest days of the
         year. With promises of cakes, gigs and limited edition releases, I have to say I was pretty excited; but
         what was supposed to be a celebration of the independent record shop, putting them back into the
         thoughts of the locals, seemed to be quite an anti-climax. In fact, the only difference I could see was that
         there was an abundance of badges and a few more flyers on the counter that there normally are. I was
         really surprised, as it seemed the store I visited had wasted an incredible opportunity. Next door to shop is
         a row of cafes that were brimming with people, but not one of them took five extra steps to venture into
         the record shop. Why? Because there was absolutely nothing to show that this day was any different from
         another. This could be down to a number of things, one of which is budget, but a few banners or some
         cakes doesn't really cost all that much. Having said that, three CDs were purchased at very good prices:

Thanks to our ironing board cover for

agreeing to be in this photo.

         What we have here is:

                    a]SCI-FI-LO-FI Compiled by Rob Da Bank - Tracks include Just Like Honey by The Jesus and

                       Mary Chain, Nowhere by Ride and Freak Scene by Dinosaur JR. This one is for me. My score:

                       9/10.

                    b] SANTANAS GREATEST HITS - Tracks include Evil Ways, Hope You're Feeling Better and

                        Black Magic Woman. This one is for my dad. My Score: 10/10 [I haven't opened it but know
                        most of the songs. My Score: 10/10 [you can't give Santana a 9].

                    c] Midnight Cryin' Time: Teen Angst Classics from the Rock 'n' Roll Era  - Three CDs, with tracks
                        including That's Life (That's Tough) by Gabriel & The Angels, My Girl Friend Betty by Mary

                        Swain, and Dressed In Black (Demo) by Shadow Morton. This one is for my boyfriend.

                        His Score: 3/10. Saying that, he has only listened to one out of the three CDs, so even if
                        he only likes two songs per CD it works out to just over £1 per song, which is actually great.

          All in all, a successful music spree. I even promised to go into a record shop 'every other week' to
          'have a look', but obviously that was said on a music high and after a Saturday morning lie-in.

TWO] Good friends are like your favourite sweets: You like them a lot and when they're gone it makes you sad.

          This weekend our good friend Arno Selvini [Stockholm via London via Birmingham via London via

          Strasbourg] came to visit. He arrived at 12:30am on Saturday [night], we went straight out to the only

          place that was sure to play nostalgia-inducing music, but mainly all came home and talked until five in the

          morning. He didn't stay long, leaving us the next day after a three-hour walk through East London [he's

          actually at the Old Blue Last tonight, so if you're there and hear someone swearing in French, its probably

          him], but my boyfriend and I were pretty gloomy when he left. This is mainly because we hadn't seen him

          for three years, but also because we both realised that good friends are like your favourite sweets. You

          love them but when they're gone it makes you sad. So you get some more! [that's get some more time

          with them, not 'get some new friends'. Obviously.

Two out of the three of us were wearing stripes.
Fashion Clash[un]!

Hangover cure. Apparently.

         Obviously I realise how ridiculous my sweets analogy is, but you can pretty much substitute it for
         anything. Bubbles for example; or other sweet-based things.

On Wednesday i'll be seeing Edwyn Collins at the Union Chapel in Islington. Are you going? You should be.

Let me know if you are, or tell me something you've learnt, or strike up a conversation about sweets by sending me an email whatstanleysays@gmail.com

STANLEY