Conspicuous Consumption

I paid $35 for the Japanese import of the Boredoms' _Vision Creation Newsun_. It was store credit, though, which made it easier. It didn't come out in the States for another 9 months or so (last week in fact) so I would say it was worth it.

Used, hmmm...I've paid around $10 for an out-of-print LP a couple of times. The one that comes to mind is Kraftwerk's _Autobahn_. Nothing too crazy, though. I'm not much of a collector when it involves shelling out big bucks.

Excluding double albums and box sets, the most I can remember paying is about 28 $ (Canadian) for a CD of Flipper's Generic Album (new) and 15 $ each for LP's of Al Green Gets Next To You and the Mothers Of Invention's We're Only In It For The Money (used). Some of the stuff I've ordered from the US might be more expensive if you throw in the exchange rate and shipping costs, though.

It kinda reassures me that I've shown some restraint in at least *one* area of record-buying.

Anyway, they were all worth it, but I started seeing much cheaper used LP's of the Flipper album not long after buying the CD.

New, I spent over twenty quid on a Japanese import of Harmonia's "Deluxe" on CD.

Second hand, I think the most I've spent was 15 quid on a near-mint quality copy of My Bloody Valentine's "Ecstasy and Wine" LP Which I believe is a bit of a bargain.

Even better, I've seen some Jean-Jaques Perry moog albums in Intoxica (Expensive rarities shop on the Portabello road) for 100 quid which I bought in a local Cash Converters for a quid each (and it was 3 for 2 quid!)

I spent $20 for an Ascension album once, and $20 for a used Vertical Slit CD. I spent $32 of an Amazon gift certificate on the Daphne & Celeste album. Completely satisfied with all three purchases. Pissed as hell about the $30 I spent once for the Nick Drake box, even though I'm sure I sold it for much more than that.

27$ for a mint copy of Cale's Guts LP, including the original press packet. 75$, or was it 50$? for a bootleg set of the complete Smile sessions -- 3CDs.

I regret neither, and have bought little else at super-high cost.

Y'know, the only time I can remember spending a lot for a record is so completely mortifying to me now that I can't even say what it was. Not that the band was bad, just that I feel like the stereotypical sad little fan for shelling out all that cash when I could ill afford it, for one measly song that I didn't have. Too bad Napster wasn't around back then.

Um. I spent like $19-$20 or so on Masada 4, which I did not know is only about 20 minutes long (it was originally a kind of send-in-your-boxtops deal for people who bought the other Masada albums, but the store I bought it at priced it at the import prices of all the full albums). Otherwise, nothing.

I spent AUS$55 on St Etienne's 'Continental'. This was before I had access to Internet shopping and thought this was my only opportunity to get it.