THE STATE OF 'DIGGING'

RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,783 Posts
edited September 2007 in Strut Central
I have been digging hardcore for over 10 years now. Not so much any more as the family life has taken on a greater priority, BUT... when I do have the chance to get out and get 'dirty', shit is mad depressing. Pretty much 90% of my spots (fleas, record shows, record stores) are gone or have discovered Popsike. Even the places that still exist have adapted their prices to some Popsike crack or have a completely depleted stock. Now I know there are other way to score records... but there is nothing like going to the old record store and digging in complete silence. Its a zen like feeling vs. make some contact at aflea market and walking into this dingy old apartment and having random small talk. I am rambling... but let me know your feelings on the state of digging.
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  • I have been digging hardcore for over 10 years now. Not so much any more as the family life has taken on a greater priority, BUT... when I do have the chance to get out and get 'dirty', shit is mad depressing. Pretty much 90% of my spots (fleas, record shows, record stores) are gone or have discovered Popsike. Even the places that still exist have adapted their prices to some Popsike crack or have a completely depleted stock. Now I know there are other way to score records... but there is nothing like going to the old record store and digging in complete silence. Its a zen like feeling vs. make some contact at aflea market and walking into this dingy old apartment and having random small talk. I am rambling... but let me know your feelings on the state of digging.



    DUDE YOU FOUND STARK REALITY THIS SUMMER. SHUT THE FUCK UP!




  • I've come to realize that record stores are not the places anymore. However I did find that Diddy's ft. Paige Douglass galactic disco funk Facemelter in the front of the Soul stack at my spot in Ocean City, NJ for duece bones.

    It's all about Antique and junk stores for thine heatery.

  • kalakala 3,362 Posts
    the days of ill come ups at records stores are over
    either they are out of business ,on that popsiike thang or they have nothing you want
    its all about fleas/thrifts and luck
    finding collections thru flea markets has been the trick
    "got any more where this came from?"

  • whoa, i missed the part where RAJ found Stark Reality !!! dayyyyum

    I've come to realize that record stores are not the places anymore.

    This is what I've been thinking lately too. I mean there's a couple record spots where its still possible to pull the facemelting heat, but generally, in this day and age, you gotta think outside the box, take it to the next level. I know that somewhere, not even that far from here probably, there's heat sitting there in an unassuming place just waiting... only trick is to find it. My only worry is whether i have the necessary time and motivation these days. I mean i love music and records as much as ever, but I only have so much time in a week anymore...

  • Options
    I more or less gave up on the record store near me when they hired a kid who is after the stuff I like, it's more worth it for me just to take the trip to Paycheck's spot every few months.

    I struck out all over the place at garage and estate sales this summer, probably the worst year I've had on that front. I think people have the estate sale companies locked up with previews. I'm not giving up though, it's just getting a lot harder.

  • Yeah, I don't mess with record stores too much unless I'm buying something new...I frequent every thrift, antique store, flea market, goodwill, etc. I know of and this is usually where the best digs are.

  • motown67motown67 4,513 Posts
    I don't think you can entirely blame record stores, ebay, popsike, etc. I think once your collection gets to be a reasonable size it just becomes harder to find things because you'll have many of the titles in a store already. The local Rasputin's and Amoeba I hit up only about once a month and only find things rarely, but than there are a couple other stores that usually turn something up about once a month and whenever I go up to Sacramento I find something as well. There are also a lot of non-rare stuff that I didn't pick up in the past, like my recent obsession with Motown records, that I'm getting now to satisfy my desires for records.

  • aleitaleit 1,915 Posts
    The internet done changed it all... for better and for worse.

    what's funny is how the market has bottomed out so many classic jazz and soul - beat-digger type records but now all of the sudden these are the exact records that most shops want exorbitant prices for. it can be relatively funny.

    with that said... it is pretty bare bones out there... i agree w/ raj. Not everyone wants to make 200 phone calls and network w/ another two dozen people just to look at some half-way decent records which haven't been run through the mainframe (as we call it around these parts)...

    on the other hand... tons of cool records still waiting to be dug up and discovered. i'm always randomly bumping into things which all seem to have some strange connections to one another.

    for instance, these two ladies:



    but when we get down to percentages... i would have to estimate that maybe 5% or a generous 10% of records i buy actually come from record stores or flea markets...

    the rest are actual gifts from the lord saviour jesus christ and rain from heaven as testament to eternal life. WHO HERE IS INTO JESUS?

    oops, record day.

    PEACE

  • erewhonerewhon 1,123 Posts
    Its a zen like feeling vs. make some contact at aflea market and walking into this dingy old apartment and having random small talk. I am rambling... but let me know your feelings on the state of digging.

    It's the total reverse for me. I've never found much Zen in record stores, with the exception of a few that were bascially going out of business and unloading everything they had. It's actually very rare that I step foot in a record store these days. I'm all about the early rising, traveling, meeting people and building unlikely friendships. I agree that things have have changed dramatically in both worlds, but at the end of the day, in world #2 if you don't get records you can still come away with something.

  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,783 Posts
    whoa, i missed the part where RAJ found Stark Reality !!! dayyyyum

    I've come to realize that record stores are not the places anymore.

    This is what I've been thinking lately too. I mean there's a couple record spots where its still possible to pull the facemelting heat, but generally, in this day and age, you gotta think outside the box, take it to the next level. I know that somewhere, not even that far from here probably, there's heat sitting there in an unassuming place just waiting... only trick is to find it. My only worry is whether i have the necessary time and motivation these days. I mean i love music and records as much as ever, but I only have so much time in a week anymore...




  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts

  • I've become quite the lazy digger, if I can even call myself a "digger" anymore.

    Nowadays I just work harder to make more money, to buy more coke, so I can work harder, to make more money, to buy more coke, so I can work harder, to make more money, so I can buy more coke... eeerrrr I mean records.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Lazy Diggers......

    Id like to hit up all the old folks in my hood who are sitting on their collectrons. I know theres a gang of Gospel & Salsa in someones closet.

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    make some contact at aflea market and walking into this dingy old apartment and having random small talk.


  • I've got the day off from work today, so I plan on spending 5 hours at the record shop, listening to everything possible. Even certain common records I am too embaressed to admit I don't already own, and am deathly afraid of being caught listening to on the listening station.

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    I know theres a gang of Gospel & Salsa in someones closet.

    ...undoubtedly rinked to hell.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    I know theres a gang of Gospel & Salsa in someones closet.

    ...undoubtedly rinked to hell.

    True. My neighbor was like - "Check out my Menudo rekkids....." Tore the hell up.

  • yall are a bunch of whiny bitches

  • do something nice to someone and record karma will shine back on you






    for real though, i agree with motown,raj,erybody.
    just gotta get in wheere you fit in


    peaec and good luck,t

  • Exploding living costs, less and less people who want to pay more than an euro for good stuff i want to sell record wise out of my collection (making buying a larger collection a high risk) as well as some plans for a better future have all lead to nearly zero diggin?? ...

    ... although I am on fleamarkets every weekend - but i have to express that the attitude of most German diggers i know is simply too narrow/fame/money minded to establish any connection that goes over some "business talk" (not that i cannot understand that from a human point but it kills every sign of "having real fun")


    ... that said - it??s a simple "money" thing and nothing more any longer!



    Greetings
    Seb

  • Most of my collection came from storage auctions & community auctions.
    People really need to pay their storage fees!!!

  • dmacdmac 472 Posts
    I have been digging hardcore for over 10 years now. Not so much any more as the family life has taken on a greater priority, BUT...

    I honestly wish I had more time, but yeah, being an adult really fills up the schedule (house, job, girlfriend, etc.). I manage to hit a few spots when I'm traveling. But mostly I rely on champion digger Neville C. to source the gems for me. He comes up with the goods and I help him pay the rent. win-win.

    Speaking of traveling, I'll be in Pittsburgh in a few weeks. Any spots worth hitting up?

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    The more folks give up on record stores, the more chances for lil dudettes like me to find random goodies. Well, unless they just close down.

  • record stores have been good to me recently. got a og mint fantastic planet the other day for way under market value. you gotta hit stores at least weekly. and you aren't gonna come up with huge grip-n-flip hauls. I don't, and would be more inclined to take the shit I want at a reasonable price and say "you could get some decent coin for these." then again this is just a hobby not a job for me (until i have enough capitol to make it a job, then i'll be making house calls and complaining with the rest of you).

    local flea market sexy cheesecake record tycoon guy is definitely on some popsike bullshit, but he has multiple storage units i haven't checked yet. i'm afraid of the "i'll have to look these up" digging-for-him-and-not-getting-any-deals bullshit. his ebay B-I-N's never sell and he subscribes to the "if it doesn't sell, list it for double" phenomenon on most things i have an eye on.

  • The more folks give up on record stores, the more chances for lil dudettes like me to find random goodies. Well, unless they just close down.

    true. hopefully the savvy ones will last AT LEAST another few years

    record karma is real though, and record store employees are your friends. i wish i could buy raers for pennies but i'm content getting records for a middle-ground price between pennies and ebay rates.

  • I know I work at a record store but...

    when I go out in the field I either go two ways - I either buy the nice stuff off the wall that I need that is in good condition and decently priced (maybe even a little high) or I check the dollar/cheap bins for things I've never seen before or are under the popsike radar.

    Also, it is good to know the people at your local stores. Be nice to them and they'll be nice to you.

    Don't ever mention "ebay" in a record store. Act like a caveman without internet. It's like farting in church, it doesn't go over well.

    Record karma is REAL. I don't believe in much but I believe in this. REAL I tell you.

    Private dealers are the way to go if you've been in the game for awhile and don't have time to hit the stores every couple of days. Straight up heat and a casual atmosphere win every time.

    TRADE. TRADE. SET SALE. TRADE. SET SALE.

    Peace,
    MCF

  • spelunkspelunk 3,400 Posts



    As someone who has pretty much only been digging in the eBay/Popsike era, I've never really had the expectation of finding anything in a record store outside of the Groove Merchant and the New Arrivals cart at one Santa Cruz spot. Which is frustrating - I can only imagine how much stuff was out there just a decade ago. At the same time, when I look through my collection at how many records I've gotten for damn cheap, both "out in the field" and in collections, I really can't complain.

    What is more frustrating is that we're all forced by temptation to sell records on eBay and drive up the same prices that we complain about. I really do wish that more records were exchanged on trades instead of eBay sales - creates more of a community and a network. But when foreign dudes will pay $400 for some Modern Soul, or $180 for a really awful 1990 "random rap" 12-inch, it's just too tempting.

  • ageage 1,131 Posts
    I like that.


  • sticky_dojahsticky_dojah New York City. 2,136 Posts
    Most of my collection came from storage auctions & community auctions.
    People really need to pay their storage fees!!!

    How does this work? Does anyone know if this is also happening in Europe? I never heard of storage auctions over here?


    To me, it is about all out diggin. Do everything, stores, private sellers, grandmas, fleas, random people, the whole nine. And I remember someone said on here that all these raers which hibernate in collections now will be flooding back into the market once the owner is up in record heaven. Might happen at your local flea next weekend. Who knows? Please keep diggin and stop complaining. Although i agree, there are enuff reasons to complain...

  • yuichiyuichi Urban sprawl 11,332 Posts
    I don't go to swaps...maybe i could start doing that again. The last decent thing I found in my local store was Pete Jolly "Seasons" slightly-warped-but-does-not-affect-play.
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