Dusty Groove, C or D?

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Dusty Groove

Not necessarily the prices, which are inarguably great -- but its worldview, its manner of connoisseurship, its obsessive championing of previously untrendy genres for better or ill. Where do we plot them in contemporary music snob culture?

Amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 26 December 2002 21:40 (twenty-one years ago) link

normally i'm against all that kinda stuff (even the name is all "look at the old stuff!", but dustygroove has a certain charm, and its a specialist shop, and i like my specialist shops to be specialist, so that i know i can get particular things there, (i can get the other stuff anyway, i dont need dustygroove to stock it), they have good prices and stock, and pack things up nicely too.

so, for me, its a case of well done for what they do, and i dont fault them for what they dont (and i forgive them their little grand royalisms!)

hey, whatever happend to Easy Listener magazine anyway? anyone?

gareth (gareth), Thursday, 26 December 2002 21:54 (twenty-one years ago) link

Simon Reynolds-Kirk DeGiorgio feud to thread!


Anyhow, their selection is too focused for me to do all my online music shopping there, but at there are times I'll buy a hell of alot from them (those Peter Brown comps most recently). I'd buy more if I still did vinyl, but alas.

James Blount (James Blount), Thursday, 26 December 2002 21:57 (twenty-one years ago) link

Their $1 moving sale in early 2001 will remain a legend for many years to come, in Chicago record-collecting-geek mythology.

Their prices on some rare vinyl can be outta hand, but then sometimes it's not so bad. I dunno. Kinda have a like/hate relationship with the Dusty.

But everybody keep shopping there so Rick can put his girl through college.

hstencil, Sunday, 29 December 2002 18:10 (twenty-one years ago) link

Worldview/connoisseurship is inextricably bound up with great prices. If they were hiking everything up so it was a fortune and THEN talking about how exclusive and essential it was, I might have a problem. But they don't, and they have awesome deals on things that I usually end up loving, and why would I have a problem with that?

Douglas (Douglas), Sunday, 29 December 2002 19:51 (twenty-one years ago) link

Well, as far as new stuff goes, their prices can't be beat. They're like the Crazy Eddie's of online record stores.

hstencil, Sunday, 29 December 2002 20:20 (twenty-one years ago) link

They supply more than half my CDs these days, so classic. It's also one of the most fun stores to browse in. The used vinyl is overpriced, but that's what ebay is for. Oh, and Easy Listener was a one-time thing. I think Edmar didn't have the time, resources or interest to do another - I think a lot of those other Lumpen people weren't as into "Easy" as he is. That was a really fun issue, though.

Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 30 December 2002 17:19 (twenty-one years ago) link

Sometimes the Dusty's used vinyl titles go for cheaper than you'd find 'em on eBay. Not all the time, though.

hstencil, Monday, 30 December 2002 17:22 (twenty-one years ago) link

I don't understand how they can afford to charge so little. They must have a sweetheart deal with some European distributor. Case in point: the "Pola X" soundtrack CD was about $13 there, $30 everywhere else. And the Pierre Henry box sets cost nearly twice as much at Kim's and Other Music as they did at Dusty Groove.

My only problems with them are: the way in which they describe titles in their catalogue, where a humdrum mid-1980s LP by a somewhat burned-out soul star gets the same blur of superlatives as something truly amazing like Fela Kuti; the fact that they only keep a few titles in all the time, and their stock rotates very frequently. Often you have to buy something the same week they stock it, or it will disappear forever. That said they are very good about letting you know if/when a desired title comes back into stock.

Their vinyl doesn't seem terribly overpriced to me. Compared to some place like *ahem* Vintage Vinyl, it's very democratic. Maybe "democratic" is the best way to describe Dusty Groove, for better and for worse.

I wish they had longer hours on weekdays, though.

Amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 30 December 2002 17:28 (twenty-one years ago) link

Yeah, I would pay absolutely no attention to what they say in their catalog - they say that every damn thing they sell is "funky" and some of it is just not. I actually fell for that the first couple of times. They also don't always describe things accurately, style-wise. One thing that is really cool about them is that I've gotten a couple of bootleg (?) vinyl LPs of things that I thought would never be reissued - they were like $7 brand new.

Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 30 December 2002 17:37 (twenty-one years ago) link

they haven't done it so much lately, but every once in a while their descriptions of free jazz stuff they were selling would be horribly condescending and stupid. Too much positive hyperbole gets old quickly, but why cut down something you're trying to sell?

hstencil, Monday, 30 December 2002 17:38 (twenty-one years ago) link

"Too much positive hyperbole gets old quickly"

It has the unintended effect, too, of making everything sound really boring.

"why cut down something you're trying to sell?"

Do you remember what disc they were cutting down? They generally seem positive about the few free jazz and "out sound" titles they carry, but it's clear they don't know much about either genre.

Amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 30 December 2002 17:51 (twenty-one years ago) link

Has anyone bought one of those massive Brazilian box sets from Dusty Groove?

Amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 30 December 2002 17:51 (twenty-one years ago) link

Do you remember what disc they were cutting down? They generally seem positive about the few free jazz and "out sound" titles they carry, but it's clear they don't know much about either genre.

On various things, I've seen them refer to out stuff as either "hippy dippy" or "blowing their heads off." I'd disagree about genre knowledge, though: most every good record in either genre I've bought from there has Rick's personal collection stamp on it (a hand holding dollar bills, funnily enough).

hstencil, Monday, 30 December 2002 17:53 (twenty-one years ago) link

I don't know. Their catalogue copy for "out sound" releases are often very matter-of-fact, like their talent for superlatives momentarily deserted them--and they don't seem to know how to explain Pierre Henry except by such non-statements as "The sound is incredible -- primitive, but with a simple approach that makes the recordings almost more striking than anything Henry did in later years."

I'm sure glad they're carrying those Maximum Pressure CDs, though.

Amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 30 December 2002 18:03 (twenty-one years ago) link

I was speaking more to the free jazz stuff than the out sound stuff. Wish they carried more of the latter.

hstencil, Monday, 30 December 2002 18:09 (twenty-one years ago) link

Do you guys think Dusty Groove has spearheaded any revivals of particular genres or artists? (I think Amoeba can claim the fleeting revival of tropicalia, right?)

I think they do champion a lot of dubious stuff, throwing the word "genius" around much too liberally. How many Lee Hazlewood CDs do you have to buy before you get the point anyways?

Amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 30 December 2002 18:12 (twenty-one years ago) link

many years ago, i went searching EVERYWHERE for the tropicalia box set (or any of the discs by those artists) and could only find them at Dusty's. so for that i'm thankful

but their overzealous descriptions have tricked me more times than i'd like to remember

JasonD (JasonD), Monday, 30 December 2002 23:20 (twenty-one years ago) link

I don't know if they've spearheaded any revivals, but they've done a good job of outlining a certain aesthetic. A lot of people started buying from them to get one style of music and ended up buying in lots of other genres as well. I was kind of hoping that it would lead to people buying more Latin stuff, but that doesn't seem to have caught on.

Oh, and I got this Jorge Ben 4-CD thing from them that I couldn't find anywhere else. It was about forty bucks and the whole thing is incredible.

Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 30 December 2002 23:32 (twenty-one years ago) link

My friend brought back all kinds of stuff from Brazil including the Dorival Caymmi box set, and I was astonished to determine that she paid more for them in Brazil than Dusty Groove was asking in the states.

Amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 30 December 2002 23:36 (twenty-one years ago) link

three months pass...
Revive! Forget anything negative I may have said about them, Dusty Groove is incredible! Their stock is better than ever and they've now opened up UHF comics above the record store--which has Krazy Kat paperbacks and Eisenstein DVDs and old issues of Rocktober for ridiculously low prices. Also that Nara Leao box set--instead of the $300 charged on Amazon--is just $140, almost within my price range. Also the clerks are still really nice, especially the guy upstairs.

Amateurist (amateurist), Tuesday, 15 April 2003 22:12 (twenty-one years ago) link

one year passes...
Revive! I'm heading over there tomorrow. Payday is friday, and I'm blowing my paycheck in advance.

djdee2005, Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:17 (nineteen years ago) link

I've spent a few paychecks there myself.

oops (Oops), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:20 (nineteen years ago) link

UHF Comics closed! They tried to a few things with the upstairs space, but none of them worked out.

|a|m|t|r|s|t| (amateurist), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:22 (nineteen years ago) link

buy me some Soul Bossa Trio!

Gear! (Gear!), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:22 (nineteen years ago) link

Is this Chicago night on ILM??

frankE (frankE), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:25 (nineteen years ago) link

i'm proud of this thread! look at me and diamond and hstencil being so friendly to each other!

|a|m|t|r|s|t| (amateurist), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:26 (nineteen years ago) link

buy me some Soul Bossa Trio!

Describe, and maybe I will! haha.

djdee2005, Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:26 (nineteen years ago) link

it's a great night to be a chicagoan and drunk and on a computer...

frankE (frankE), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:27 (nineteen years ago) link

i have to admit that my tastes have drifted a bit and i no longer get a huge kick out of DG. or maybe i've just become kind of jaded as far as reissues go--there are now more reissues than anyone can possibly get their head around.

i'm still glad they're carrying those maximum pressure cds.

|a|m|t|r|s|t| (amateurist), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:27 (nineteen years ago) link

Why they're...they're....aw heck, let DUSTY GROOVE tell you!

Thx Gear! This Japanese group have certainly grown up a lot -- and this beautiful album is their most mature in years! The combo is fronted by singer Ann Sally -- whose English language vocals add a tremendous amount of sophistication to the record -- snaking forth in a cool jazzy style that goes way past the easy bossa remake mode of earlier albums. Sally's voice is incredible, and it's mixed with a well-constructed set of backings by the group, music that is especially heavy in its use of Fender Rhodes! The track list is great, too -- with wonderful remakes of Fred Neil's "The Dolphins", Flora Purim's "Light As A Feather", Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance", and Coltrane's "Naima". Sweet, mellow, jazzy, and wonderfully rich -- the group's best album in years! Italian version of the album features 2 tracks not on the Japanese one -- "Butterfly (Incognito rmx)" and "Sky (Soul Bossa Trio blue rmx)".

Gear! (Gear!), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:28 (nineteen years ago) link

The album would be Dolphins

Gear! (Gear!), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:29 (nineteen years ago) link

I want to buy some 12" on vinyl that make people dance that I've never heard before. Some reissues that will rock a party in between Marshall Jefferson and "White Lines". Except, nothing like either of those songs. Someone help me out - what crazy world music or reissues will kill on a dance floor (and that dg would carry?)

djdee2005, Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:30 (nineteen years ago) link

Obv. I'm being very general I just want to know what ppl are listening to.

djdee2005, Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:31 (nineteen years ago) link

Try Willie Bobo's Hell of An Act To Follow LP

Gear! (Gear!), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:33 (nineteen years ago) link

Willie Bobo  -- Hell Of An Act To Follow . . . LP . . . $12.99   (Item: 2151)
Columbia, 1978 Condition: Very Good+  Add   View Cart
Nice stuff from Willie -- maybe not as hard and funky as his early 70s work, but very nice in kind of a Latin Club mode, thanks to some great production by Wayne Henderson! Includes his classic take on "Always There" -- which is a great dancefloor jazz jammer -- plus Henderson's groovy stepper "Keep that Same Old Feeling", and the tracks "Together", "Dindi", and "Pisces".

Gear! (Gear!), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:34 (nineteen years ago) link

get the fela/roy ayers 12"!

gaz (gaz), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:34 (nineteen years ago) link

haha these things are cool. Writing for them must be like when Elaine wrote for the J Peterman catalogue on Seinfeld.

djdee2005, Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:35 (nineteen years ago) link

sometimes i think those DG blurbs are written by a computer. there are about 20 adjectives they use, seemingly at random.

|a|m|t|r|s|t| (amateurist), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:36 (nineteen years ago) link

although hell if i had to write blurbs for like 100,000 LPs i'd probably resort to that sort of thing, too.

|a|m|t|r|s|t| (amateurist), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:37 (nineteen years ago) link

they should hire Chuck for it, although that might result in confusion ("Soul Bossa Trio, who sound an awful lot like Spiritual Vibes but better, but not as good as the Paola Achenza Trio, who are better than Slide Five, or not, I don't remember..."

Gear! (Gear!), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:40 (nineteen years ago) link

I love reading their blurbs, still.

Gear! (Gear!), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:40 (nineteen years ago) link

Gareth sounds really weird at the beginning of this thread.

adam. (nordicskilla), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:50 (nineteen years ago) link

i think chuck would just end accusing 75% of their catalogue of "not rocking" (and he'd be right!)

|a|m|t|r|s|t| (amateurist), Thursday, 12 August 2004 04:56 (nineteen years ago) link

no some of their catalogue DOES rock, certainly not as hard as Kenny Chesney though!

Gear! (Gear!), Thursday, 12 August 2004 05:02 (nineteen years ago) link

this reminds me I need to get more soul-flute LPs

Gear! (Gear!), Thursday, 12 August 2004 05:03 (nineteen years ago) link

fuck yeah!

oops (Oops), Thursday, 12 August 2004 05:05 (nineteen years ago) link

http://www.hawaii4u2c.com/nose-flute.jpg

|a|m|t|r|s|t| (amateurist), Thursday, 12 August 2004 05:06 (nineteen years ago) link

http://www.flute4u.com/CD_images/torres_mi_alma_latina3.jpg

Gear! (Gear!), Thursday, 12 August 2004 05:06 (nineteen years ago) link

Going back to the subject of spearheading revivals, wouldn't Dusty Groove be responsible for the interest in library records?

Mike Ouderkirk (Mike Ouderkirk), Friday, 13 August 2004 06:04 (nineteen years ago) link


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