Not Fitting In

Back in the late 90s I discovered a record shop in Covent Garden called Plastic Fantastic.

It was one of the trendiest little vinyl stores in London at the time.

I believe it was used to film the over-the-counter shots in the classic record store scene in Human Traffic.

At the time I wasn’t aware it was well-known for its bang up-to-date stock of progressive house releases, white labels and promos (I don’t think I’d even heard of the genre back then).

Every Saturday, armed with a Venti Starbucks mocha with whipped cream (quite possibly the major contributory factor to my lactose intolerance in later life!), I would head into London’s Westend hoping to discover some awesome new tunes.

“Want some new bits?” one of the guys behind the counter would ask

“Absolutely!” I’d reply with a massive grin on my face

“What sort of stuff you after then?” he’d say

“oh, erm, well, kinda like, you know, er…”

This is where the problem starts.

How did I know what I wanted before I’d heard it?

How do you describe the kind of musical gems you’re hoping to discover for the first time (and hopefully before anybody else)?

In addition to that, trying to describe music with words is like trying to paint a picture with a fish.

I’m sure it can be done but the results will be ambiguous at best.

                “Just give him the obvious bits” would be the suggestion from one staff member to another

Ouch.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to buy the ‘cool’ progressive house tunes.

I just didn’t want to do the same as everybody else.

Why would I?

Everyone else was already doing it.

#beboldbebravebeunique