It's 11.37pm. I've just finished processing the majority of the stock that I bought today at the record fair. I've forgotten how much fun it is at record fairs... Or at least, how much fun I find them.
We got up early, and got ourselves ready before driving down to Essendon. Now, this is a double nostalgic whammy for me; firstly, to begin doing record fairs again after how many years, and secondly, to restart them again in pretty much the area I grew up in. I hadn't been down to Essendon in years, and had forgotten so much about the place until I drove past it and was literally filled with these bizarre little memories from my past... such as the bowling alley where we did 10 pin bowling for school... or Rose St, where my mother worked for many years and I would often wander up and down... or even just how pleasant the tree lined Mount Alexander Road can actually be. Ironically, I remember a second hand record store on Mount Alexander that is no longer there... and I think I may have only gone to it once as a teenager... but yeah; the things you forget until you go back to the scene of the crime.
Interesting trivia fact for you Kylie fans out there: the 'airport scenes' for the Locomotion film clip were actually shot at Essendon Airport. Prior to Tullamarine, Essendon Airport was Melbourne's main airport (infact, The Beatles flew in and out from there during their famous trip to Australia). I actually grew up in a suburb called Airport West, which is west of Essendon Airport. Aren't you glad I shared all that?
We walked in, and I could see the dread fill Ant's face as he was literally greeted with table after table of 7", 12", LP's, CD's, magazines, and just boxes and boxes of crap. I immediately did my usual 'do a lap before committing to any location' (it works just as much for record fairs as it does for clubs), and started to spend. It wasn't till I got home that I realised that some of the items I picked up were not suitable, so I guess i'll have to discover what happens then... but it was definitely a learning experience today. I did find a couple of items for myself, such as the orange vinyl 12" for Flame Fortune's "Sex Symbol". Most of you will never have heard it, although it is a fairly camp piece of obscure Australian rock history. Produced by Michael Hutchence of INXS, it also features other members of INXS and James Reyne, with this female racey vocal stating that she "...could be gay, I could be straight..." and going on about being whatever we wanted her to be cause she was our sexual fantasy. Backed by a typical Australian Crawl/INXS circa 1983 guitar riff, it's pure Australian rock trash... which is probably why I love it.
Then there are those items that you pick up, they look fine at the time, but then you get home and notice a bit of ring wear on the sleeve, or some knob has written their name on the label, or it has a bit of rub wear or a crease... all those things that make you think, "If I had seen that back there, I probably wouldn't have got it." So it does raise a delimma; such as, do I put it on Ebay with an honest description and hope someone will buy it anyway to regain the money? Which is probably what i'm thinking of doing... nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Ant was great today, helping me carry things, looking out for things, and just generally being company and support. I'm sure it bores the crap out of him, but he is being so helpful that I do appreciate it. And then he worries that he is in my way, and I just look at him and say 'how exactly?' He is great to have around.
Well, that's about it for me tonight. I actually logged on first and foremost to fix a spacing error in the previous entry (it's the Capricorn in me noticing something 'crooked' that needs to be straightened, so to speak). Michael returns back from the US this week, so i'm hoping that work this week will feel a little more on top of it. I'm pre-recording some more music review spots with Leenie this Tuesday night for her programme on JOY, which should be great... and i'm catching up for dinner with the delightful, gorgeous, and extremely talented Cath Haridy this week too, who I used to work with, which is definitely going to be a highlight for me.
Strangely, i've noticed my virtual column has actually received less hits than here lately, even though my virtual column is publicised via a regular column, and soon on radio... weird! I placed counters on both at the same time, and can track how many people are coming in... and it seems my personal blog is getting far more interest than my reviews. Wonder what that says about me?
Interesting fact re Flame Fortune, the original video for Sex Symbol was 'R' rated and featured Flame (whose real name was more than likely Dolores Gronk) rubbing herself all over and being extremely porno. Scary thing - it was shot by her Mum.
There is something very 'Nikki Webster' about all that. Although Kylie's mum also does all the costuming for her concerts, and that includes all pole dancing outfits.
