WPL.A. graphic by Vivian Martinez
“Waxing Philosophical, L.A.” is DUM DUM’s monthly column written by Christina Gubala, co-founder of L.A.’s premier cassette-tape label, Complicated Dance Steps. A die-hard vinyl collector, you can find her spinning records at local bars near you.
Our city has a continuing history thick with vinyl love, now more than ever with record shops opening their doors instead of shuttering. Each week, Gubala breaks down a fresh new wax purchase, and writes about the record store as well, mapping it as part of L.A.’s history in the making.
When Scott Craig, the encyclopedic mind behind Records LA on West Adams, made it known that he was going to be supplying used records to The Last Bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles, the news seemed all too fitting. Scott had been looking for another storefront to house his enormous record collection, and the cultural tone of the bookstore synced nicely with that of used vinyl retail.
After settling into the space in September 2011, Scott wasted no time carving out a corner of the store and stocking it to the gills with his vintage treasures. The stage in the center of the shop–once reserved for slam poetry performances at least every time I went there, it seemed–was soon occupied by DJs hand-selected by the man himself. With every DTLA Artwalk, patrons could expect a carefully curated line-up of disc jocks and performers, usually personal friends of Scott.
Records at The Last Bookstore (RaTLB) found its stock swelling after a few months in the rear right corner of the store, slowly filling the entire south section and providing thrilling eye-candy for window shoppers cruising down an astoundingly revamped 5th St. Rumors reached my ears that the endlessly charming Records LA had shuttered its doors, and while my heart ached for the good times on West Adams, I was thrilled at the thought of the two product collections integrating, creating a super stock of soul, Bollywood, oddball soundtracks, golden age hip hop, and classic psych records for my hungry ears. This prospect, coupled with The Last Bookstore’s new monthly series of sound-installations in their upstairs dollar book rooms, lured me downtown one blustery Autumn night, and I walked away with a Cheshire Cat’s grin and an armful of classic funk.
Sneaky Snake, a local ambient project known for their extremely selective performance locales (examples include a pyramid overlooking DTLA and the Large Telescope Dome at the Mt. Wilson Observatory), had been recruited by Scott to create a sound installation for The Last Bookstore’s discount Sci-Fi room, and with aplomb, they obliged. They recorded an avant garde audio book of William Gibson’s Neuromancer, consisting of text read in a monstrous deep baritone embedded in ten hours of spaced out synthesized sound cushions. It had been playing on a loop for the entire month of September, and marked the beginning of RaTLB’s latest integration project.
Before diving into the bins, I made my way upstairs and let the sound of ambient weirdness envelop me. The room was lined with vintage sci-fi chapter books and was filled with sound, starkly contrasting with the genre and style of most of the records for sale on the first floor, and yet in sync with the vibe. Records at the Last Bookstore, unlike Records LA, has enough space for past and future, vintage and cutting edge, and all genres and eras seem essential in the mix.
When I finally got down to shopping, I snapped up a copy of the Watership Down soundtrack from 1979. The record featured an obscure and absolutely beautiful Art Garfunkel song called “Bright Eyes,” as well as a thrilling score composed by Angela Moorely (fun fact: prior to a surgical gender reassignment, Ms. Moorley was known as Wally Stott, Scott Walker’s producer during his ‘godlike genius’ era). Continued digging yielded Confunction records, a Steve Arrington cut, and an Angela Bofill record I had been internet-stalking. As I made my way to the register with four records and three books in tow, my calculations assured me that my total purchase would float just below the $20 mark, which, my friends, is basically unheard of elsewhere. There is a reason that LA Weekly asserted that RaTLB was the best place in L.A. to find vintage wax.
There isn’t a review I can write of the Watership Down soundtrack that does its legacy justice. When I was born, my mother was borderline obsessed with the dark animated film. We listened to the record for hours on end, and I’d shift the needle back to “Bright Eyes” over and over. I have not lived a day of my life without knowing this music by heart, as it was embedded in my psyche while I thrived in the womb. To have it in my clutches (as my mom had kept her copy when she bequeathed me the majority of her record collection), was to have a puzzle piece of my personality in physical form. I still can’t hear it enough. And it was the first thing I found looking through Scott’s collection that evening.
I’ve nothing but praise and optimism for the incredible creativity-inspiring niche that Records has carved out at The Last Bookstore, and I hope to spend hours perusing our cultural history there for many years to come. Do yourself the courtesy of checking it out sometime!
Tuesday, October 30, 2012