[…continued from last post]

Now that I look at it the Sunday hours of Rock + Roll Heaven were from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and I feel like the time might have almost ran out for me that afternoon. So we got in the car for a brief trek from the Lake Ivanhoe district to Colonialtown on Mills Avenue. Ironically, the next destination, Remix Record Shop was quite close to the old DJ/EDM store The Drop Shop [now gone] but I just now see that Remix Records has a second location [still in Colonialtown] that caters to exactly that market. Drop Shop South. The vibrant Techno scene in the 90s was never an aspect of Orlando that had any currency with me, though the two times I went ito The Drop Shop to buy the odd John Foxx or Dr. Robert venture into EDM territory I did not leave empty handed.

REMIX RECORD SHOP

After the sprawl of Rock + Roll Heaven, the vibe at Remix Record Shop was more appropriately smaller and newer. Obviously a fledgling record store of the new breed. The Post-“vinyls” era we now inhabit. What awaited me inside could be anything. The flyers posted in the window might give a clue. Led Zep, Beastie Boys [as we know, there’s a crossover on that Venn diagram…] and, ulp! Madonna and a flyer for AAHZ; The still there linchpin of Orlando’s “rave scene.” Is it wise to mix Metamucil® and Ecstasy?

I entered to find the usual wall of high profile, OG LP pressings vying for top dollar. $40 for a US 1982 “Rio.” Insanity for what should be a $5.00 LP to me, but the $20 for the green vinyl pressing of Bowie’s “Peter + The Wolf” [I have a black copy] struck me as a good deal. Particularly in the empty, Post-Bowie World® we now inhabit.

The mix of goods here was about 70% records to 30% CDs as I recall. Pretty great as things go for me now! Many stores where I live have cast out the silver demon discs entirely. I decided to look at the records first. New in shop bin is always a place to start. Nice to see the Pet Shop Boys with their divisive [in America] Latin opus, “Domino Dancing.”

There were 12″ single [!] records on the floor and since most of what I want on wax is on single format, this got my attention, but quick! Especially since there was a copy of the high holy Propaganda “Duel” 12″ staring me in the face! the cover was thick! I had to look and it was a Canadian copy; one I’d never seen before. $5.00 for VG. Not bad! Every home should have at least one.

Then I saw Nina Hagen’s Mororder period opus “New York” in the bins. I thought to myself, “do I have this?” A quick check of the collection on my Discogs acount on my device revealed that I had the “Zarah” 12″ but not this one. But it wasn’t in my want list so I don’t think it was remixed. Thus we skipped it.

The 12″ selection was like most places, largely 90s and later wax with an EDM/Hip Hop/R+B slant. Not the prime positioning for Monastic goods, but we glanced anyway since there’s some R+B goodies I’m very down with having. And it seems like I finally found a live one! It was a Malcom McLaren Bootzilla Orchestra US promo 12″ of “Waltz Darling”‘ which also had the 12” mix of “Something’s Jumpin’ In Your Shirt.” $5.00. Sold, American!

I went to the new and used LPs. A Simple Minds section? Must look! They had the 40th anniversary greatest hits 2xLP, interesting to see, but nothing I needed. Then I found some serious Monastic paydirt! The “O” section [I must always look as an OMD fan] sported the OMD “Bauhaus Staircase Instrumentals” LP! I didn’t even recognize this, but apparently last spring I had written about this very release and said, quote:

As it turned out, this was only $25.00; what I consider cheap for a modern record album. So I bit. As I made my way to the CDs next, I passed a column in the store that had been papered with images of iconic bands. PSB immediately caught my attention. The more I looked, the more I recognized.

COLUMN OF NEW WAVE LEGEND

1. DEVO
2. Dead Or Alive [!]
3. Siouxsie + the Banshees
4. Tears For Fears
5. Depeche Mode
6. Bjork
7. Kraftwerk
8. Erasure
9. Joy Division
10. The Cure
11. Pet Shop Boys
12. MYSTERY BAND
13. Gary Numan
14. TVLKING HEVDS
15. Book Of Love

A few were challenging. WhatI thought was The Smiths turned out to be Joy Division! Possibly due to…Blue Öyster Cult! The band at the bottom was mostly covered up with grab bags, but I would recognize Jade Lee and Ted Ottaviano’s eyebrows anywhere. The one that stymied me was highlighted in magenta. Number 12. I actually had to do a reverse image search at tineye and found out it was…The Pixies! Not a band I ever followed. But you must admit, that it was a cool bit of décor! Why can’t we buy wallpaper with this pattern?

I finally glanced at the CD section and only found one disc calling my name. As I’ve been on the Prince Program of hearing everything, I thought that copies of “Batman® Motion Picture Soundtrack” would have been thicker on the ground but I’m finally getting a copy in 2024. I checked out with the following goods:

THE BOUNTY

• OMD: Bauhaus Staircase Instrumentals – 100% Records – 100LP149 – US – LP – Remix Record Shop/$25.00
• Prince: Batman OST – Warner Bros Records – 9 25936-2 – US – CD – Remix Record Shop/$6.00
• Malcolm McLaren + The Bootzilla Orchestra – Waltz Darling – Epic – EAS 01774 – USP – 12” – Remix Record Shop/$5.00

Remix Record Shop was a pleasant way to spend 45 minutes, and if I’m getting core collection things I’d already forgotten about below the price point I wanted to pay, then all must have been well. We then left to visit the strangely named Park Ave. CDs.

Next: …Darling I Love You But Give Me Park Avenue