Serendipity?

I continue at my Sisyphus-like task of paying off credit card debt, but sometimes theres a silver (ha!) lining -- turns out I've earned 'bonus points' which I get to redeem for stuff. Woo-hoo!  

Part 2: I've mentioned this before, but there are suggestions (libraries are debating how to handle this)  that CDs are headed for the dustbin (are there still dustbins?) within the next 5-10 years. So...I snap up what I can when I can before the oasis dries up.

Back to Paragraph One: turns out that Best Buy will accept my bonus points! Online, the catalog is a mess: postage stamp graphics, no track listings, just a tiny picture -- good luck!

But I found Peter Lang's first Takoma album "The Thing at the Nursery Room Window" and was reminded how good it was. Under the shadow of Leo Kottke and John Fahey, Peter's work wasn't as popular as it should have been, so I was happy to get a copy again. And, surprise, surprise, there was a Skillet Lickers album available too! Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers recorded in the '30s, and were a major influence on the '60s old-time music revival.

And here's the thing -- Best Buy would NEVER carry these in their stores. Heck, the Skillet Lickers album is on Document Records, which is like this dry, dusty "released in chronological order" label that we library types get all excited about.

And...Part 3: Found Disc One of "The Leroy Anderson Collection" at Community Thrift in Mount Vernon for $2.49. Yeah, I know!! Leroy Anderson wrote entertaining pop-classical tunes like "Fiddle-Faddle", "Plink. Plank, Plunk", "The Syncopated Clock" and "The Typewriter". If I could insert music files here, you might recognize them -- my generation's first exposure to "light classical".  (You'll most likely know him from that Christmas perennial "Sleigh Ride" -- heck, even Phil Spector covered it!)

Of course, you take your chances with thrift stores -- turns out that the Leroy Anderson disc is only part 1 of a 2-disc set. I'm sure it's orphan brother is far, far away, but that won't stop me from testing my luck again.