Garage sales by bike

I rode around to some yard sales on the bike this week. Going by bike has the added benefit of making it very impractical to buy large items, which is good because yesterday I was eyeing one of the old iMac G4 lamp-shaped computers. I remember thinking my artsy bandmate's lamp computer - sheesh, 20 years ago?!?! - was super cool. Super cool, yes, but something I need in 2025? Thankfully it was too large and unwieldy to fit in a Jandd shopping pannier, so the decision was made for me.

Today I biked to a few more yard sales (slow weekend) and picked up some smaller things, including some old Peanuts and Heathcliff paperbacks for the boy. While OG Heathcliff can't hold a candle to the ludicrous current strips, there is something very pleasing about buying trashy old comic strip paperbacks at five for a buck. Another sale had an Enron mailer that said something about "values and commitment" or something wildly inappropriate. The woman holding the sale saw me looking at it and mentioned that Enron had somehow stolen something like 200 grand from her husband's retirement, and that Jesus was the only one you could trust. I wasn't sure how to respond. I got some free Lego magazines for the boy and headed home.

 

Luxury update / BT Express / Sha Na Na

The other day I wanted to transport my upright bass and my son at the same time. After decades of being used to the subcompact lifestyle, I was a little shocked to find that I could fit both of them in the vehicle at the same time rather than having to arrange a series of multiple trips. Bizarre.

 The Midnight Special served up an episode from 1975 with B.T. Express and Sha Na Na:

B.T. Express, it turns out, are really good. Tight, danceable, bass heavy, no filler, no ballads, hypnotic dance moves, flute solos, excellent taste in 70s goldenrod clothing. I'm mesmerized by the lead singer's insistent and unergonomic tambourine shaking. The prude in me is a little put off by the orgasmic moment in the middle of "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied), but has to admit that it makes sense. 

Then Sha Na Na comes on and... I don't get it. I'm trying to contextualize this absurdist greaser-nostalgia act in the context of the late 60s and early 70s, and heaven knows I love absurdist humor, but this is like fourth-order nostalgia at this point. And it doesn't help that the performance is notably half-assed and all over the place compared to the laser focus of BT Express. Maybe they were over the hill at this point? Maybe it made more sense in the context of the times? I guess I'll have to talk to the boomers in my life.

Gentrification notes/Yoko on CD/website

Dear little downtown Milwaukie, Oregon, getting all grown up and having multiple vintage stores and a record store. I biked to B-Side Records & Vintage after dropping off a bunch of the boy's cat manga at the library and there's some good energy, even if I, as someone who has entirely too many records and too much kitsch on hand, am not likely to drop much money there.

TIRED: $20 used Elton John records
WIRED: $3 NOS Yoko Ono CDs

I picked up some late-period Yoko Ryko reissues (Starpeace, It's Alright (I See Rainbows) etc.) on gleaming digital media and plopped them in my CD player. Their particular flavor of futuristic 80s cheese (this is a compliment) goes great with that icy laser sound. You can almost feel the beams glancing off her awesome oversized sunglasses.

It's a little sad that I haven't updated my website in years and years. Considering yoinking what I put up a long time ago (developed on Dreamweaver 5.5 back when) and just going with good old-fashion HTML. Will report back.