Lou's ‘Magic Record Store’
hides in Southern California
Ihave a very dark secret to share
with the readers of this news
paper, and I can only hope that
people continue reading past
the next paragraph.
I’m originally from California.
Yes, it’s true. I’m one of “them.”
And I’m not even from a cool place
like Arcadia or Weed. Sadly, I am
the worst kind of Californian —
having been born in San Diego,
I’m one of those dreaded Southern
Californians.
hi all fairness, it’s been a long
time since I lived in California, and
I try to make it down there at least
once a year. This trip usually takes
place during spring break, and last
week was no exception.
During a trip to San Diego a few
years back, I discovered the great
est record store on Earth. I’m not
exaggerating here. I’ve been to hun
dreds of record stores in my life,
but Lou’s Records in Encinitas
(about 30 minutes north of San
Diego) is the best. In fact, I refer to
Lou’s as the “Magic Record Store”
when I’m talking about it to my
friends, because it truly is an en
chanting place.
At first sight, Lou’s is decidedly
unimpressive. It’s right on Highway
101, looks kind of run down, and
the inside is cramped and dark.
However, after about five min
utes of browsing, it suddenly oc
curs to you that Lou’s has the best
selection of new and used music
ever encountered. Literally, any al
bum you could ever want is present
somewhere within its four walls.
And that leads me to the best
thing about Lou’s: Not only does the
store carry pretty much every album
by every artist; it also has tons of rare
and imported music that you can’t
normally get on these shores.
Last week Lou’s came through for
me in spades, and I was swathed in
so much wonderful new music that
I found it hard to tear myself away
from the stereo and actually enjoy
the California sun. In truth, there’s
too much to write about, but two of
my purchases are worth mention
ing because any person with a han
kering for good music needs to own
these albums.
Despite having an unbelievably
stupid name, Welsh rockers Super
Furry Animals can lay claim to
having released what will possibly
stand as the most mind-blowing al
bum released all year long. “Rings
Around the World” is almost im
possible to describe, but I’m going
to give it a shot.
Imagine that Radiohead, while
recording “OK Computer,” was
forced to take Prozac, given psyche
delic mushrooms, and forced to lis
ten to nothing but Aphex Twin and
the Beach Boys. “Rings Around the
World” would be the result.
No two songs on the album
sound even remotely the same, but
many of them employ a similar
feel: Songs start out sounding at
least somewhat normal, but are
then utterly metamorphosed into
genres of music that haven’t even
been invented
yet.
My friends
are sick of me
talking about
how great this
album is, and I
probably
should have
devoted an en
tire column to
its majesty. All
I will say is
that it must be
bought imme
diately (as of
the last few
weeks, it is finally available in the
United States, though it was re
leased in the United Kingdom last
year). I still can’t stop listening to it.
My most satisfying find at Lou’s
this time around was the new al
bum by Pulp. Ironically titled “We
Love Life” (Pulp is a notoriously
dour band), it came out everywhere
in the world except for the United
States this past September, and I’ve
Depper
In Stereo
been dying to get my hands on a
copy since then.
Pulp is one of the great “Brit-pop”
bands, and possibly the most idio
syncratic of the bunch. The ability
to meld witty, working-class lyrics
with lush pop music is its trade
mark, and although it hasn’t hit it
big on these shores, these musicians
are positively huge overseas.
“We Love Life” is notable because
Pulp dumped its longtime producer
and brought in reclusive ’60s pop
icon Scott Walker to man the boards.
The sonic difference is immediately
appreciable, as Walker has added
quite a new palate of sounds to the
Pulp stew. String sections, harps,
choirs and even ocarinas bring a re
freshing and often gorgeous aura to
the already stately songs.
It’s rumored that “We Love Life”
will be released domestically with
in the next month or two, and it
gets my highest recommendation.
And if you can’t wait that long,
there’s always Lou’s.
E-mail colemnist Dave Depper
at davedepper@dailyemerald.com.
His opinions do not necessarily
reflect those of the Emerald.
006358
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