No visit from my mom would be complete without a stop at Village Music in Mill Valley. (Go see!)
Village is a sort of anachronism in today's cellular-SUV-baby-beeper world of southern Marin County - a record store.
They've survived all these years, I think, on word of mouth, an unbelievable inventory, and a funky, homey, mom-and-pop atmosphere.
Out of towners: Remind me to take you to this Bay Area treasure if/when you visit.
On this particular visit, we caught one of their periodic 20%-off-everything-in-the-store sales.
Those knowing of my propensity for collecting everything Stiff will understand my glee, at finding:
These are most, if not all, from Stiff America, so none of the cool and often clever label slogans (probably best known: "If It Ain't Stiff, It Ain't Worth a Fuck"). But, etched in the vinyl on "Hits Greatest Stiffs," I found the phrases "If It's Stiff, Grab It" (side A) and "Stiff Ones Have More Go in Them" (Side B). Did I stop there? No, I did not. I also picked up "The Name of This Band is the Talking Heads," the so-far "lost" live double LP from '80-'81, two Sarah Vaughn elpees, and a Seatrain album containing "13 Questions" from my impressionable youth, each under $10, and the whole, after the 20% discount, around $65.
I haven't listened to most of it yet, but Mom and I have been on a big big Sarah jag, to Terrie's probable alternate dismay and delight... When Mom leaves, it's time for a fresh Stiff jag. Really looking forward to the Otway and Any Trouble, and a few tracks from the "Stiffs"...
I had picked up a video on Sarah Vaughn, a sort of pre-"Behind the Music," and it reminded me what I liked so much about her - and showed me many new things I hadn't previously known I liked. Ella and Billie are well-documented greats, and I've tried some of their stuff, and I'm sure I'll continue to buy stuff of theirs I find, but...
Sarah was a musician's vocalist. Often as not, just another instrument jamming in the band -- a band that often included some of the greatest musicians of our (well, her) time. While you may not like the croony, sappy stuff, you cannot help but love something like "Shulie A Bop," a completely improvised piece of scatting fluff where each of the trio gets 18 bars to stretch out between Sarah's riffs. She was reputed to have a three-octave range; I'd place it higher. She ALSO had an amazing tonal range, and could go from sassy schoolgirly singsong to deep gruff blues-mama growl in a matter of milliseconds. AND she could turn a one-syllable word into fifteen. All with effortless panache.
This is why I hate that they call a singer who was in diapers in the 80s a "Diva." It ruins the term "Diva," and belittles the truly great singers who really earned appellations like that. It's blasphemy to put them on a stage next to someone like Aretha. Someone like Mariah Carey may someday be a living legend, but with less than a hundred albums recorded, I think she's got a long way to go yet...
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