8D - Wednesday, September 5, 2001- The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition COASTERS INTO CASH record stores give options to financially strapped d Edman Harrison's re-release proves solo talent bought Melissa Etheridge's Your Little 37 at the 1996 Lilith Fair with your girl- fttMEx-girlfriend. Now that your feminine s as subsided, what the hell are you gonna do Nxf; e CD? M sface it: Everyone has CDs in their collec- tisn'hat they could part with, especially with a li!ash incentive. Why admit that you own IT ; anilli's All or Nothing when you don't l jb? Trading in your old CDs can be prof- i rbAund easy, especially when there are stores a round Ann Arbor that will give you money fi 'actically any CD in your music collection. at store you choose to sell your albums to cEC termine whether you will be hitting the bgat Windsor or your head at the counter of a cj ppizzeria. It is important to keep in mind t ores look for when they give you an offer feso ur goods. There are some tricks when it come to pricing that you should be aware of in orderlo get the most for your troubles. This is almost the Consumer Reports, if you will= of buying, selling and trading CDs around crmpns. The Michigan Daily supplied a decently reiro,'ntative sample of albums (some popular artists and some not so well known) which I took toinsuspecting records stores in the area. Listed below are the stores closest to campus that spe- cialize in used music. Record Exchange 1203 South University It is difficult for music stores that sell used CU3 to keep tabs on all their merchandise. To organize the sporadic influx of music bought fpom customers day in and day out you need a god system. Record Exchange eliminates this prob em very well. Along with the knowledge that their traders have received on what typically sells and for how much, they incorporate the use o[ a special program on their computers to tell them exactly how many copies of a CD they have itt stock. This allows them to offer good competi- twe offers on a variety of music. Offers depend ourw many copies they currently have unsold nit it store, not a guess at your gullibility. "We ariAie most intricate in tracking products. We k what's there, how it should be and what it s4o br," said Chris, Record Exchange's store ngager. "No one has our selection, organization a juality." ord Exchange at a glance: %+-Buys, sells and trades all media-related inm andise. (CDs, records, video games, sys- tens;and even music memorabilia). This makes f4 good trading possibilities. Takes close to everything, from your more p9pular artists to your local unknowns. scUfi ecr Ann Arbor resident Todd Cook is a frequent patron of Wazoo (3361/2 S. State Street), which has been owned by John Kerr since 1996 and has been voted best record outlet by Daily readers for the last 12 years. By Luke Smith Daily Music Editor Nevermind that Harrison was the sec- ond worst Beatle. Nevermind that the only Beatle he could say he was better than was, well, Ringo. Forget that Har- rison settled a lawsuit against the validi- ty of "My Sweet Lord." And no matter what, forget that Harrison video for "Got My Mind Set on You, where the patron saint of dull sat in a chair and wouldn't move, so the director had to move everything around him, (thank you VH1 Pop-Up video). Harrison is by no means a disposable member of the Fab Four. He is not to be confused with that Starr fellow. Remember though, this is the album that outsold both Lennon and McCart- ney's first solo releases, but the whole lawsuit thing kinda rained on that parade. What a bitch. Nonetheless, despite all these things, Capitol Records went back, re-mastered and repackaged this Harrison vehicle, and made it a bit more road-worthy than the original. All Things Must Pass is a lucidly lay- ered record, thick with texture and filled with heavy rhythm tracks. Harrison's album features Eric Clapton (unable to receive credit for the record till now, and Genesis post-Gabriel maestro Phil Collins - "Invisible Touch" anyone?) Complacent and lengthy (running 7:08) "Isn't it a Pity" is a tunefully rue- ful love song winding behind a tam- bourine, piano and drums. The track is propelled by a series of lengthy guitar solos, and in my 90's bred pop mind that translated to, "Hey, he ripped off 'Champagne Supernova.'" Infectiously written riff-age launches "What is Life." Harrison combines so much on this track like gang vocals, "Hello-Goodbye"-esque horn sections and a fabulous hook. Songs like this, "Band on the Run" and "Oh Yoko" show - Offers very competitive prices for all types of music. - Has a large selection of used CDs that typi- cally run from .50 to $5. - Displays their merchandise by alphabetical order and price. Cabinets make all albums visi- ble. - Has a two-week, money back guarantee that all their merchandise works (skip free). Wazoo Records 336-1/2 State Street Although Wazoo's does not have as extensive a collection of used CDs as Record Exchange, they still offer competitive prices, which can match and beat other surrounding stores. They would probably offer more for classic rock and oldies albums than for more modern bands. Because they deal a little less with used merchandise than other stores you might be able to walk away with a good deal if the trader believes that the album is highly sought-after. Wazoo Records at a glance:. - Typically deals with high-priced trades of $4 to $5 an album. - Will buy beat-up albums, which they send to be repaired. - Offers are usually half the used sale price and are at the discretion of the trader. - Allows customers to listen to CDs in the store before purchase. Discount Records 300 State Street Discount Records gives a flat rate of three bucks an albums That's a pretty solid offer, although you don't have to browse through their selection to find that they only deal with very well-known artists. They buy popular albums for three bucks and jack their sales price to $8. If you somehow convince them that your CD col- lection is the hottest thing out there you can walk away with a sweet deal. Otherwise you're out of luck. You can most likely get more money for your more sought-after CDs by going to another store. Discount Records at a glance: - Offers a flat rate of $3-4 per CD. - Deals with only more popular artists and albums. - Has a fairly limited used music section. - Will not buy publicity promos. Back in 1994 you bought Green Day's Dookie for $17 and now a store will only give you a buck for it. What up with that? Despite small variations from one store to the next, most will tell you that they look for two things when determining the amount of money they will give you for your used CDs: An album's condition and its popularity. Condition is easy. Stores first must determine whether or not they think the CD will play. Minor scratches are fine, but if there are dents, nicks or any cuts through the album, stores won't take them. They take on all the risks of purchas- ing an album; even if it is a popular title, if it doesn't play the store is going to lose the money they gave you for it. The second thing businesses look for is to make sure you have the album booklet, back cover and anything else that came with the original album. Jewel cases can be replaced, so their condition is relatively unimpor- tant. An album's popularity can differ from store to store. Stores buy what they can sell. You might want to sell a copy of the new Rage Against the Machine album, but if the store specializes in classic rock and attracts a different audience which listens to a different genre of music they are going to offer you less for it. Think about where you would typically go to buy the type of CD that you are selling. Stores also determine their own used prices by their own supplies. If they have many copies of an album in stock, they would keep lowering their own price and in turn offer you less for them. It is often good when you have a record that people don't often sell to their store. These rarities will give you the most money. If you get a low offer because a store has many copies you should try somewhere else. If you believe you can get a better offer, consider waiting a while until a store's copies are all sold out. Consider these bits of advice. Just remember to shop around; offers differ from store to store. absolutely no drop-off in quality from when the mop tops were still together Harrison effectively moves back an forth between Beatles-y pop and-his own ornately fashioned songsmithery.-' "Behind that Locked Door," even teeters on the edge of being' a country song, it does have that Bryan Whit twang to it a la 1996's Between Now and Forever. These Harrison hooks and arrange- ments do seem to find a niche some- where in the back of my head.U Exchanging confused glances with other Beatles' fans and then plucking the CD off of the shelf is more than a good idea, for a lot of you out there, it will be necessity. You will read this review and go, "Luke Smith, this dude, he knows his shit, and since he said that Beatles' fans should own this record and I certainly am a Beatles fan," you will march your ass down to the redord" store and you'll shell out something lk& $25 bucks for this Harrison joint. Yowl marvel at the packaging, which is a sexy black box with both CD's stored in free fall small cardboard slippers because he says it's "environmentally- friendly," or something. Grade? What the hell do you mean "Grade?" It's George Harrison. Grade: A No magic for DMB i By Luke Smith Daily Music Editor The gruesome soiree that is popular music absolves and absorbs classic pop and alternative acts from the mid-nineties like Unicron. The maelstrom of kitsch teen-pop and the rap-metal fusion has swallowed 'alternative' music whole. And so amidst the turmoil that is today's mainstream, comes the triumphant return of a modern day James Taylor, turned to ten, bothered by Ballard and back to bring folk rock to the forefront. Right? Delayed countless times, Everyday hung in the careful balance of pop's throes for quite a while, with studio efforts repeatedly halted by a pudgy Matthews setting down his guitar and walking out of the studio. Matthews opened his unique song book to pro- Morissette pro-pop caliber producing, pro-bono producer Glen Ballard, who ended up garnering co-writing credits for all twelve tracks on Everyday. Everyday is being pitched to con- sumers as a grizzly moment of epiphany for the tour-savvy Matthews. More than content with his final product Matthews asserted in Rolling Stone that these were his "Best lyrics yet, and best songs yet." Lou Reed was convinced that Metal Machine Music was his best work as well. Lesson: Drugs are bad. Porous at times and blunt at others Everyday's unique blend of - well alt things not Dave crossed with moments of classical Matthews pride creates a listn4 er supported dissonance. Entrenched in, well not folk. Dave's genre description will need a new catego- ry for Everyday. Abandoning the col misanthropy of Crash, and absolving, some of the South African roots that held him firm in Before These Crowded Streets, Matthews utilizes a horde of new - songs and styles under the careful guid- ance and tutelage of sonic Buddha-meis4 ter Ballard. The departure from his seemingly entrenched acoustic-folkster-stoner roots' in a way bode nothing but optimism fori the dearly departed commercial touring giant. Everyday is Matthews and gil lard's plot to save Brandi Svenning gone awry. There is no cousin Walter, and te rest of us got one giant stinkpalm in' the face. I'm going to be sick. Grade: C- ABBY ROSENBAUM/Daily Dicount Records, located at 300 S. State Street, also sells new releases at midnight. The Record Exchange, located at 1203 S. University, has a wide selection of used music. 1 _-_-___ .5_________ ___________________________________________ Take a course that involves you in Community service... 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