Over the weekend, I made a road trip up north to Atlanta to see some friends and explore some shops for CDs. Before I left, I did some research on places I wanted to visit. As is my default, I used Bing. A lot of people dismiss Bing as useless, but it’s probably for the same reason that I dismiss Google – I just don’t use it.
Bing Maps has a neat feature where you can save places into an itinerary, and it will create driving directions automatically from the list. This is what I came up with for Saturday’s run.
The downside to using Bing Maps is that it’s not part of Android Auto, which is how I do the navigation in my car. In the interest of being fair about the routing capabilities of Google vs. Bing, I took a look at Google maps to see if I could have done the same thing there. What I found was that you can make a custom list of places, but you can’t automagically turn that into a multi-waypoint drive. I suppose you could keep the list open and work your way through the items, choosing each in turn as the next destination. So, it’s just a different way of accomplishing the same goal. I’m not going to say "Google sucks, Bing rules" because that’s just stupid and we should all be more adult about this.
On one of the stops at CD Warehouse – a chain store that has been bankrupt for almost two decades; I have no idea how these ones are open – I found a CD to purchase. It was a Japan pressing of an Eagles compilation. I identified it as purchase-worthy because of the smooth case that had "Patent Pending" embossed on it. These are some of the first CDs manufactured, when the jewel case was still a new invention.
I took the CD to the counter, paid and left the store. After leaving, I snuck a peek at the CD and realized it was a common US pressing. I was disappointed but unsurprised. CDs can certainly migrate between cases, especially in a store that probably has a dozen of each title at any time. I chalked it up as a buyer-beware failure on my part and moved on. Later in the evening, I was looking at my whole day’s spoils and realized that the Eagles album was not in a smooth case. I had been given a totally different CD instead of what I chose from the rack.
So I began debating if it was worth the effort to go back and demand the item I had chosen. Would it still be there? Would the staff just roll their eyes and say, "fuck off"? Would I get the replacement and have it be no better than what I already had? Was it worth the drive anyway?
I decided it would be worth the effort, and planned to go before driving back home on Monday. My friends convinced me it would be better to try on Sunday because of workday traffic and were willing to sacrifice some of our day together to accomplish this. So, with the store’s closing time quickly approaching, we set out for the store with the replacement. We made it in the last 15 minutes.
I went to the rack and quickly found the same smooth case I had originally picked – they had simply put it back after I left. I went to the counter and plead my case. I had been rehearsing how to explain that I wanted this specific CD and not just any CD and had planned to try and be technical without being condescending. At the most extreme, I would have to show them my Relative Waves website that explained the difference in CD masterings. In reality, I was pretty awkward about the whole explanation, saying that I got a different CD, but it was the same, but it wasn’t the same. Good job, Dave. Way to explain it.
The guy at the counter said, no problem. He went to the computer and scanned the old CD and my purchased CD, then retrieved the actual disc that was supposed to be in the case. As he placed the CD in the case on the counter, he said, "there you go, Japanese pressing." And at that point, I knew that he understood. I didn’t need to say anything more than thank you. And I left with my early pressing album.
Also on the list were some antique malls. In my area, people seem to treat antique malls as consignment shops and as such, you can find people selling their personal CD collections (which technically could be antiques). However, in this area, antique malls are filled with actual antiques. Not of any benefit for CD hunting, but still a fun and interesting experience. I did find some tiny décor items for the house, so it wasn’t all bad.
And finally, the thrift stores. This is actually my second round of thrifting in Atlanta. The first time was a long series of disappointments and this one was generally a shorter version of the first. It just makes me more grateful that the thrifts in my area have some decent selection of CDs. Maybe there are more collectors in Atlanta keeping the thrifts bare, who knows.
But the trip was not supposed to be about me and my hobbies anyway. It was about the company and the experience. In that respect, it was top-notch. There’s plenty to be grateful for in spite of any success or lack of success in my hobbies.
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