High Fidelity
In June 2003 I spent a happy half hour or so flipping through the stacks of random CDs at Dragonfly Discs (all $10–15). While I searched, music was playing in the store. At first I thought it was some sort of DJ, like the Avalanches, but eventually the songs turned into some kind of weird blues. When I eventually went up to the counter with my finds, I said, “And I’ll take a copy of whatever it is you’re playing.”
The CD turned out to be The Three EPs by The Beta Band.
This reminded me a lot of a scene from the movie High Fidelity, which I had seen in 2000, where, I recalled, the lovely John Cusack plays some Belle and Sebastian in his music store and instantly draws several customers.
Except (it has just now been pointed out to me) it wasn’t Belle and Sebastian:
- Rob
- I will now sell four copies of The Three EPs by The Beta Band.
- Dick
- Go for it.
- [Rob plays the record]
- Customer
- Who is this?
- Rob
- The Beta Band.
- Customer
- It’s good.
- Rob
- I know.
Okay, so I got plenty of Monolith, She’s the One and Push It Out, not just a few seconds of Dry the Rain, but I still feel weird about this suddenly.
(The Three EPs is magic. I got into it before I discovered the Beatles, but Beta Band aren’t exactly Oasis. There is a depth and resonance to the songs such that they transform themselves as the disc repeats. It’s one of those discs that rewrites itself and this plays into my spooky feeling, like history has changed.)