The return of a family tradition.
Starting the very first week after Rob and I hooked up and became a couple, we have had a tradition of having dinner (or lunch or brunch) at our favorite restaurant and then heading over to Waterloo to buy music CDs, usually around payday or sometimes, just cuz. I had always made a nice salary and music is a very important part of our life so instead of vacations in the Cayman Islands, we spent that kind of money on CDs. After I lost my job, we didn't feel like we had the money to spare and quite frankly, our CD collection was large enough that we had no lack of music to spin in the CD player over this last year. But there's so much more music out there and so today, after I got home from my new job, we headed over to Waterloo to celebrate. Just like always, Rob headed for the new CD section and I high-tailed it over to the used bin. I just can't bring myself to buy a CD new unless it's something I really want and I've already searched the used bin for years with no luck. This new purchase is usually reserved for old stuff that I once had on vinyl and left in the possession of the ex-husband (who ended up with everything but some of my clothes, a few books and some trinkets from my childhood, but that's a story for another day.) I like to shop the used bin because, in my mind, it means I can take a chance on unfamiliar music. Maybe I've heard of this band, or maybe I have some of their stuff, but don't know if this particular release is crap or not. Or maybe I've never heard of them at all, but the cover artwork is intriguing. For $6 or less, I'll give it a try. Or if it's something I know that I want or has at least one song that I really like than I might spend as much as $9 on it. As far as I'm concerned, the used bin is a lot more fun than the new racks. Rob, on the other hand, is much better at knowing exactly what he wants and doesn't mind paying the full price for it. In all the years that we've done this, he's only returned a CD once. I've ended up with some weird stuff, but nothing I've ever wanted to return. Here's what we scored tonight:

Rob bought:
Thin White Rope - Moonhead (he has this on vinyl)
Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around

Ann bought:
Montrose - Paper Money (my ex has my vinyl copy)
Cracker - Forever (never heard it, but I have other Cracker CDs)
Megadeth - Risk (also never heard it, but I have lots of Megadeth from the old days)

We're working our way through them in that order with Montrose now playing so I have no idea yet how I did with the Cracker or Megadeth. But heck, at only $6 each, it would have to be pretty awful for me to take it back.

UPDATE: About half the songs on the Cracker CD I've heard before and liked. Yes, there's a list of the song titles on the back of the CD, but I couldn't read the tiny print because I'm old and need glasses.

UPDATE TWO: The Megadeth is a mixed bag. A couple of kick ass songs, but some also some stuff that sounded more like Bon Jovi and one song that reminded Rob and I of Brownsville Station (should you need to ask, neither of those comparisons are meant as a compliment.) Rob's currently washing off the distasteful Megadeth with a bit of Psychedelic Furs and while I probably would have grabbed some old Slayer instead, his choice is doing the job just fine.