Our pal Karl has been guest starring with us quite a bit this summer, but he hasn’t written a post for us in over a year! We finally threatened to ban him if he didn’t pony up. Sure enough, he came through. Read on for a tale of record-hunting, straight from the squirrel’s mouth …

being a record squirrel/nerd is pretty tough only because i have been doing it for so long. every year i get older, some new record nerdlinger is out looking for more nuts to gather and call their own. my pals at yard sale bloodbath know i like a good hunt and i have had some great scores with them but one just happened without either of them being present.

last year (!!) i guest starred with meghan and jenny and went to the yearly olympic manor neighborhood sale. i met a child of the sixties who claims she has some vinyl so i give this lady my card … lo and behold she calls me almost a year later. and calls me and calls me and well, calls me. we schedule, we break and reschedule. reasons like the grandkids’ soccer games and her mentioning she has seen the beatles over and over gets me thinking she might be a nut job.

i finally get together with her (this does not get weird — or, that weird …) and she wants to talk about everything. like how seattle is so different and “so damn much” right now. once again, stories of the beatles ensue as i start to look through an incredibly bad *BAD BAD* stack of records. the next stack of about 40 are awful until i hit what has to be the cleanest copy of the second velvet underground record i have ever laid my eyes on. i am talking mint and sammiched in between mantovani and the god damn soundtrack to the sound of music. whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat the fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck? and then nico’s solo lp “chelsea girl” — uh, near mint….

i am ok since now more rock is showing up and i ask “you’re a local gal, did you ever see the sonics?” i am gasping thinking she is going to say something weird and stupid and she does: “oh — that noisy band. they were terrible!”. i start to really like her, yet no sonics records. BUT WHY DOES SHE HAVE THE VELVET UNDERGROUND?!?!?! she later explains the v.u. lp was probably a gift she thinks, and herman hermits (not purchased) was more her style.

after more stories about the world being so different now than that of the sixties (really — ?) i left with 55 records = $100. not a bad grab considering the nico and velvets lp alongside hendrix, some late sixties jazz stuff and yes … the beatles.

For more of Karl’s ramblings on records and such, check out his new blog — with the perfect name: Record Squirrel.