Buying CDs

I know, not that many people still do this. At least, not many people in my acquaintance. In fact, I was tweeting about wanting to get Edith Piaf because I can't find her in my collection, and someone replied that it's available on iTunes. It's that simple. Isn't it? It's not just the music, I guess - my dad keeps bragging about his e-book collection and his Kobo, and quite a few people have told me to "go digital" with my zine. Even my best friend had asked me why I needed stationery still; everyone e-mails now. Sure, and I love e-mail. I love making my monthly e-newsletters, and I love chatting with my friends on twitter, and getting distracted from actually doing stuff by tumblr. But that doesn't mean I've stopped loving - or needing - the analog. I still write letters and postcards, I still work on my zines, I still have stacks and stacks of books on my shelves and on my floor and on my tables and chairs, and I still save bits of pretty paper "for future use", whenever I find them. I love paper. And pens! (Which reminds me - I also still prefer pen + paper RPGs to PC/console games, any time.) And even though my CD collection is nowhere near the size of my book collection - really, I don't actually own most of the CDs I love, due to them being hard to get hold of where I live - it's still one of my favourite things.

So, I buy CDs, instead of digital downloads. I prefer it that way. But where I live, decent CD stores are hard to come by. I don't actually know any, at the moment - all my favourites have closed down, leaving me with only Rock Corner. Which is pretty okay, I guess, except for the fact that a lot of the music I like aren't available. Usually I'd make up for this by waiting for my trips to Japan, and buy lots of music in bulk from secondhand stores there. I still do that now. It's just that last year I've also started to try shopping online as well, with mixed results:

Magic Marker Records
MMR has so many of my favourite bands, I guess it's the obvious choice for my first try. I ordered two CDs, by Dear Nora and All Girl Summer Fun Band, and then... kind of forgot about it. Standard shipping usually takes about 20-ish days, so I tend to forget these things. I received the CDs within the time they said I would, in perfect condition, and I received a sticker and a thank you note with them :)

Shelflife Records
I like Shelflife. My orders arrived safely, and for the 7" records they will include instructions to receive mp3 versions for your computer/player.

K Records
KRecs is another with a lot of my favourites, and I really, really wanted it to work out. I ordered a Heavenly CD with a KRecs tote. I received notification that the order was shipped, but it never did arrive.

How Does It Feel To Be Loved?
With this one, I was just hoping for the best. Because I absolutely love Pocketbooks, and want their Flight Paths album so much. They're one band I haven't been able to find during my trips to Japan. So I tried ordering Flight Paths, thinking that I would order the rest of Pocketbooks' discography as well as some of the other bands from the label if it worked out. I received the payment confirmation, but no notice of shipment, and my order never arrived. So now I'm hoping that one day I'll find Pocketbooks in Japan... one day.

Elefant Records
I love, love, LOVE Elefant. I was at another blog that recommended The School, so I went to their website and sampled some stuff. Liked them enough that I wanted their CDs, so I started browsing. Found out that they had Juniper Moon! And My Little Airport! After being indecisive for the longest time, I finally settled on Juniper Moon's El Resto De Mi Vida (one of my favourite albums) and The School's Loveless Unbeliever. They arrived earlier than expected, with a sticker and a bonus single by Camera Obscura! They definitely made a repeat customer out of me.

YesAsia
Oh, if only there's a YesAsia equivalent for my favourite Western music. They offer free shipping if you purchase above a certain amount, and I usually get my items in 3 days after shipping. I use them primarily for Arashi and BUMP OF CHICKEN, although lately I've been spending a lot on other bands' limited ed releases, since I couldn't wait until my next Japan trip for those.

Aaaand those are the places I've tried, that I still remember. Just thinking about it now makes me want to shop more - at Elefant or MMR, or try somewhere new! - but I'm actually on a CD ban until April, because I spent too much on CD/DVD pre-orders last month.