The CD at Value Village

I had no good excuse for not busking today. The weather is warmish (1 degree, but windy) and it's sunny, which is always good for business.

My daughter was staying at school for Poetry Club at lunchtime and no writing projects were pressing. Housework could be avoided as always. I could pop up to Broadview or Pape Station.

Instead, I decided to go to Value Village.

I spent a successful hour (and $24.54) at "Chez Vivi". I tried on a sleek little European jacket with raised black plastic leopard spots. I know it sounds hideous, and indeed it was when I tried it on, but while it was on the hanger it had that special quality known as "Could Work Onstage". Sometimes I buy these clothes, but the only venue they see is the inside of my closet (which, come to think of it, looks quite a bit like some of the venues I've played). When I'm choosing an outfit for a performance, I inevitably end up skipping over anything that might prompt the question "Did you get that at Value Village?". So the shiny leopard thingie is a no.

On the other hand, I did find a great looking knit top for me, shirts for Dave and the kids, and a six-foot long swath of autumn coloured chiffon (with gold trim!) that might be useful in decorating the hall for an upcoming show.

I also found a well-regarded, recent CD by another emerging Canadian singer-songwriter.

I first heard this artist's work on CBC Radio, around the time that my second CD was released and also being played on CBC Radio. I remembered liking the song, so I figured the CD was probably pretty good. It is! I bought it for $2.99 (it probably cost about $30 per unit to produce) and I'm listening to it now. It gets two thumbs up, one from me and one from my son, whose favourite CDs these days are The Police (Best Of) and Maroon 5's "Songs About Jane".

As I said, I figured it'd be good. But I wasn't really looking for any new music to listen to. No, even as I carried it up to the cashier, I realized I was buying it so the artist wouldn't accidentally discover it at Value Village.

I know this is ridiculous.

There's no shame in someone giving away your CD. Repeat this mantra after me: "You can't please everybody. You can't please everybody". In fact, a friend recently spotted "Lynoleum" in a cool used record store and told me with glee that this was proof I'd finally made it! He truly was impressed to see it there, in company with lots of other good recordings that were also looking for a second home. (The CD at Value Village today was sandwiched between Englebert Humperdinck and Shawn Mullins.)

Even though we all know this is bound to happen (like the authors who know their novel will end up on a remainder table eventually), I knew that this particular artist, and the people associated with the artist, would be disappointed to see the CD at Value Village because they have high hopes for it. And for good reason. It's a good CD...not great maybe, but very good. It has a smart, snappy, contemporary sound without being annoyingly of-the-moment. The artist comes across as perceptive, original and likeable.

A quick visit to the artist's website suggests that the career is going just fine.

And in case you're wondering, I don't believe the artist is anyone who's reading this blog.