Open Your Wallets and Submerge Yourself

A journalist/DJ recently posed the question: What is your favorite 12" of the last decade? Interesting, since it could encompass an album, single or EP, and immediately piqued the thinker's interest because it waxes nostalgic (wahhhh pun) of, in this digital age, something physically owned and cherished.

His own answer was the "Inspiration / Transition" vinyl from Underground Resistance, which - honestly, to my surprise - is still in stock and for sale. Call me foolish, but I figure UR is hard to find on wax, but then again how often do I shop for physical formats of music? (Sidenote: This past week, I purchased Jawbox: For Your Own Special Sweetheart, Hanne Hukkelberg: Rykestrabe 68 on CD and Function: Variance 3/4, Boards Of Canada: Geogaddi (2 track promo) on vinyl...I guess I am full of shit.)

Anyway, it was a pleasure to find out about Submerge, a place to buy all things Detroit. I hadn't realized it re-opened on East Grand Blvd in 2002. The website is not the best, but it's a great place to start and you can't go wrong with anything on sale here. Need a UR mousepad? Done. How about the Interstellar Transmissions book? Versions 1 and 2 are both available. Plenty of music to empty your wallet and fill your soul, as well.

Website: Submerge

I don't purchase many books or CDs anymore, and that is due to the fact that I move often. My CD and (later, additionally) books collections have always been very important to me. If I had "all the money in the world" I'd have libraries in my apartments...as I'd purchase several of modest sizes in a handful of my favorite cities.

When I buy a book or CD, it's often a big deal now because I think of it as something that sucks of space - a few more ounces to add to the heavy load I need to carry around or a few more inches of matter I need to fit into some shelf somewhere. Still, there are some things I could never part with, and one is Banned in DC. Now with Grunge coming out, I am as excited as ever to own it, and I will wait to go to my favorite bookstore to get my hands on it, rather than to order it and check the mailbox on a daily basis.

I love everything about American punk and grunge subcultures. I often wish I was just five years older so I would not have been experiencing the height of them all from a sheltered suburban town right after the onset of puberty, but thems the breaks. Either way, there is no real reason why this book shouldn't be purchased, and if you don't want to wait then you can go straight to Amazon and do some damage.