I should have heeded my own warning – I ended up frittering away half an hour at Ishtar’s site (see today’s earlier entry). When I pulled myself away, I was left with a burning desire for new music. I’ve never seriously listened to Aphex Twin, but I’ve heard a bit here and there and thought it was interesting. So, I read through his Wikipedia entry and headed off to spend lunch at the record store.
I love the Barnes & Noble near my work – they have tons of those listening stations where you can scan any album to hear samples and (usually) read a critic’s review. Being a frequent customer, I thought I was familiar with their stocking system. They have a Classical wall and small bins for New Age, Christian, World, and Rap, with pretty much everything else – including Aphex Twin – stuck into Pop/Rock. I looked through the “Ap”s, but couldn’t find Aphex Twin.
“Apoptygma Berzerk is here (yoink!), and they’re not nearly as big as Aphex Twin,” I thought. “Well, the Wikipedia entry had mentioned the pseduonym ‘AFX,’ so maybe ‘Af’ – no, not there either. Surely they didn’t think ‘Aphex Twin’ was a person’s name, and file it under ‘Twin, Aphex’ right? No, not there…”
So, nearly defeated, I headed over to the small, out-of-the-way “Dance” bin that typically holds compilations with swimsuit models on the cover and names like “Super Ultra Trance Party 2004, Volume XVII, Mixed by DJ 1337-f4ce.” But, to my surprise, this was no longer the “Electronic/Dance” bin – it was now the “Rap” bin! So, what now occupied the space where Rap had previously resided? I looked over that way, and the first thing to catch my eye was the new Engima album. And above it, the new Delerium album! And there, in the corner, was Aphex Twin. And there was Olive, and Armin Van Buuren, and Orbital…all in the new *Electronic* bin!!! The swimsuit girls are right there beside the real stuff, and the sign still says “Pop/Rock,” but this is my new home. Well, at least when I’m shopping for music at lunch.
