Secrets of the City

WHAT?! No Mark Mallman?

Pffft.

Electric Fetus: All the music of Cheapo, at twice the cost. Plus hey, we have incense too.

Not a fair comparison, jpavleck. There’s more new music at The Fetus than at Cheapo … and IMO the Fetus staff know more about what they sell than most other record stores. (”Record store.” Now there’s a quaint term you don’t hear much anymore.) Go ahead and shop Cheapo but please don’t dis The Fetus. It’s been around a long, long time and has a well-deserved reputation among musicphiles.

Plus, gosh, darn it, I bet most of any new music Cheapo sells comes from The Fetus wholesale distribution business. Isn’t it nice of The Fetus to let the competition then *underprice* them … when, in reality, The Fetus could underprice everyone in town except for the Big Box chains?

Love Charlie Parr, Pert Near Sandstone, Trampled By Turtles. I think that ’scene’ is particularly strong. I hope Brass Kings new album ends up on the list when it comes out.

I tried to catch Charlie Parr at the Nomad a couple of weeks ago, though, and it was freaking shoulder to shoulder and you couldn’t hear a damn thing. That place is a tragedy when it comes to acoustics. Better to find him on his frequent Sunday night Turf Club shows.

Ugh. Mallman is so overrated. And played out.

I think the funny thing with Mallman is that he’s known for his shows, but last I saw him he’s only entertaining himself. I kinda like his albums; I think his songwriting is actually quite good.

Actually, I know he didn’t have an album out this year (I don’t think) so that comment above was strictly a joke so simmer down.

I like his music.

And yet the Jovial Contemplation Party is non-existent!

Personally, I think the only thing the fetus has going for it these days is it’s legacy of having been around forever. I sincerely doubt it has more music then the uptown Cheapo, hell – St. Paul probably has more.

Fetus does have neat squeaky floorboards though.

But I want Let It Be Records to come back

I don’t think I’ve found a record store with less music than the St. Paul Cheapo, jpavleck. And I’ve always found the staff at the Fetus extremely helpful. How long has it been around?

Electric Fetus opened in 1968
Cheapo opened in 1972

The Electric Fetus has the best selection in town. Their selection of international music is expeshally awesome!

The experience at the Fetus is about 1,000x better than at Cheapo’s. Also, for new titles, I find that Cheapo generally only stocks the most recent or well-known discs by artists, they just don’t go very deep at all with what they stock on new titles.

Also if you want to find that rare compilation of ’60s psychedelic bluegrass from Kazakhistan, then where the hell else are you gonna find it besides at the Fetus?

+ the Fetus’s used section is constantly improving and prices are comparable to Cheapo. Also, you don’t have to rifle through dozens of Hootie & the Blowfish CD’s to get to the good stuff as they do a better job of keeping quality product out on the floor.

No disrespect to the Cheapo’s folks, but the knowledge of the Fetus staff blows them out of the water completely. At the Fetus you’re gonna be able to find plenty of people who can go waaaayyyy beyond the Radio K/Current Top 10.

All that plus incense, great gifts, clothes, friendly staff, etc. – are you kidding me?? There is no comparison.

i enjoy Cheap for what it is, but it is a national chain at the end of the day…

honestly jpavleck, not sure the last time youv’e shopped at the Fetus, but price-wise, they are almost always lower than Cheapo for new releases for me. the only place that doesn’t beat the Fetus for new releases is Best Buy, Target, etc., which is obvious.

Cheapo’s regular retail disc prices are often way higher than the Fetus too (don’t believe me, go check). i used to shop both a few times a week but have slowed down the last year or so.

also, top selling items at the Fetus for 2 weeks ago:

http://www.reveillemag.com/news/news/local-top-ten-records-sales-for-11-19-2007

yes the Fetus isn’t as amazing as Twist & Shout in Denver or obviously any of the Ameoba’s, but we’re still blessed to have something like it in this day and age.

as for missing Let It Be, i do too, but if you wanna talk about high prices… DAMN LIB was always much higher in my experience.

if you want cheap vinyl go to Roadrunner, pretty good selection and often the best prices. Cheapo Uptown’s vinyl selection downstairs is nice, but the quality of their new vinyl is often sketchy and pricing almost always higher than the Fetus, Treehouse, & Roadrunner in my experiences the last year.

not to mention that if you buy 3 regular price discs or vinyl at the Fetus you get 10% off, which is nice.

There’s more new music at The Fetus than at Cheapo … and IMO the Fetus staff know more about what they sell than most other record stores
Here, here.
Also there is all kinds of music that can’t be found anywhere else locally. Try and find The Films at Cheapo and for cheap music the place to go is Half Priced Books the greatest used book and music store ever.

Maybe I’m imagining things, but I’ve always found the selection of local artists at the Central Ave. Cheapo store to be a bit better than that at the Fetus.

I often get to the Uptown Cheapo when I’ve got some time at the end of the 21 line. They have a lot of CDs in there, but they usually don’t have what I’m looking for. I do enjoy the records downstairs, though.

The Fetus almost always has what I’m looking for. And I really prefer the ambience in the Fetus to Cheapo’s. Um, except for all the hippie crap. Plus, what everyone said about the staff. Except for the guy who recommended some Mike Dough-dough-doughdndy-doughty thing to me. I don’t ask him what he’s listening to anymore.

Why are most of these acts (Prince and Low come to mind) considered local? Yeah, they’re “from” here, but they’re not “local” bands. When’s the last time they played the Hex or Big V’s?

Yes, I totally agree. No band should be considered local unless they can only attract 25-75 customers.

Yes, I totally agree. Any band that ever lived in MSP, no matter how far removed, no matter how many years removed, should always be considered local.

A local band should be considered one which actively plays shows in and around the twin cities; not one that comes through on tour once a year or so.