Though anytime I’m standing on the island of Manhattan, my mind automatically maps out the best possible route to Generation Records, the conditions that had me there yesterday — those being a day in the city with The Patient Mrs., as though an afternoon with my grumpy, lumbering ass is some kind of reward or break for her — prohibited it. A compromise in my head was a quick stop at Academy on 18th St., which I have it on good (and confidential) authority is where Spin sells their unwanted promos. I was hoping to catch an advance copy of that Six Organs of Admittance record I found out about the other night, and thankfully, she acquiesced.

No such luck on the Six Organs, but the thing about Academy is there’s always something in there, and apart from rarities, it’s all priced used. They’ve reorganized somewhat, splitting their CDs by genre in addition to alphabet, which is probably a good move in the long run if more of a pain in the ass to maintain. Flipping through the wares, I picked up the Neurot reissue of Tribes of Neurot‘s Adaptation and Survival insect experiment, the fancypants edition of the last Opeth record, which, boring though it was once past its novelty, is still Opeth, Prometheus by Emperor, and an accidental second copy of Dopesmoker. It’s the Music Cartel issue of Jerusalem I wanted. This was the Tee Pee digipak, which I already own. Easy mistake. Honestly I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before and wouldn’t be surprised if it happened again. Damn Sleep for being so desirable.

More of a surprise, however, was a brand new, still wrapped copy of Shaving the Angel by Midnite Snake on Birdman Records, which I’ve been eying over that the All That is Heavy webstore for some time now — and not just for the mammary-inclusive cover art, provocative though it is. The Pittsburgh instrumental trio play a San Franciscan freak rock that’s downright abrasive at times and alternates between tripping balls psychedelia and speed-fueled riffing. Oh yeah, then they have “Supermodifed,” which is a 25-minute cycle through what I can only assume is an avant stoner interpretation of how Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory might have turned out had Charlie gone to Slugworth‘s instead. Whether you’re putting a “d” or a “v” in between your “hea” and your “y,” you’re right.

I probably wouldn’t have bought it had I not encountered it in person, or at least not until I purchased every other wish list entry and impulse buy (which might as well be never at this rate), so for me, Midnite Snake was the find of the day. I’m pretty sure I won’t listen to it on repeat for the rest of my life, but when they finally show up to film that? remake of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls in my living room, I’ve got the soundtrack cued up and ready to go, and finding it only caused the slightest blemish on the whole “time together” thing. Everyone wins.