Record Store Excursion: Part 2

    With the good experiences I had in the Prague record stores, I had high hopes for the stores in Leipzig. Little did I know that I would have the best time at "Musikhaus Kietz," which was honestly the highlight of Leipzig for me. It was the last day before we travelled to Berlin, so I was desperate to find a record shop in order to fulfill my goal of going to one in each city. Musikhaus Kietz was a bit of a walk, and the coldness did not help our trek, but it was all worth it when I found some of the coolest records that I have never been able to find anywhere else...and trust me, I've looked hard! 
    On our way to the record store, we passed the square where there was a cook-off and live music. I visited the cook-off a few hours before and ordered my first bratwurst on the trip, and it definitely was not my last! There now was a giant stage in the middle with a woman who looked slightly like Joan Jett who invited a bunch of kids up on stage with her. It was not my kind of music, but it was fun to see all the people enjoying their bratwurst and the free concert. 




















    We continued on to find the store and after about 20 minutes of walking, we reached our destination. There was a lot to look at in this store, and it was probably the largest one out of the six I have checked out on the trip. It was cool to see records lining the walls and ceiling, as well as instruments that were hung up on the pillars in the center. There were a few retro hairdryer chairs inside as well, which seemed like a super-fly place to sit and listen to records.


    I noticed there was an abundance of modern bands I like on the shelves, but most were 20 euros and up. I ended buying three albums which were fairly inexpensive, and they were too important to pass up anyways. The first was a Francoise Hardy album, which is too hard to find for a decent price in the U.S., as they usually go for $40. I mean, she definitely is my favorite 1960's French pop/ Ye-Ye singer, but I am also cheap. It was a 2-record set, so it was definitely worth it, and the records were in perfect condition. The other two were the real gems.
     Lali Puna is an early 2000's German indie-electropop group, and it is such a challenge to even find their CDs anywhere! When I was searching through the "L" section, I saw two of Lali Puna's records, and I freaked. I ran over to my friends and tried to explain my excitement, but I guess it makes sense to find a German band in a German record store. At that point, I already had 3 records in my hand, and I could not let myself go overboard.
     I was talking to the record store clerk who was wearing a "Neu!" shirt, which is also a very cool German band. We had a conversation about the group, and then when he saw my Lali Puna records he became extremely surprised, saying something along the lines of "Wow, you know Lali Puna? Usually I thought Americans have bad taste!" I responded that Americans usually do have bad taste (no offense my fellow Americans, it was partly a joke, hehe), and that Lali Puna is my favorite German indie electropop band, along with The Notwist, Guther, and Ms. John Soda. He told me that those records were out of his own collection, and that even Germans are not familiar with Lali Puna or any of the other bands we talked about. This seemed odd to me, but it was nice to feel like I was in on a little German music secret. It was so refreshing to geek out about music with a local, and it was enlightening to understand what the music culture is like there. I got a handful of free stickers with the store logo on them, as well as a couple of free postcards too. What really surprised me was when the employee gave me a bag for free that usually costs 5 euros, and gave me a 10 euro discount on the records. Apparently there are discounts just for having "good taste." What an honor. It made me so happy to know that there are people all over the world who know and share the same love of underrated bands.