Finding My Medicine Song

Jason pointed me to a wonderful album on my quest for a new medicine song. (Scroll down to "Aquarius" on that last link.) It was an adventure finding the album. I stopped at the tiny independent record store on my way home and requested Neutral Milk Hotel. "Neutral Milk what?", asked the proprietor. He asked why I was so keen on Neutral Milk Hotel. I explained that a trusted friend had recommended it. He offered me albums from other bands: The Shins, Modest Mouse, and so forth. I declined each gently. He thought it strange that I was adamant to purchase an album I'd never heard, no substitutions. I suspected it would seem even stranger if I explained the spiritual quest handed me by a horoscope, so I thanked him and left. He was very pleasant and I'll go back next time I want some 60s-era music.

The next afternoon I tried the big commercial chain record store in the town where I work. (It's not the funky big commercial chain record store, but the mainstream one.) Although the young clerk had never heard of NMH, he tried to help me find it in the stacks, but my grasp of alphabetical order was better than his. As I pulled the lone copy of my treasure from the bin, his face read, "I'll be darned, they do exist". He, too, was amazed I was buying it sheerly on recommendation. (But it's Jason's recommendation, I wanted to say.) The other clerk noticed my purchase and almost swooned: He loves that album and didn't realize they carried it and "it's one of those albums that becomes part of you" but his copy was stolen from his car a year ago. Then First Clerk offered me a discounted magazine subscription and I joked that I already had so many I was having Yoga Journal rerouted to my mother's address, which led us to a chat about tai ch'i and ended with me writing down my shiatsu school's URL for him.

Then I drove away with the CD playing in my car and, as to paraphrase the Bible, I heard that it was good.

Thank you, Jason.