Doug Schulkind's Sound Mind |
| Fast is Good |
| For record junkies like me (I don't call myself a record collector because I actually listen to my records), few things are more sublime than discovering a new store, another source to help stoke the habit. A few years ago I spent a delirious week darkening the record dens of Paris. From the massive emporium FNAC (rhymes with snack) in Les Halles, to the string of marts along the Rue de Écoles, I couldn't swing a cat and not hit a phenomenal collection of vinyl -- all ripe for the picking. Easily the most enchanting (and successful) excursion I made was to a tiny kiosk in Barbès, the African neighborhood at the foot of Sacré Coeur. I had heard about the place from a waiter in a Senegalese restaurant the night before. He drew me a map and handed it over with a big thumbs up.
Paris is probably the single best city in the world for buying African records and this little place was a big reason why. There was only one problem: I didn't speak French (or Wolof, for that matter) and the proprietor didn't speak English. Actually, his English vocabulary was limited to two words. For each record I'd pull from the tightly packed wall, he'd offer the comment "fast" or "slow." Seeing my "fast" pile quickly dwarf the "slow" one, he disappeared in the back for a few minutes before returning with "Zangelewa" by Golden Sounds of Cameroon. With a big grin he placed the disc on the larger pile and produced one more word in English: "good!" I'm still waiting to make a return trip to Paris, but when I do, you can bet the first place I'll go is that extraordinary African record shack where fast is good.
Doug Schulkind |