This is a guest post from Seth who sings in Grel. He went to guestroom records (also a label, Rainbows are Free are on it) in Oklahoma City, he was impressed. Here you go:
Naysayers be damned, you don’t have to brave the white widow haze of Norman to find choice cuts of sound in central Oklahoma. Somewhere between hairdressers and just plain hair is Guestroom Records, tucked inside the Paseo Arts District, lined with paintings of famous album covers from the obvious (AC/DC, Zeppelin) to the surprising (Grateful Dead’s Wake of the Flood). Sorry, no Goodwill overabundance of kitschy tropicalia or the uncanny embalmed grin of Aunt Harriet’s favorite white jazz organist; this place has records you want. The old favorites abound, from (lots of) Miles Davis to Barrett-era Floyd, but the shock of the new awaits as well, from Modest Mouse to Thee Oh Sees. While I might be unsure if Coldplay deserves to be in the Indie/Alt section, Kaleidoscope's Tangerine Dream in a brand new pressing (in the 60s Psych/Garage section of course) calmed my waters. I even spied near mint (and shockingly affordable) copies of Introducing the Beatles and Jolly What!, those infamous unauthorized Vee Jay releases that were America’s first taste of the Fab Four. Can’t make this schniz up. As with most record stores, the CD section contains a few surprises between the inferior 80s “we didn’t know how to remaster analog just yet” discs, as well as a local color section for all your Sooner State demands that don’t have a damn thing to do with Red Dirt. This wasn’t a place I left easily. I’ve had family members treat me as less of a guest.
