[Editor's note: the 'Masterpiece' series is a 200 words-or-so look at some of the albums that have changed the way I hear music. This week: The Stooges' blistering Fun House]
Greta was the transvestite cashier at Bay Area Records & Tapes and s/he kept a pretty tight ship. One day my buddy Furr and I were in there browsing, and we overheard one of the funniest conversations in the history of human interaction – between Greta and a man who was the spitting image of the ‘Skipper’ from Gilligan’s Island:
Skipper: I’ll sell you this tape for five dollars and you can resell it for twice that. That’s good business.
Greta: Sorry, no.
Skipper: Listen honey, you don’t understand. If you sell this for ten dollars you’ll double your money. THAT’S GOOD BUSINESS!
Greta: No.
And on and on they went. Furr and I continued to pretend to browse, but our attention was fully on the comedy at the front counter. Meanwhile, a disc in the RECOMMENDED section caught my eye – Fun House by the Stooges. I’d read about it just the week before, and was intrigued by its description and the swirling motion of the cover art. I decided to pull the trigger, little knowing that making the decision while a transvestite debated a freak over five bucks in the heart of Polk Gulch was probably the most perfect way to buy that particular album. I know Iggy would be proud.
Tags: Fun House, Iggy Pop, Masterpiece, Record Stores, San Francisco CA, The Stooges
