Okay, so two short bits of news:

We absolutely will have the new Tom Waits LPs on Tuesday. The 7LP Orphans box will be $138.99. The 2LP Glitter and Doom will be $22.99.

As to the question I'm getting hit with daily... YES! We will be having our annual boxing sale. No, we have not decided what the discount will be. It will be at least 25% off all used product, and may be higher. The best way to stay on top of this is to join our emailing list. Once the final decision has been made, I'll email the list. Promise.

This week CD soundtracks are on sale for 40% off. There are rules, but they're simple:

1) Only titles from the soundtrack wall and soundtrack bin, not from the new arrivals.
2) Titles in artist's sections are not elligble (ie, no Philip Glass, Mike Nyman, Sakamoto, etc.)
3) Movie soundtracks only--not broadway shows and musicals.

Sale runs up to and inclusive of Saturday November 14, 2009. Again, those on the mailing list got an extra day's notice on the sale (email was sent early Sunday morning). Sign up so you can get the jump on future sales.

Okay, so compact disc box sets are on sale all this week, until Saturday, November 7, inclusive. 40% off.

They were actually on sale starting this morning (Sunday), but you'd only know that if you were smart enough to already have joined our mailing list. I gave people on the mailing list an extra day's heads-up. That's what you get for being on the downlow. So sign up if you want to swing with the hip kids for our next sale. Otherwise, get your bad self into the store to save a heap o' cash on some great soul, jazz, folk, pop, rock, blues...

Fine print: Compact disc sets only (dvd sets not on sale); stuff currently behind the counter only (no multi-disc sets that are on the floor in the artist sections; no opera, etc.); no holds whatsoever--first come first served.

I'm back from vacation and have a bit of news to announce. I know some of you have noticed some changes in the staff--one new person working and one regular worker ... not. Here's the scoop:

Bert, the owner of the shop, has decided to retire. For lack of a better word.

As you can tell by the picture at the left, he's been running Vortex since the black and white days and it's time he took some time for himself.

Because the more observant among you have been asking, I'm going to answer some questions that keep coming up: a) no, his retirement is not health-related; b) yes, this pretty much means he won't be working any shifts; c) he may pop in from time to time to pick things up, drop things off, have lunch with the staff and what have you, but those visits are at his leisure and are not scheduled so those of you interested in knowing when he'll be around, I'm afraid I don't have a satisfactory answer; d) yes, he is still the sole owner of the shop and he has no intention of selling; e) with the exception of Bert's absence, everything else is staying the same--meaning we'll run the store the same way we always have. There are no changes in policies or other such things. f) No, I cannot call him at home when you disagree with me about something.

Unfortunately, Bert does not have email so I cannot forward him your best wishes. Rest assured he misses (some of) you, too.

As to the "new guy", his name is Bud. And he's only sorta new. He used to work at Vortex--from '99 to '01. So, he knows the ropes--no need for you to treat him like a newbie. (Okay, maybe just a little). He works in color.

We've got a ridiculous amount of great stock in at the moment. Last week saw numerous sellers with quality collections of jazz, soul, rock and blues on CD and vinyl. Guess where you should be.