The Super Furry Animals record store theory

You’ve only got a couple minutes to decide whether or not you want to spend your time in any given record store. What do you do?

I maintain that you can usually tell the quality of any music store by its Super Furry Animals section. Checking the SFA stock is my quick, go-to litmus test. Here’s why:

1. Super Furry Animals are a great band, and a personal favorite of mine. I wouldn’t care to base a theory around a band I didn’t like. Obviously.

2. Super Furry Animals are just obscure enough. They’re obscure enough that most people haven’t heard of ‘em, but they’re not so obscure that it would be unfair to expect a store to carry ‘em. The group has plenty of albums, all of which are fairly acclaimed.

3. Super Furry Animals are foreign. Welsh, to be exact. If you see foreign copies of the group’s albums, any of the group’s albums before they’re released in the U.S., or a copy of Mwng? That’s a good sign you’ll find other albums you’ve been targeting.

4. Super Furry Animals have rarities. Again, most of these are not so rare that it would be unreasonable to expect a store to stock them, but rare enough — Out Spaced is a B-sides and rarities compilation, Phantom Phorce is a remix album of Phantom Power that I see from time to time and Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1 is a rarely seen greatest hits comp. Any of these sightings is a plus. SFA’s first EP was called Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyndrobwllantysiliogogogochynygofod (in space). I’ve never seen it in person. If you find it in a store? Chances are, there’s plenty of gold in them thar’ shelves.

5. If the store has a SFA section, but they’re all out of stock, by all means, do not dismiss the place! After all, someone took the time to write (or type) Super Furry Animals on a white plastic divider, which shows they care. Pick your own band as a litmus test and move along. (If you have hours to browse, you didn’t need to use the SFA test in the first place.)