Superlative Thrifting
In E Major
Mark Rushton’s Interpolation in the Arts is a weekly email on Substack where I talk about my ongoing work as a recording artist and visual artist.
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This week’s topics:
Partial Arts and Create Exchange
Clearance vs Thrifting
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives - Rhapsidio Sangre de Christo in E Major
Partial Arts and Create Exchange
When my wife and I lived in Eastern Iowa, she sometimes visited the Create/Exchange in Cedar Rapids. C/E is a “pay as you wish” upcycling store, largely in the areas of sewing, paper crafts, woodworking, painting, fiber, jewelry, floral (think of it as a “Used Michael’s” or a “JoAnn’s junkyard”) and they can receive certain donations where in-store credit is offered.
Recently, we visited a somewhat similar store in Pleasant Hill (an east suburb of Des Moines) called Partial Arts (pictured above), although their web site is called Repurpose Rising. This place is not “pay as you wish”. They have prices on items. We got the donation list from Partial Arts and there’s a lot of art and “little electronic” things in my stash that I can get rid of this way - items that the Big Thrift Rackets won’t take, or I can’t easily sell on eBay.
My wife was in JoAnn’s the other day. It’s the final month for our area’s store before closing, but they don’t seem to be in a hurry to liquidate as all the garbage yarn was only 40% off. The store was being overloaded with Warehouse Chinesium and landfill for Christmas and Valentine’s Day. I was also in Michael’s in the past couple of weeks and they look like they’re going down for the count. I talk about Michael’s vs Hobby Lobby in this video from April 27, 2025:
The truth is that these new upcycle/recycle businesses will creatively (pardon the pun) fill the gap after the demise of the big chains. Little yarn stores are popping up all over town. Black Sheep Craft Shop opened in Highland Park this past week. There’s a yarn store in Valley Junction. Sure, a lot of these things come and go, but they should really be local and outside the grubby hands of conglomerates. Same thing with vintage audio stores like Skylabs - that little shop’s YouTube channel has 125,000 subscribers as of the start of May 2025. I like this part of the “Great Reboot” = new ma ‘n pa stores.
The whole “Dunder Mifflin Infinity” online thing is on the second half of a parabolic flight. Everybody’s tired of Lex Luthor’s cunning stunts, like convincing people to pay $139 a year for “free shipping”. What is the true cost of “free shipping”? Well, kids, look around at all the For Lease signs.
Clearance vs Thrifting
Also this week, I stopped by the mall to do a little shopping in the evening.
It’s still the “new mall” and has always been busy, but the night I was in I could have driven a car through the place and not hit anybody.
Where are the shoppers? Did they run out of credit?
I’ve been thrifting since I was a kid. Still do it for certain items, such as the 49 cent Bill Bryson book on CD. But clothes are impossible anymore. Everybody’s desperately buying and reselling on eBay. Or the thrift store is hiking the prices up on worn out rags. I’m sure somebody is blaming all that on the tariffs.
I think the better value today is in the Clearance section.
JCrew wasn’t worth it. $98 for a short sleeved shirt? No thanks. You’re sticking something that is $79 in the Clearance section? Yeah, not today.
Down the mall, at Banana Republic, my favorite store, I scored and scored and scored.
In the above “inked picture” at the start of this post, I got new trousers for $29.95 (originally $150). I got another pair of pants for $9.95 (originally $100) and I told the cashier that I felt like I was stealing them. And I got a nice white shirt at a deep discount.
It helps to be able to fit into 31 slim.
I don’t shop very often for clothes, but I prefer to be extremely “econo” about it. I like the spontaneity of thrifting, but every store has been one disappointment after another. I’m not buying junk, but I’m also not buying $98 short sleeved shirts. It’s fun to get that thrifting thrill in the Clearance section at rock bottom prices.
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives - Rhapsidio Sangre de Christo in E Major
Mid-week, this showed up in my YouTube feed.
I rarely listen to country music. I know who Marty Stuart is, but have never paid attention to him in the past. He does the “classic country” sound.
Why did this pop up in my feed? It makes no sense.
Is this meant to be an Easter song? “Blood of Christ Rhapsody”?
It’s brilliant.
An instrumental, it was released on Record Store Day in April 2025 on a double vinyl album called Space Junk. As of when I wrote this, it’s not yet on the streamers. But it is on YouTube.
Late 50s/early 60s country sound with a touch of surf guitar and orchestra. Casual all the way through. Melodic and masterful. 2 1/2 minutes and we’re basically done.
Dug into his catalog a little. Guess I’m now a fan…