Don't Look at Me

I finally got Radiohead's new album yesterday after it was released on CD, as I have something of an aversion of paying actual money for what essentially amounts to some ephemeral bits of data sent down a pipe, and also the pressure of having to choose how much to pay proved too great a dilemma for me.

Unfortunately, this joyous purchasing experience was somewhat marred by being served by possibly the rudest man on planet Earth, who practically failed to acknowledge my existence, never mind look at me.

After swiping the tenner from my hand, his eyeline never once again fell in my general direction, not as he tossed me my change, nor as he pushed the CD into my hand as if to say, 'We're finished here. Now fuck off.'

He was seemingly more interested in talking to his mate about his Xbox 360, which had apparently been cursed with the infamous red ring of death. I can only hope that this otherwise minor annoyance somehow develops into a bigger problem that goes on to ruin his life.

It's not that I haven't experienced the same level of 'service' in music stores before, but it's been a while since I've been given quite as short a 'shrift'.

It's perhaps my own fault; I should know better than to shop in HMV, but all the other cheapo places I used to like appear to have been crushed underfoot by the download revolution, which makes my hard copy purchase of In Rainbows all the more ironic.

Annoyingly, not five minutes later I noticed the same album in Tesco for a quid less, which after the cinema incident ▼, only served to compound my irritation.

On the way home however, I passed a Big Issue woman, and didn't bother buying a copy, which in a way makes me feel like I've broken even - despite the fact that I actually feel quite guilty and will almost certainly at some point end up giving £2 to charity to make up for it.