Oh yes, remember the days of back to school shopping at Miller's Outpost? I actually can't say that I do because I was more associated with Miller's Outpost 2.0 and their name change to Anchor Blue in the late 90s. I remember going to Miller's Outpost for sure but growing up it was more of the stop for my older brother. The thing I remember most about Miller's Outpost was that their location in Imperial Beach, CA, was located next to a "The Wherehouse" that still carried Vinyl at the time. In the mid 90's that was gold for me because I was big into 90s Hip Hop and seeing vinyl while CD's dominated the music scene was a cool thing. I remember seeing those 12" singles that weren't available on CD and wanting to buy them even if they were a bit more pricey than the $3.49 CD singles. Some I did end up buying while most I didn't. I really wish I had picked up more.
But back to Miller's Outpost. It's 1996 and you're strolling down the aisles looking for some new jeans and suddenly you're like "I wish they carried CD's in here.....NO WAY!!!!!" And in front of you is the 1996 Miller's Outpost CD compilation "Fresh Cuts." A collection of randomness that probably looked unappealing back then but now looks very nostalgic and much more interesting. This CD is filled with most names that the majority of people would not recognize or remember. But taking a look at the track listing you'll see something similar to an X Games compilation:
What other CD are you going to find Busta Rhymes, They Might Be Giants, and The Squirrel Nut Zippers on? Wait, this is 1996 so that could be a soundtrack for any movie give or take 3 years in both directions. Never mind. But the bigger question is why did Miller's Outpost have a CD compilation? And that's not to say other stores didn't have their own compilations because they definitely did. I'm sure Mervyns had a few......ok, now I have to go and check that out like right now.....hold on.........yup, and might I add "Wow!"
So Mervyn's had a few but this one stands out. In conjunction with Levi's they released this 1993 compilation of hit songs and covers and yes, there is a Sir Mix A Lot cover of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man." But back to Miller's Outpost again. All this The Wherehouse and Mervyn's talk has taken me off course. Nostalgia can do that to a person. The 1996 "Fresh Cuts" compilation is pretty good when you go and actually find and listen to the tracks included. The one that stood out for me was a track from Geggy Tah titled "Whoever You Are" and its' stellar accompanying music video .
Also the title track off Chuck D's 1996 album "The Autobiography of MistaChuck" made for another gem that I don't recall hearing back in my favorite year of music. One of those songs with that slow head nod factor made for evening crusin' or late night mix shows.
I'm just trying to imagine how they had this CD displayed in stores. Was it at the counter and positioned to pursue teens to ask their parents for the hot new "Fresh Cuts" while their new fresh jeans were being scanned at the register? Was it at a display right as you walk in to let customer know "we're cool." Or was it located near an aisle of flannel shirts to give it that edgy feeling that this CD was not your mainstream music that you would find at a nearby Wherehouse. So many questions and if only we knew someone who worked at a Miller's Outpost during this era, we'd have a lot more answers.
1996 keeps delivering gems the more I dig deeper and deeper into the year. It's always been my favorite so finding new songs I hadn't heard of and albums I didn't knew existed is just a bonus.
If you're interested, I do Twitch streams and on Monday nights from 9pm-10pm PST I have my show titled "The 96' @ 9" where I played nothing but songs from this year. Hits, deep cuts, remixes, live versions, all giving that nostalgic feel. It's audio only and I have some visuals but I'm not on camera like most Twitch streamers. Give it a listen sometime at www.twitch.tv/blockbustermusic. If you like what you hear then give me a follow and you'll receive notifications anytime I go live.
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