Bin there, done that

Q. Did you study Philip Glass in school or discover him on your own?

A. Growing up in London, nearly all of my musical knowledge was from going to Virgin Megastore on Tottenham Court Road, and in the bargain bins, I would grab CDs. It would be a £2 Neil Young album, and I had never heard Neil Young before, and I had no context for Neil Young. The Philip Glass album, I’m pretty sure it’s called “Glassworks,” I just got that not knowing what it was and put it on and loved it. I was 15 at the time. I’ve probably listened to “The Hours” soundtrack the most. Maybe I listen too much. When I listen to songs too much, it does get to the point after years where it’s in my music. —"Inspiration Is Everywhere, Even in the Bargain Bin: Dev Hynes Releases 'Cupid Deluxe,'" NYT

Thought: Maybe it’s the remainder tables that secretly move the culture forward. Up-and-coming writers, strapped for cash and dismissive of the books that are being published and getting noticed, gravitate toward these steam tables of overlooked lit, these shallow arks of the minor. I used to work in an office near St. Mark’s Bookshop in New York, and would drop in at least once a week. Cheaper than the new releases, even than most of the literary journals, were the remainders on the table in the back, which is where I first discovered John Ashbery and James Schuyler's A Nest of Ninnies. —Ed Park, "Minor Poets, Major Works," The Poetry Foundation