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Old favorites on vinyl
Posted: Dec 31, 2007 in Music
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The 16-year-old asked for a "record player" for Christmas so we got him one of those retro-looking ones that have a turntable as well as a cassette and CD player. So I had to dig out my milk crates full of albums from the basement. We've had fun pulling out records we'd forgotten, ones we never would've replaced with CDs (anyone else have a bunch of so-so albums they got from Columbia House record club because they didn't send back the reply card?).
I've found a couple of Adam Ant records, Thomas Dolby's Golden Age of Wireless (the kids recognize "She Blinded Me with Science" from MythBusters), the Knack (yikes!).
We realized we didn't have any Alice Cooper (how did that happen?), so the kid went to Indy CD & Vinyl and bought "School's Out." It's fun to hear it blasting and see albums scattered all over his room.
Do you have one of those retro kinda kids, too? My 15 yr. old would LOVE a record player...maybe for her birthday. I honestly think she was born in the wrong era. Yesterday it was Prince all day, but she usually tends to listen to more of the "classic rock". She'd rather watch an old 80's movie than the newest blockbuster.
I saved a few of my old albums...Supertramp, Kiss, Cinderella...without going to look.
My kids were always amazed that I knew the lyrics to "cool" songs by amazing artists that they "discovered" -- Janis Joplin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Doors, Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty and so forth. Oh, yeah, and a neat little band called the Beatles.
I often found gaps in my CD collection and knew one of the kids absconded with a disc.
But on turnabout, they got me hooked on Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and Alanis. Also introduced me to Ani DeFranco and Tori Amos.
One of my favorite experiences growing up was digging in my grandparents' attic to rummage through all the albums my aunts and uncles had left behind.
In all it netted me a milk crate full of old vinyl: from Black Sabbath, Johnny Cash and The Beatles to Uriah Heap, The Village People and Kenny Rogers.
And after years without a record player, Santa hooked me up this year so I can drag them all out of the milk crate again.
The used vinyl shops are great, but don't forget about Half Price Books. I've found many a bargain for only a buck, including a near-mint condition copy of Parliament's 'Clones Of Dr. Funkenstein.' Classic.
Thanks for the Half Price Books Jeff. Didn't realize they carried vinyl. Other places to look are of course Goodwill and Value World. I inherited the family collection which has been over 300 lps and over 400 45's that span over 40 years. It is always fun to listen to the vinyl.
I don't know what happened to my old 45s. I think maybe my sister has them, still stashed in a hot pink plastic holder. 45s I remember buying: "I don't like spiders and snakes" by Jim Stafford (in grade school); "Magnet and Steel" by Walter Egan; and (here's the good one) "Jeans On" by David Dundas -- that last one was a commercial jingle in England, a factoid I knew when I bought it. I had no idea until just now that Keith Urban had recorded it. He probably heard it when he was a kid too!