Styx - Pieces Of Eight.
This is the first rock record I ever bought. ELO, Kansas, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Who, Yes, and The Rolling Stones followed soon after. I can’t really remember how I got from there to Frank Zappa, Soft Machine, Camper Van Beethoven, The Sex Pistols, The Replacements, Lightning Bolt and all bands challenging and alternative in general. But it all started with Styx.
The feedtime record I just posted is the one that instigated the little email argument that led to the seller calling me names. Here’s a transcript for your amusement. Whether you side with them or me I think most people would find it pretty funny…or not…I don’t know. It seems from this evidence that I have trouble getting my point across via text without coming across as a nerd. And isn’t it supposed to be cool to be a nerd right now anyway?
The record arrived with a three inch seam-split at the top. I left the seller this back-handed positive feedback: ”Listed as “New”,had seam-split,creased cover.Record does look unplayed though.”
They messaged me:
Seller: Hey there _____,
Your feedtime record was new. Received record from
AM REP directly.
Never played. It came w/ the splits.
Sorry for the
confusion..
———-
My response:
When an eBay seller calls me a nitpicker and a nerd and says I’m out of my mind it makes me wonder if they’ve ever actually met a real record collector.
An Albatross - We Are The Lazer Viking, limited (150) clear screen printed vinyl.
I didn’t know this existed until it popped up on eBay but I had wondered if there was a reason why my blue vinyl version was blank on one side. Like all the other records and cds in my An Albatross collection, I acquired it for a criminally low price. I now have all their albums on vinyl and CD, the split 7” with XBXRX, plus the Enter The Bear Warp DVD-R, which I think was official tour merchandise. There are a few vinyl color variations that I don’t have. If anyone out there knows of anything else that exists, please send me a message. I really like these guys. I don’t understand why their records don’t command a higher price. They seem totally original to me. Maybe they had influences I don’t know about but I’ve never heard anything like them. And lead screamer Edward B. Gieda III is a hard-core record collector, as well.
Me in my natural habitat. I’ve since grown a beard, though, because I don’t enjoy scraping sharp pieces of metal up and down my face.
(No, I didn’t buy the Herb Alpert record.)
Glacial - On Jones Beach. Lee Renaldo - Guitar, Bells. Tony Buck - Drums, Shakers. David Watson - Bagpipes.
Today’s Goodwill finds. I like The Atlantic and Scepter sleeves even though those records don’t belong in there. The good news: I think the Buddy Holly and Fats Domino records will clean up well enough to play fairly well, The Beatles, Ringo, and Paul singles are in excellent shape, and I spent less than $5 for all of them. The bad news: They smell like dirty nursing home.
Hawkwind - In Search Of Space, foldout die-cut cover and logbook. Although most of the listings on Discogs call this album “X In Search Of Space” the spine and label omit the X. I think it sounds better that way. The X must just be part of the cover art.
Me and my box in action. The Library always has someone photographing the sale. This year they again captured an image of me for posterity. I’m second from the left. The man in the front, with the Hendrix and Stones under his arm, and his wife or girlfriend (or sister or personal assistant, how should I know?) beat me to most of the good stuff. After waiting an hour in line for the doors to open I paused when I reached them to let a little old lady with a walker get in ahead of me without being trampled. My good deed may have cost me some Stones and Hendrix albums. Watch out next year, little old ladies!
My trusty record hunting box, a cardboard creel for my vinyl catches. I made this about 15 years ago for a Vinyl Madness sale at public radio station WBFO in Buffalo, NY. It still serves me well. Tomorrow I’ll be digging at the biggest local sale of the year. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. I’m hoping to at least fill this box but we’ll see. One year I came away with only 4 LPs. If I ever turn pro I’ll sell advertising space but right now one should not assume that I endorse Wild Irish Rose wine, nor they me.
