The albums are gone.

[valis2]

I remember sitting next to the speakers in the living room, their dusty fabric covers faded from the sun. I remember kneeling on the wood floor with my ear next to them. I remember the exhilaration of "Bring the Boys Back Home" and I remember lying on the floor crying and listening to "Comfortably Numb." I remember playing "Grover Sings the Blues" over and over again. I remember what the Revolver album looked like. I remember wearing out "Yellow Submarine." I remember the sound of the needle hitting the record. I remember dancing and jumping around so much that the penny fell off the arm and I had to balance it again. I remember the velvet sweep of the record cleaner. I remember listening to the Bankin-Rass "Hobbit" album and knowing every word of the dialogue. I remember "Silver Bells" and grocery store Christmas albums. I remember the unmistakable sound and feel of pulling an album out of its cover, finely grooved and gleaming, and how it was a secret treasure in a paper sleeve. I remember lying on the floor, reading the liner notes. I remember my dad dancing with my mom in the living room. I remember the first time I heard "Nebraska," it loped into our house like a rangy wolf. I remember singing "A Chorus Line" from beginning to end with my sister. I remember listening to "Brer Rabbit." I remember the insanity of opening "The Wall" for the first time and seeing the inner drawings. I remember listening at night to "Pimpf" with only candles lit. I remember singing "There's Wolves in the Kitchen" and dancing about so enthusiastically that the record skipped.

The guy who picked them all up is a collector, and very, very nice. They will be treasured and catalogued.

I feel sad and happy all at once.

Comments

[marginaliana]

*hugs* It's always hard to say goodbye to something that's associated with so many memories. But it sounds like the memories are still there, even if the things are gone.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

*hugs back* It was definitely a moment for reflection. I'm feeling better now that I've purged it in this entry, though. And you're right, the memories are there.

[scarah2.livejournal.com]

Omg I have so many records.

[alabastard.livejournal.com]

I once had over 500 albums, I've hung onto about 30, but I should really put them on a CD and sell them, it's just the nostalgia...

[valis2.livejournal.com]

I had forgotten how many I owned...mostly Pink Floyd (the guy nearly wet himself when he saw that I had Obscured by Clouds and Atom Heart Mother), with some Depeche Mode and Peter Gabriel thrown in for good luck.

I'll totally miss them. But, seeing as I have no turntable, and no plans to get a turntable, well, it's for the best.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I just couldn't bring myself to get rid of them. And then my parents dropped off four boxes of them, and they were underfoot for six months, and I just couldn't take it anymore! ;)

[scarah2.livejournal.com]

I still have a turntable. I have some awesome picture discs and stuff. This guy would probably freak.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Given that he was inordinately pleased that I had Ummagumma, I'm sure his socks would combust if he saw your stash.

[seaislewitch.livejournal.com]

I remember getting a new record and my sister and I jumping on our beds, while listening and singing along.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

We love music so much, and the record player really seemed like magic...I miss that feeling, the first crackling before the music began to play...

[alabastard.livejournal.com]

Sometimes you have to be brutal in the cleansing, but I do know how it feels.

For enough money, some high end turntables actually sound better than CD players, though it may be that "life" that LPs breathed into the sound that digital doesn't quite capture.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

I began a cleaning frenzy about five years ago that is nearing its end...I donated clothing and assorted knick-knacks, and I really was ruthless with my books as well. I think I halved my collection, which is a good thing. (I've worked in a couple different bookstores, and bought way too many books.)

When I started selling on eBay, I sold a lot of the things I had amassed. And now I keep paring down, bit by bit.

Next up is a huge collection of clothing, given to me by a friend. I'll try to start listing that this month, hopefully. It will be so nice to get rid of those boxes...I have a walk-in closet half full of clothes at this point, ready for listing!

[jaelle-n-gilla.livejournal.com]

*hugs you*
You know, all the memories will still be there, even if the records are gone. The things that happened with never leave you.
J and I cleaned out the cellar last weekend, and I opened a dozen folders with loose scraps of paper in them. Remember the times when you saw a nice cartoon on a wall and you had to take it down and photocopy it? Heck, I even copied some by hand on thin paper.
I thorew out most of it. I hadn't looked at them for 4 years and would likely not do any more in the future. Life is digital now.
At least your records are in good hands and valued, not in the recyling bin.

[cafemercury.livejournal.com]

This brought back vivid memories of my 14-year-old self sprawled out on my bed, on a thick-as-pea-soup southern afternoon, scrutinizing the pictures inside The Wall as the album blared in the background.

I also remember (gently) taking a sponge to the inner sleeve of Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door because doing so would cause the color to pop out. (Still have that one; the watercolor effect is cool.) I remember my half-Scottish friend playing air bagpipes as we listened to "Carouselambra." Really, you haven't lived until you've seen someone play air bagpipes.

CDs sound better, but it occurs to me that, perhaps, a lot of charm was lost in the name of progress.

While I work on this manuscript that is threatening to eat my brain, I shall listen to The Wall in your honor.

Outstanding post. *hugs*

[valis2.livejournal.com]

You make me want to go through my papers now, too. heh.

Life really is digital now. I like it this way, as well, but it still is a lurch to give away such beloved albums.

I'm just so glad that they're not going in a landfill.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

The Wall was such a big part of my adolescence. Huge! I had an enormous Pink Floyd obsession, and this album just cemented it. Certainly I loved Atom Heart Mother, but the Wall had songs on it that seemed to understand what I was feeling, and the music was so amazing.

I never got into Led Zeppelin, but boy, I would have loved to have seen air bagpipes! ha!

*hugs back*

Treasured Albums

[(Anonymous)]

I remember creating lovely dance numbers to Disney's "Sleeping Beauty". I remember singing duets with Mom and "The West Side Story". I remember putting up the Christmas tree year after year listening to "The Christmas Song" and "Deck the Halls" while KM would sleep under the tree (such a good boy) and Pita would eye the very top of tree looking for the exact point to knock over the tree. I remember listening to Joan Baez and being creeped out by the woods at night. I remember Dad listening to the Moody Blues, the Doors, Bruce and John Stewart over and over again - each time bringing new emotion to the context of their magical songs. I remember singing Pat Benatar songs at the top of my lungs. I remember sitting on the deck listening to AC/DC's "Hells Bells" and wondering what the neighbors thought. I remember, as well, singing "The Hobbit" and "Chorus Line" with my sister. I am very glad that our family albums have found a new home.

[alabastard.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm always trying to pare down, though My weaknesses are gorgeous furniture, clothing, books, and music.

Re: Treasured Albums

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Aw, that was so sweet, sis. I'm glad you chimed in. Now if we can just get Mom and Dad to comment...ha!

I think I'm going to miss the Christmas albums the most.

[morricone1900.livejournal.com]

Awww.

When I moved from Pittsburgh, some guy pulled up in a truck and hauled off about 500 albums of mine. I had still saved a couple hundred of them and put them into storage, but they're long gone now as I eventually couldn't afford that storage so lost everything that was in it. :/

Still, when the record collector guy took those several hundred artifacts of vinyl, I at least felt that if anything were worth anything to anyone, they might have a chance of finding their way to a good home. I felt better about his taking them than just leaving them out on the street as trash or something, which I probably wouldn't have been able to bring myself to do.

Your mention of the Rankin/Bass HOBBIT made me smile. I see you started early with your fandom of that kinda thing. ;)

[valis2.livejournal.com]

I definitely feel I made the right decision. What could I have done with them? Not much. They sat in my parents' house forever, and they were pretty much going to sit in my house forever, too.

And the Hobbit is one of my dearest vices. I adore that movie, I can sing all of the songs, I know all of the dialogue. Just hearing John Huston's voice at the beginning makes me swoon!