DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

So I had this milk-crate of “LPs” that I’ve been carrying around for 20 years… the remains of the collection of records I bought in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when vinyl was the only respectable media on which to acquire music. I haven’t purchased an LP since, probably, 1988, and I’d only listened to these once or twice in as many decades. I have not replaced many of these records on CD — my tastes evolved (although not very far, some might claim!) — and that was the only reason I hadn’t dumped these years ago.

We’re moving to our new house soon, though, and it was time to jettison some of the detritus of past obsessions.

I flipped through the stack one last time, reminiscing about the music I used to really enjoy. I think I had the entire REO Speedwagon collection, up through 1980’s Hi Infidelity, a commercial peak but already (IMO) a good distance down the back side of the slope in terms of creative output. Then there was a Lynyrd Skynyrd promo disk, a Zeppelin disk, three from Mannheim Steamroller, a few early Genesis records, one from Alan Parsons, and the record that inspired my earliest remembered case of buyer’s remorse, In 3-D from Weird Al Yankovic. Ewww.

I schlepped the milk crate to a run-down-looking “vinyl-only record store” and hefted it up on the counter. The sign on the door announced “we buy record collections,” so the owner had no escape: it was only a question of price. And I was willing to accept just about anything — one mean stare and I’d just leave the crate behind and run for my car.

The owner looked at the first dozen titles, and uttered a question I never would have predicted: “Is it all heavy metal?” I goggled briefly… there was not one metal record in the whole stack. But maybe this guy was a big Tuck & Patti or Carpenters fan. Still, I’d expect someone who sells music for a living would be better able to distinguish between heavy metal and REO Speedwagon.

Anyway I walked out with $35 cash (about $0.87 per LP) and figured I got the better end of the deal, even considering that I threw in the milk crate.