Fiberglass Jacket

 I started collecting records before I had a record player. From the beginning I always had the idea that one day I would get one. When I was 18-19 I finally got my first record player. The small stacks of vinyl that I had could finally be played. And from there my love for records was ignited. there was so much more to records that I didn't realize at the time.  There's something truly special about a record; from the artwork on the sleeve to the vinyl itself. There are so many nuances on a record sleeve that I didn't notice until a deep examination. People like me love records for one main reason, they are something tangible that you can hold, collect and reference to. An album is a piece of art that sometimes comes with posters, cut outs, or a booklet with unique photos. This is something you just can't get from a digital file. It's something that a lot of young people these days aren't getting to experience.  Other blogs I wrote about my re...

 June 1st 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of Sgt Pepper! Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is one of my favorite albums and album cover. It is also apart of my cherished vinyl collection. It was the first record I ever got, which was given to me by my grandpa who said it was his brother's. To me it felt like I was gifted a precious treasure, a true collectible, something no rock and roll fan could snub their nose at.   I barely ever played this record and rarely wanted to open it up because I didn't want to damage it at anyway. Fast forward to George Harrison's death in November 2001. Anyone who knew me knew I loved the Beatles and this included my teacher's.  One of my favorite teachers Mr. Martinez could tell I was really hurting from George Harrison's death. (It was the first rock star death in my memory that I distinctly remember). He gave me the Beatles photos that came with White Album and the rarely seen Sgt Pepper cardboard badge and other cut ou...

The Ramones "Something to believe in" The Monkees "A little bit me, a little bit you" "Valleri" Mick Jagger and David Bowie "Dancing in the street" Joey Ramone "Rock and roll is the answer" "There's got to be more to life than this" David Bowie "Blue Jean" Evil Stig "Spear and Magic Helmet" "Bob (Cousin O)" The Monkees "Last train to Clarksville" "Take a giant step" The Gits "Second Skin" "Social Love" The Beatles "Can't buy me love" "You can't do that"

The excitement that comes with going out and getting the record - The act of venturing out to search for records. Whether if be just browsing or on the hunt. The joy of record stores - The ambiance of a record store is comforting to music people. Rock music posters often line the walls, great tunes are being played through the speakers, and helpful folks from a local business are always willing to help you. The ability to hold a hard copy of it - To pick up a record album, review it like a book, own it, refer to it. The album cover art and inserts - Taking in the cover art and checking out the inserts records often come with is an awesome thing. Not only do you have the music, but you have a piece of art with a playlist. The discipline of listening to the whole record, changing/flipping the record - Currently we're all spoiled by the ability to hear any song at any time. But there is something to be said about putting on an album and listening to it all the way throug...

 People often ask me what my favorite album is. Without much thought I am able to answer them. The Who's 1969 album "Tommy" is my favorite record of all time. The album artwork also happens to be my favorite. Recently I was thinking about the album and how it affected me in my life. I decided to look up the Tommy album art and was surprised that I was unable to find any of it. I could find the cover, but never all the album art inside. The Tommy CD comes with a booklet with lyrics and a series of different illustrations. But they weren't on the internet.   So this blog will be changing that! I just took out my CD booklet and scanned all the artwork. There are two versions of the cover, one featuring small images of their faces inserted into the gaps in the central sphere. The other is just the original work. Executives at The Who's record label insisted on having the band members pictured on the cover, so that's why there are two covers. Pete Tow...

I ended Record Store Day (last Saturday) empty handed and was unable to get a copy of Joey's new single as I had hoped. Well, after calling around a bit for the weekend I finally found a copy!  Amoeba Music in Berkeley had 2 copies left and held one for me. I had just called Rasputin where they informed me that these records just came out on record store day and there is apparently limited copies. I tried  Amoeba next, thankfully they had just opened. The guy made it sound first come first serve on the phone and that they didn't do holds, when suddenly I blurted "I'M A HUGE JOEY RAMONE FAN--" and went off on how much it would mean to me to have this 45. He asked me for my name and saved me a copy. What a cool guy. I went down there right away and bought it. $6.98 is the selling price, average asking price on the internet: $20.00. So I skipped gleefully home with my record in my record store bag as planned. Took some good pictures and scans of it. It is a r...