Althouse: Unplayable 45s I won't throw out.

September 14, 2006

Unplayable 45s I won't throw out.

(The first in a series.)

ADDED: Sippican picks up the meme.

24 comments:

MadisonMan said...: I have Snoopy and Red Baron. Same category.; 9/14/06, 9:39 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Is it available on CD?"

Do you really have to ask?; 9/14/06, 9:51 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: I have the same issue with some LPs from the 60's and 70's. I took the records and the album art, framed them individually and added snippets of other memorabilia appropriate to the time and the records content to make a collage. They look great on my office wall.

They are much like a musical-art time caplsue of my life. Ah... the memories those albums hold.; 9/14/06, 10:03 AM
amba said...: Who needs technology, ancient or modern? That song is one of those engraved on my brain. The falsetto was so cool at the time, and still is.

I finally did throw out the unplayable 45s. I remember "Soul Man" by Sam & Dave, Van Morrison's "Domino," Martha & the Vandellas "Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide."

The albums are another story. Too heavy to move, too scratched to sell, and too iconic to give up, they were the one thing I asked the person taking care of my New York apartment to keep there for me.

"I'll be back."; 9/14/06, 10:20 AM
J said...: Is it unplayable because of it's condition (which doesn't look too good in the photo) or because you no longer own a phonograph?; 9/14/06, 10:47 AM
sonicfrog said...: Hmmmm! Looks like I'll have to start digging through my extensive selection of 8 tracks....

PS. I am currently looking for a beta max player. I have a bunch of school projects, and video of my college band "Out of Hand", that I want to digitizeand post on my blog.

PPS. I really do have a bunch of 8 tracks, including the AC/DC album "Back In Black", where some genius decided to put the title track in a spot where it had to be split in half, right in the middle of Angus Young's solo, as the song sits between tracks 3 and 4.; 9/14/06, 11:28 AM
sonicfrog said...: PPPPPPS. I stil own a phonograph, and am about to inherit an 8 track player, so now I can play my tapes :-); 9/14/06, 11:30 AM
bill said...: What you need to read those scratchy records is a laser turntable. Pay no attention to that price tag!

Even better would be for someone to perfect a cheap way to quickly scan vinyl. I have too many albums never released on CD and digitizing vinyl takes forever.; 9/14/06, 11:42 AM
bill said...: Good to remember: when civilization collapses, CDs will only be useful to hang from trees and scare the birds away from the fruit.

Vinyl will still be good as it just requires a needle and a megaphone.; 9/14/06, 11:45 AM
J said...: "I laughed out loud"

How many people had to look up "phonograph"? Be honest.; 9/14/06, 12:33 PM
MadisonMan said...: The other 45 I can't discard is "They All Asked for you", a classic New Orleans ditty by, I think, the Meters? And Please Come to Boston. I stole that one from my brother.; 9/14/06, 12:36 PM
John Stodder said...: Snoopy vs. The Red Baron was by "The Royal Guardsmen."

Knowing what I know now about session musicians, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Leon Russell and Duane Allman played on it.

Back in '64 and '65, I was dismissive of the Beatles, and much preferred the far more original sound of the Seasons. I was all of 8 years old, making this sweeping judgements.

I even had their single of "I've Got You Under My Skin." I remember my mother being disgusted that my first exposure to this great Cole Porter song was via this weird falsetto/heavy back-beat rendition.

I will admit the Beatles were better at psychedelia. As soon as Frankie Valli started wearing a Nehru jacket and a peace symbol amulet, it was over for the boys from Jersey.; 9/14/06, 1:00 PM
Sigivald said...: Bill: Judging by the looks of that 45, I don't think the laser will help. It's not just worn down by playing, it's been actively abused.

Good deep scratches, well, nothing can be done for it.; 9/14/06, 1:14 PM
vnjagvet said...: Does anyone still listen to Frankie and other 60's groups like his on the local PBS stations during pledge drives?

Frankie still can sing in that falsetto. Not quite as clear though. The voice is a bit worn; kinda like that old record.

WV: horshq; 9/14/06, 1:31 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Oh, I have a turntable attached to my stereo and it can play 45s, but the 45s are all scratched up because I let my kids play them all the time on a Fisher-Price record player years ago. They are completely -- and to my eye hilariously -- scratched up. Partly, they remind me of my youth -- the Four Seasons were the first band I loved -- and partly they remind me of my own kids' childhood and how they loved things that I had loved.; 9/14/06, 2:07 PM
MadisonMan said...: I like how your name is on the label -- as if that 45 was taken to many sleepovers/parties. My sister had many such 45s. That I also stole -- I filch from brothers and sister!; 9/14/06, 2:45 PM
Ruth Anne Adams said...: Did you save the cardboard records of the Monkees that were on the Honeycomb boxes? Now that's a record that'll scratch a needle!; 9/14/06, 4:06 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Amba said:
"Who needs technology, ancient or modern? That song is one of those engraved on my brain. The falsetto was so cool at the time, and still is."

I am 54 and That is what I thought too. As soon as I read the record label, I started singing the song (poorly).

Isn't it amazing how much stuff we can store in our brains? Thanks for the nice flashback reminder Ann.

Plus back then we all listened to the same AM station and the same tunes (WIBG). I guess today it's a lot different (way more choices).; 9/14/06, 4:17 PM
Beth said...: We were really lucky in Katrina because our house didn't flood. But the temperature-controlled storage unit we rent in an 1850s cotton warehouse lost its 2001 high-tech roof and everything in the unit was soaked. That included a large collection of albums, my own and a former roommate's "keep these for me" stack. The covers basically stuck to the vinyl so badly, then rotted, then got slimy...I didn't want to cope so I threw them out. It felt a litle bit liberating, but I am mad never digitized the really hard to replace stuff.

But I think I have some 45s left, as they were in a case. They include a bunch of Beatles, some Janis, and "Winchester Cathedral" and "Judy in Disguise," both of which I must have inherited from an older brother. My generation is more accurately represented by the 12" dance mix vinyl singles, none of which I was able to save. I had a wonderful version of the Staple Singers doing the Talking Heads' "Slippery People." That, I wish I'd digitized!

I haven't gotten my spine up to go back in there after initially cleaning out the nastiest stuff. At $200 bucks a month, I ought to get moving on that.; 9/14/06, 4:23 PM
SippicanCottage said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/14/06, 5:12 PM
knox said...: My first 45s were "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge and "Le Freak" by Chic. What I wouldn't give to still have em. There was a blizzard in Ohio in the winter of '78 and it stayed so cold for so long, instead of going out for recess, we would play music and dance. One time someone brought in "Brick House" and the teacher made us turn it off, hehe!

Wow, I just looked up to see what year they came out and it turns out they were both written by the same duo (Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, THE most successful writer/producer team of the DISCO era.); 9/14/06, 5:13 PM
Ron said...: I pile on to the meme as well.

http://fluffystuffin.blogspot.com/2006/09/ill-join-in-fun.html; 9/14/06, 8:30 PM
Maxine Weiss said...: Some of Kate Smith's greatest hits were never released on CD.

Rita Coolidge.

Guy and Ralna from Lawrence Welk.

Jeri Southern, Helen O'Connell and Eleanor Parker.

Hard to find.

Peace, Maxine; 9/14/06, 9:43 PM
sonicfrog said...: OOOHHH! I just remembered! When we were kids, we used to put a 45 on each ear and pretend we were aliens from outer space!; 9/15/06, 1:06 AM