Top 10 Vinyl Memories
Apart from a brief 2 year stint when I moved back home in between jobs and before getting married, I have been out of my parents house for over 20 years. It took ’till today to be reunited with my records. At the last minute, I was able to arrange for a friend to pick up and deliver three boxes containing a snapshot of my life. How great to take a look through and remember that time.
I must admit that I was pretty scornful of my husbands desire for a record player. I mean, who listens to records anymore? But you know what? He was right to want one. It’s a real trip to put one of those old warped pieces of black plastic on the turntable and hear that sound. You know the one. A bit scratchy, with the odd skip… And whenever anyone comes over for dinner you can guess what happens. Just like in 1980, everyone ends up in the “record” room spinning their favourites. Maybe this kind of entertainment isn’t quite dead yet.
Going through those old records, here are my top 10 memories:
- First ever album purchase, Bat Out of Hell – Meatloaf.
- First concert, The Cult at Masonic Temple in Toronto.
- Dancing around to Sweet Transvestite, Rocky Horror Picture Show before I know what it was about.
- Watching Blue Peter, Don’t Walk Past at a high school dance.
- Jon Cryer in Pretty in Pink, dancing around a used record store to Try a Little Tenderness by Otis Redding.
- Herb Albert and the Tijuania Brass playing at my parents parties.
- From the where are they now file, Thijs van Leer lulling my father to sleep in his chair.
- JD Roberts (yes that’d be John D. Roberts) and co-host Jeannie Becker on The New Music – for some reason reminding me of The Boomtown Rats, I Don’t Like Mondays.
- Performing the entire soundtrack to Grease with Shelley Day in our family room.
- Rockin it out to AC/DC, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.
I guess it won’t be so bad heading to the Great Glebe Garage Sale to pick up a few more LPs in a few weeks.
In case you were wondering, the first one I put on? “The Early Beatles: Eleven of Their 1964 American Hit Recordings“. Turns out it’s worth about $200 today. Good stuff I say. But please, don’t tell my husband I said so.
