Losing Records

It's since been replaced on cd.

Good luck finding a replacement for that on vinyl doorag!

Also, the Pearl Jam-listenin' Tom Frank-lookalike freak who I roomed next door to my junior year borrowed my copy of Pere Ubu's Terminal Tower and then SAID he lost it, which was totally infuriating since I had to wait for five years until all that material went back in print, IIRC.

Doug - more than likely your Tortoise rec was stolen 'cause you know that one's "rare" and all.

i know *exactly* who has these and i'd like to wish proportional ills upon them (except the one who has kraftwerk coz it wasn't his fault). i'd like copies of the cds again but can never feel inspired enough to pick something up that i once owned when there's new music to hear. i should make the effort for "computer world", though.

I wouldn't mind but I bought 2 copies of the sodding thing and gave one of them to my then girlfriend, and sahe didn't even *like* Theatre Of Hate!

Also MIA (nicked from my car by some bastard) my tape of Play by The Cure.

Stolen: my tape with Critical Beatdown on one side and the JVC Force album on the other side, which was clearly the greatest tape ever. Andrew L------, you can run but you cannot hide, you thieving bastard; I know about you making out with that 15-year-old when you were a senior in college, and I know you stole my tape, and you probably stole my brother's bike, too.

Recently found: my Jackie Wilson greatest hits CD. I had lent it to our graphics department, but didn't remember. I spent HOURS scouring the basement for that thing.

This happened: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/dispossessed/Content?oid=879967.

Advice welcome. Thanks.

I read your blog post, and I don't know how I would handle it. My first impulse would be to never collect again. After a while, I would buy a record. I would have a collection again. It would be smaller but the quality would be greater.

Happier story --

I found the Crazy Horse cd behind the dresser when I moved. (I'd looked back there plenty of times) I'd kept the case for a few years knowing nobody could/would have stolen it and refusing to believe things vanish.

^^^*tear*

Thanks for your response.

Though it's nothing like losing everything to theft, with a clear sense of injustice and violation, I had a house burn down a little over ten years ago. Lost many (many) hundreds of LPs and 45s. Felt weirdly dead to the loss, though, as I lost so many other things, too (years of artwork, letters, photos, family heirlooms, etc., etc., etc.). Over time I slowly eased myself back into accumulating shit, but with a pall over the process, as half the time I find something fantastic, it's the ghost of something I used to own.

Inhibitionist, maybe you don't need a lawyer....if the company is being shady about it, it is no longer a "business dispute", is it?

u s steel: A lot of people are advising that I sue the movers. What are you suggesting?

inhibitionist - i read your story yesterday, and it's pretty damn gutting. I'm no legal expert, but I'm sure you can find a good lawyer through a friend or something. i don't know what the deal is since you didn't have insurance on it, but that shouldn't matter, right? it was still their fault

Ugh that's horrible. I've actually given some thought as to what I would do if I lost the bulk of my collection, and I think it's just about the only thing that would get me to go fully digital. I've always had a collector impulse (as well as a need to regularly blow off steam via shopping) and had whittled both down to pretty much music-only. I have no idea what I could possibly replace that with, but re-starting a collection seems like it would be way too painful.

Since publishing this story, I've heard many people relate similar tales of botched moves. This phenomenon is more common than I realized. It's hard to find a moving company that isn't corrupt and/or inept, apparently.

Thanks for the tips and responses.

brutal. Hope something gets resolved. bumnp this if you get news.

I really feel ya on those Muslimgauze records.

the worst thing I have had straight up stolen was a copy of PGR's awesome 2nd LP The Flickering Of Sowing Time, took me years to find another copy and the replacement has tons of surface noise on side A. Once a disgruntled roommate also made off with around 5 CDs, but they were replaceable.

A few months ago I opened up my CD of Bongwater's Power Of Pussy and the CD was gone. I probably left it at the radio station, I hope. Fortunately a friend has a copy I can burn, that one is hard to find also.