Nightmares of Record Maintenance: The most beat-up CD/LP/tape you own

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Thinking about that "best music bargains ever" led me to this: records that you find at garage sales or in boxes or CD stores that you bought despite the completely atrocious condition of the sleeves or cases they were packaged in. That, or sleeves you had that got ruined by neglect/accidents/disaster/drunken roommates/etc.

― Nate Patrin, Friday, 7 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I got near-40-year-old LP copies of The Who Sing My Generation and Happy Jack where the lower 1/4 of the sleeves are completely eaten away to the point where there is nothing but cardboard, strings of it falling off the spine in a fashion not unlike leprosy. The LPs themselves were stained with mold, and I had to clean 'em off with 409. But they were free!

― Nate Patrin, Friday, 7 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Garage sale - a barely listenable tape of 'Red' by Communards, which, despite having the outer cover for 'Red', had the liner notes for their debut album instead. Which wasn't so bad, seeing as how I had the debut album without the liner notes anyway. Oh, and a manky as fcuk copy of Skylarking by XTC which was in the HMV sale. £4.99, despite the fact that the lid and the base of the case were no longer on speaking terms.

Record getting wrecked was when one of my mates dropped a Select cover CD ('The Deep End', to mark their redesign thing) before I'd actually opened it. The CD worked fine, but the spindle bits were smashed to pieces...

― Mr Swygart, Friday, 7 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Also, the back cover of Happy Jack has the following written in blue ballpoint pen on the back: "SAM Combs FEB 14, 69 2:36 AM" What does this mean? The date and time Sam lost his virginity? First dropped acid? Was born?

― Nate Patrin, Friday, 7 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I bought a copy of a pre-Stax era Staples Singer record called "America the Beautiful" for a dollar that is completely fucked, inside and out. The record has this really loud hiss running over the entire thing, and the sleeve is taped together at the spine. Which is a real bummer, cuz there's songs on there I can't find anywhere else...

― Shaky Mo Collier, Friday, 7 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I have an old Trashcan Sinatras tape, bought grotty and used at age 14 or so and then played to complete and total annihilation: the tape- speed flanging and pitch-warbling and disintegrating hiss are so severe that I once half-convinced someone it was a bootleg of the near-finished post-Loveless album that Shields scrapped.

― nabisco%%, Friday, 7 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

My 10 years old tape copy of 'Ogden's Nut Gone Flake' which is aparently unavailable on CD in the States. I'm sure if I looked hard enough I could find it, but it always seems to slip my mind except for the occasion every few months when I want to hear it.

― David Beckhouse, Saturday, 8 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

A second hand copy of wire's 154 album. Its in an attrocious condition. The previous owner obviously poured some cofee over the sleeve and its scratched BUT WHAT A RECORD!

― Julio Desouza, Saturday, 8 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

--Also, the back cover of Happy Jack has the following written in blue ballpoint pen on the back: "SAM Combs FEB 14, 69 2:36 AM" What does this mean? The date and time Sam lost his virginity? First dropped acid? Was born?--

The birthdate of Donner Party/Quasi frontman Sam Coomes?

― Jody Beth Rosen, Saturday, 8 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Most beat-up? Prolly my old Appetite for Destruction LP, which my dad took out his aggression on when I was 13. I saved the shards as a souvenir.

― Jody Beth Rosen, Saturday, 8 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

My brand new copy of 'The Empire Strikes Back' soundtrack. Came home, played disc one twenty times, put second disc on whilst leaving first carefully propped up against wardrobe, went down for tea. Hot sun shines on record, making it L-shaped. Cried. My dad surreptitiously wrapped it in a wet towel and ironed it flat. Slight krrrch noise on run-in but still played to death twenty years on...

― marinecreature, Saturday, 8 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The day of my last School Cert exam (15) not really understanding what gin was I took my one true high school love home with me and drank all mum's gin in a few minutes. The last thing I remember he was holding my hair back over the toilet and I was telling him to go away. Then I woke up and my Axemen record (my favourite) was smashed into pieces and had pink vomit over it. I vaguely remember thinking that I could get the kinks out of the record (not the band - lumps from leaving it in the sun) by 'very gently' bending it back into shape.

When I felt better, I washed off the record and kept it in its sleeve in pieces until I could buy a new one. I still have the smashed pieces and the replacement.

Although my room stank from exhaled alcohol and pink vomit, my mother very kindly said to me 'you must have found those exams exhausting.'

I had alcohol poisoning for a week; it was like having the flu.

I also have a barely audible (from hiss) copy of the Chris Montez 'Let's Dan' single - it's great.

― maryann, Sunday, 9 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

And Duane - I still have the smashed pieces of the best of Black Sabbath too.

― maryann, Sunday, 9 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Smashed records are the trophies of my greatest achievements

― maryann, Sunday, 9 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

My record of Aladdin Sane is in unbelievably bad shape. It is not round any more. My brother smashed one record. That of LA Woman is too crackly too hear anything. Luckily we now have these on CD. Also the other day my bro bought a CD of Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii and there was nothing on it. But it cost 300/- (you don't know what that means, do you? about 2 quid 50) so it didn't matter.

― Anna Rose, Monday, 10 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

What my brother smashed was Foxtrot.

― Anna Rose, Tuesday, 11 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

my copy of DJSS - breakbeat pressure volume 2 is in very bad shape, cost a quid tho, so cant complain too much. i saw a copy of kraftwerks the man machine in a charity shop in shipley, but there were cocks drawn on their heads on the cover

― gareth, Tuesday, 11 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"We are the dildos"

― Nate Patrin, Tuesday, 11 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

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