I’ve boxed up a number of old vinyl records for sale, most of which I’ll never listen to again. At the same time, I’ve held onto some vinyl that I either have sentimental attachments to — old Beatles, Dylan and Springsteen, for instance — and some records that have yet to hit digital.
My wife, for Hanukkah and Christmas, bought me a neat little device that is allowing me to transfer some of this material to my iPod — an interesting array of old punk and ’60s and ’70s obscurities that I used to listen to obsessively when the turntable was a regular part of my life.
Over the last couple of days, I’ve transferred some long-lost records:
Jack Lee, Jack Lee’s Greatest Hit Vol. 1. A former member of The Nerves (which featured Peter Case, as well), Lee put out a solo album in the early 1980s. It got no traction and, despite an ad campaign in Rolling Stone (where it came to my attention), it disappeared. Too bad. The album features some great rave-ups and Lee’s version of “Hanging on the Telephone,” which he wrote.
Jim Carroll Band, Dry Dreams. Everyone rightly remembers Catholic Boy, often called the last great punk album, but Carroll’s follow up deserves its own space in the post-punk pantheon. (Album No. 3, I Write Your Name, which I have on cassette, has some moments but is probably deservedly lost to the digital age.)
Bob Seger. Seger used to have a band called the Bob Seger System, which put out three classics of pre-punk Detroit boogie — Noah, Mongrel and Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man (there may be others, but these are the ones I have) — that may not be lost, but deserve a much greater audience than they have at this point. Same for his Smokin’ OPs, an album of covers, and Seven.
Good Rats, Tasty. Yes, you can find some of their material on disc (through the band’s web site), but I have the vinyl and now it’s on my iPod.
Great stuff. I look forward to moving Mink DeVille, Tom Verlaine and some of the obscure wonders in my old vinyl collection to digital.
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- Read poetry at The Subterranean.
- Certainties and Uncertainties a chapbook by Hank Kalet, will be published in November by Finishing Line Press. It can be ordered here.
- Suburban Pastoral, a chapbook by Hank Kalet, available here.
Hank Kalet 