Classic Plastic June 2010

Classic Plastic by Cooper St. James
Cooper host Random Acts of Radio first Sunday 7PM on WLUW. Chicago’s longest running and only all audio documentary program.

So you don’t have forever to build your groovy 1000 plus album collection? You wanna impress the ladies with your rock library sometime soon? Well Sailor let me tell you a simple, practical and common cure for your ill. I have been down this road before and here’s a quick fix. You may get stuck with more than one Frampton Comes Alive or Rolling Stone’s Some Girls …but that’s the nature of this beast….oh a Burden. Can you imagine going from zero to hero in a few simple moves? Better yet.. a collection of 1000 albums can be built in a few weeks…

I’m talking… buying albums…. by the pound!!

Not only can you get red delicious apples by the pound but have you ever thought about albums….? Let me break this down for ya Johnny Apple Seed. Albums, as a whole, weigh a ton….they also take up much space. Sure there is a value to these, but a lot of time people are forced to part with their precious vinyl because it’s a hassle to move….and they just don’t listen to their dusty grooves like they once did. This is where you come into play… and yes.. Ebay or Craigslist is a big part of this dynamic….buy the collections! At any given time there are dozens for sale. Most sellers accurately list the category and condition of their records. The really only difficult part of buying an entire collection is taking delivery…..so plan on gassing up your mothers Oldsmobile and picking up these numbers yourself because they sure aren’t light (insert heavy metal joke here)…..you’ll lose your shirt if you have to pay for shipping. (ala Fed Ex, UPS blah blah blah) I recently paid 150 bucks for just under 200 classic rock albums… total weight was around 85 lbs…..(par for the course…cost and weight)

That’s about $1.75 per pound… of Grade A all beef 100 % rock and roll

Now, since your buying collections you’re bound to have repeats or duplicates from time to time. This can be a good thing, Slick. Here’s why… because with each duplicate you can cannibalize good parts to replace the bad parts. Say your original Frampton Comes Alive has a disk in good shape but the cover has teeth marks and cigar burns? Swap out what’s good with another duplicate. Right on! Hey I just thought of this too….its a collection and your collecting…why not trade your duplicates with the hippie across the hall in 4B? Better yet gather them all up and sell them off just the same.

A few trips to the neighboring town and a couple deals gone well…a few afternoons on ebay, craigslist and you may be ready to open your very own AM radio station circa 1973! Just remember to get valid collection descriptions from the seller, locate a buddy that can help load up and you are well on your way…. pound for pound to a great collection … little effort and for pennies on the dollar….Shine on you crazy diamond!

Classic Plastic by Cooper St. James

COLUMN: CLASSIC PLASTIC

AUTHOR: COOPER ST. JAMES host of WLUW’s Random Acts of Radio

DATE: MAY 2010

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking…so dig deep, the season has begun for some good old fashion album collecting! Having just spun another successful National Record Store Day (April 17th^th) and with retail monitoring services announcing a 30% increase in vinyl albums sales over the last 5 years…its obvious that these round 12 inched plastic things are here to stay….or rather rolling and rocking their way on back, baby!

My 7 year old nephew calls them…giant CDs

For you collectors, I suggest a few tips in getting your best bang for your buck making every penny spent a sound investment. Collect to please yourself and nobody else...stay thirsty my friend. What we will do over the next few months in this new column dedicated to sweet vinyl is chat about albums…very simply the hobby, the culture, the music, the art and all things side A to side B. So let us call this monthly column CLASSIC PLASTIC from here on in!

In the future I will recount the hours spent knee deep in vinyl and what can be done to distinguish the good from the bad and the ugly. (Very little is bad by the way) I don’t wanna come across as “sensitive pony tail guy” but with the average used record price of 4 dollars ….how can you go wrong? Just start and start with your ears, eyes and heart…building a collection starts with one single album….indeed that journey of a thousand miles starts with a single foot step…oh damn.

Future sides of this column will discuss collecting by the artist (ala family tree), collecting by labels, collecting certain periods or genres and most definitely we will discuss collecting by what I really dig….artwork. Let me tip my hand right here and now, my biggest pet peeve, and a mistake that I surely have made….

Don’t judge an album by its cover!!

….remember this maxim dear Johnny collector…for as you know not 1 but 2 of last century’s greatest albums have been plain covered…NO ART…zero graphics to judge. Can you name them? That’s right… Spinal Tap’s Black Album (that’s the one about the glove)….and I think the Beatles did an album that was white or something like that. It also goes with out saying that album art will be a huge currency for debate in future columns…we can get down for years just on that alone.

So Classic Plastic is a column to discuss just that… the world of album collecting, listening to our precious albums, the culture, tips, music all abound and mostly just random stuff about ALL THINGS FLAT AND PLASTIC! Yes, those things that transform vibrated sound waves from plastic to memories, that were packaged in their Sundays best, many of which were over produced, and some your mother tossed out when you moved away to college...can now be found at your neighborhood record store for 4 bucks….and you love them, don’t you? Cha cha cha.