OLD RECORDS NEVER DIE

OLD RECORDS NEVER DIE                          ERIC SPITZNAGEL

High Fidelity meets Killing Yourself to Live in this memoir of one man's search for his lost record collection. As he finds himself within spitting distance of middle-age, journalist Eric Spitznagel feels acutely the loss of…something. Freedom? Maybe. Coolness? Could be. The records he sold in a financial pinch? Definitely. To find out for sure, he sets out on a quest to find  the original vinyl artifacts from his past. Not just copies. The exact same records: The Bon Jovi record with his first girlfriend's phone number scrawled on the front sleeve. The KISS Alive II he once shared with his little brother. The Replacements Let It Be he’s pretty sure, 20 years later, would still smell like weed.

As he embarks on his hero's journey, he reminisces about the actual records, the music, and the people he listened to it with—old girlfriends, his high school pals, and, most poignantly, his father and his young son. He explores the magic of music and memory as he interweaves his adventures in record- culture with questions about our connection to our past, whether we can ever recapture it, and whether we would want to if we could.
Foreword by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
For me this book touched home because of two things, one I enjoy collecting and listening to music, and second because of some water damage I lost about 50 or so records that I have been collecting since the 70’s, 80’ and 90’s. Some I don’t think I will be able to replace because they were hard to find back then and now there is a new generation getting into vinyl. This is good and bad for someone like me who has been with the help of my wife lugging my albums, stereo equipment from one move to another since 1978. That in itself is scree. I enjoyed parts of this book and could relate to some of it. I am at a point now where my wife and family have accepted my records, to the point that now people give me some. Which I take with much thanks because you don’t know what you will find in the stack. For each person it is something different and unique. This book has moments where there are funny times and time that make you think back to a move and where some people left or gave away their records I took mine, and my wife would make a face but after are 5th move she just knew I was taking them. We never argued and for us it is memories of high school and dances and of course the parents saying turn down that noise and how can you listen to that. It is not music. For me that is what I got out of this book memories that I am still making and hopefully will pass on to my grandchildren. A good book. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 4 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com