I finally unpacked this USB turntable I’ve had sitting here for...oh, I don’t want to say it’s been two years, so I won’t say that. Then I unpacked one of three boxes of albums I’ve had in the basement for...oh, I don’t want to say ever since I’ve been in this house, so I won’t say that.
What an amazing treasure chest! I found things that I didn’t even remember I had, like a Bob Marley picture disc. Remember picture discs? I believe I have all of the B-52s albums prior to “Cosmic Thing,” and I’ve got several J. Geils Band. Some Boomtown Rats, a couple by a power pop band called the Producers (I had totally forgotten about them!), a bunch of Blondie, Cheap Trick’s “In Color” with a gorgeous Robin Zander and Thom Peterson on the cover, the Pretenders, Tom Petty...on and on, and this was just one box. I was beside myself with joy to see all of these old friends.
In the box I opened I also found some 45s that I had. I’ve got some obscure punk ones that I don’t remember at all (I’ll be curious to play those!), and some much older ones.
I don’t recall where I got some of these older 45s. One of the gems is “(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone” by the Monkees, in the original sleeve. The B-side is “I’m a Believer.” That came out in 1966, when I was four years old, so I must have inherited some of these from my sister or some cousins. (Oddly enough, Wikipedia lists “Stepping Stone” as being the B-side, but on my record sleeve, it clearly shows “I’m a Believer” as the B-side. Hmm.) I have some that I know that I bought myself, like my namesake song, “Beth” by KISS (“Detroit Rock City” as the B-side!), and a single by the Clash, and quite a few others. I was thrilled to see that I have the 45 of “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It),” considering my recent Stones kick. All in all, I had pretty good taste in music, even back then...but there are still some embarrassments in there, like a Shaun Cassidy 45. Who put that in my record collection and why do they hate me?! 
I took a few pictures of the 45s for you. I’ll take some of the albums, too, as I continue to unpack them. After being used to CDs for so long, I can’t begin to tell you how amazing it was to hold these albums in my hand and see the beautiful cover art. So large and vivid! What a great reminder of such a fun time in my life...listening to albums with Cousin Shane, learning all the lyrics, being so caught up in the punk/new wave explosion, which was such an exciting time in music. College daze, thoughts of listening to those albums in my dorm room. It makes me smile to think about it. Speaking of college daze, I also came across some pictures of when I did some modeling for my friend Barb, a photojournalism major at Ball State. I’ll scan those and put them up here. I got a kick out of seeing them, and I didn’t realize I still had them!
I try not to live in the past, but I sure enjoyed visiting there today.
