#day124

Listen, I freely admit that I still collect physical media.  Yeah, books, but more specifically, physical music. And even MORE specifically than that, CD’s.

For instance, here’s what a section of my basement looks like:

That’s just the A’s through R’s, mind you. 

Here are the S’s through Various Artists.

Those of us who still collect these little 4.724 inch artifacts from yesteryear have taken loads & loads of shit from people who sold their CD’s years ago & are seemingly happy with the digital versions they “own” now. 

When they find out that we still collect them, there’s usually a moment where they ask, “But...WHYYYYY?” in that slightly whiney, condescending tone that’s passive-aggressively saying, “What the fuck is wrong with you?” beneath it all.

But guess what.

We really don’t. None of us do. We’re good with our decision. 

In the same way that these exact same people will cram themselves into a shop they rarely go to (except on Record Store Day) & spend hundreds of dollars on new vinyl they’ll rarely listen to on their overpriced, Urban Outfitters turntables.

In the same way that thousands of bands (old & new), as well as hundreds of record labels these days are fully embracing the cassette tape in order to get their sounds out there cheaply, 

which also means that there are consumers out there willing to buy an even MORE antiquated format than CD players to listen to them on.

And before you call “bullshit” on that last one, you should really check out Dead Media in Minneapolis.

Most of their inventory looks like THIS:

And SURPRISE, they’ve been around for at least 4 years now with no signs of stopping. 

So, yeah, say what you will about physical media. Especially about CD’s. Those of us who are still collecting have made our peace. And judging us isn’t doing anything but making YOU feel good.

Anyway, all that was a roundabout way to bring up my regret, ‘natch.

I was at the St. Paul Cheapo the other day.

And as I was knocking around the store for a replacement copy of my wife’s Kylie CD, I hit a corner of the store that I can’t resist checking out every time I’m in there: the Tom Waits section.  

Which is where I made a startling discovery.

Wait a minute. 

Was I reading that right?

Nope. That sticker was on every Tom Waits CD. Apparently, I either missed the announcement or knew about it & forgot that ANTI Records were remastering & reissuing his first 7 albums.

Regardless, I half-heartedly regret that I’ll probably end up flopping down $14+ SEVEN TIMES OVER to repurchase the entire catalog.

Even the ones that neither Tom nor I’m really that crazy about.

I say “half-heartedly” because I have no problem doing it. It’s fucking AWESOME. Especially if they’ve gone through & repackaged them with the original liner notes, artwork & lyric sheets.

Yeah, I’m that guy. Even in a truncated package, I still want it all.

But during all this, one tiny detail jumped out at me that I kind of regret. So, here’s the original cover to his 1975, double live album, “Nighthawks At The Diner”:

And here’s the remastered album cover:

Yeah, I know it’s a shitty picture (I blame me).

But let’s zoom into the bottom right quadrant there:

A little more...

Okay, so the original artwork had this strangely obvious body of a dude lying facedown outside of the diner.

And now, in the reissue, he’s mysterious gone.

Yeah, I know that probably seems like a non-issue, but something about them taking that out is regrettable to me for reasons I can’t quite put into words.

But, of course, I’ll try.

Was Tom looking at this image 40+ years later, thinking, “You know, maybe this is a little TOO disturbing?”

The self same Tom who’s created such chilling nightmare landscapes like “Dave The Butcher,” “What’s He Building” & “Oily Night?” 

Or tattooed horrifying lyrics onto our brains like, “The dogs are having someone who is screaming in the mud” & “We're all inside a decomposing train?”

Maybe that wasn’t the case. Maybe that dude’s actually dead & Tom thought it’d be in bad taste to keep him lying there.

Doesn’t really matter, I guess.