[Today: How I magically turned a three-piece suit into my first turntable...]
“Congratulations on your college graduation,” said my dad as he slipped me an envelope. “That’s a $300 gift certificate for you to get a new suit.” There was just one problem – not only did I not want a suit, one of the main reasons I’d gone to Journalism school was so I would never have to wear a suit professionally (mission accomplished, btw). I often didn’t wear shoes to class, so the last thing on my wishlist was a new suit. Of course my dad – rather removed from the day-to-day reality of my life since his divorce from my mom a full decade earlier – had no idea about any of this, and proudly handed me the gift certificate as if he were giving me the keys to a new sports car.
I forced a curdled smile and thanked him for the thoughtful gift. But my mind was working a hundred miles an hour trying to figure out a solution to this unexpected twist. Meier & Frank – the Eugene area store where the certificate was from – was an old-fashioned department store, and in addition to clothes, they sold housewares of all kinds, including stereo equipment. Once my brain settled on that fact, I started to think that I might be able to get myself something truly useful, even though the ‘for’ line on the certificate boldly proclaimed “NEW SUIT!”
I needn’t have worried about that, as the guy in home electronics barely even glanced at the certificate as he rang me up. I got a brand new Sony turntable for $150 and a Discman™ for another $150, making quick work of my stipend. This was the first turntable I’d owned since a Fisher-Price model I’d had as a kid, and even though I’d been buying records on the cheap throughout college, these were housed in a community record collection that my friends and I kept in Bobby Evans’ “record room” (more on this later) so I didn’t have much in the way of my own vinyl. I grabbed twenty bucks I no doubt couldn’t afford, and headed to the local record stores, House Of Records and Happy Trails, to pick up a few pieces of vinyl to play on my newest toy.
One of the albums I bought that day was After The Gold Rush by Neil Young. I’m not sure why I picked that album, but for $2.95 it was mine. I obviously knew who Neil Young was, but my parents didn’t have any of his records while I was growing up, so this was the first Neil album that I’d lived around. I still think it’s one of his coolest album covers, and a pretty good visual summation of his sound. He looks demented, but the old woman that appears to grow out of his back lends the photo a surreal feel and undercuts its scarier bits. It’s the picture of schizophrenia, and Neil’s music has always felt that way to me – gentle and unassuming on one hand, angry and out of control on the other.
I looked at that album cover for a long time before I dropped the needle on the record. Once I did, I heard a plaintive voice singing about having mother nature on the run in the 1970′s, and I leaned back in the small, sunshiney bedroom that I’d soon be leaving for “the real world” and let the music wash over me. I’ve bought dozens of Neil Young albums in the intervening years, but After The Gold Rush has always held a special place in my heart. I guess it’s true what they say: you never forget your first.
Tags: After The Gold Rush, Eugene OR, Neil Young, University of Oregon
3 September 2007 at 8:23 pm |
Alchemy at its finest!!
I think you made the right choice, Amigo…
6 September 2007 at 10:55 pm |
give me back my money!
7 September 2007 at 7:54 am |
Nice try, but I actually told my Dad how I spent that money, and he took it really well. Twelve years later (or three years ago, depending on how you’re counting) I finally would buy my first suit, for my wedding. My dad was in the audience for the big day and – knowing how I spent my college graduation money – I have to think he was especially pleased to finally see me in a suit. He knows I got about three million miles out of that record player, and he’s always been good natured when I profusely thank him for getting me my first turntable for college graduation.
If I had to guess I’d say that the comment above is my brother doing his best imitation of our dad…