Old Records Never Die, Eric Spitznagel
Old Records Never Die, Eric Spitznagel
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Old Records Never Die
One Man’s Quest for His Vinyl and His Past

Author: Eric Spitznagel, Jeff Tweedy

Narrator: Ramiz Monsef

Unabridged: 8 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/12/2016

Synopsis

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, twenty 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.

About Eric Spitznagel

Eric Spitznagel, author, humorist, and journalist, writes for major publications, including the Compare and Contrast column for the New York Times Magazine, and is the author of several books, including The Junk Food Companion.

About Jeff Tweedy

Jeff Tweedy is the founding member and leader of the Grammy Award–winning American rock band Wilco, and before that he was the cofounder of the alt‐country band Uncle Tupelo. He is considered is one of contemporary music’s most accomplished songwriters, musicians, and performers. He has released four albums, written original songs for thirteen Wilco albums, and is the author of the bestsellers Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc. and How to Write One Song.

About Ramiz Monsef

Ramiz Monsef has spent several seasons as a member of Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s acting company, and he is the playwright of OSF’s 2013 production The Unfortunates. He has also appeared onstage in New York and in numerous regional productions.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jason

I’m old enough to have lived through a few different commercial music formats and am guilty of having had conversations in the last six months lamenting the change in how we find and experience music. I’m aware of how ridiculous it can sound to younger generations or those who just weren’t into musi......more

Goodreads review by Ensiform

The author, facing a sort of midlife crisis, one day realizes that he must have his old vinyl records back. The treasure trove of 2,000 vinyl LPs, marked on, stepped on, defaced, and smelling vaguely of weed, which he dumped once CDs were the future, suddenly called to him. And no, he didn't want co......more

Quotes

“The perfect combination of a vinyl completist’s dream and nightmare.” Patton Oswalt, New York Times bestselling author

“When he searches for the records he lost and sold, Spitznagel is trying to return to a tangible past, and he details that process with great sensitivity and impact.” Dave Eggers, New York Times bestsellling author

“Calling someone’s work Nick Hornby-like is a bit cliché, but Spitznagel gives high fidelity to Hornby’s feel for music and its relationship to life.” New York Post

“It’s a classic, High Fidelity-esque revelation that has Spitznagel in the midst of a ‘what does it all mean?’ moment wherein he begins exploring what-if situations and finding that things often pan out just as they should.” Pop Matters

“Think of it as an updated version of High Fidelity.” Pause and Play.com

“Spitznagel knows that a good story can sometimes lead to a greater truth.” KQED

“Ramiz Monsef’s perfect everyman voice—resonant with the inflections of old-time political hacks and old school comedians—couldn’t be more well suited to the task. Its air of righteous indignation and seasoned wariness is the perfect vehicle for these vinyl memories.” AudioFile

“A funny and heartfelt memoir about music collecting that gives birth to a new branch of social science: Gen-X archaeology.” Neal Pollack, author of Alternadad

“A touching exploration of loss: of opportunities, of loved ones, of the ability to even remotely discern what’s hip. Hilarious and heartfelt, this is a book for anyone who has ever spent entire years of their lives haunting record stores.” Jancee Dunn, author of But Enough about Me

Awards

  • Amazon Best Books of the Year
  • Hudson Booksellers Best Book Award
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