Tons Of Vinyl Being Tossed From Former Williamsburg Record Shop
- Thread starter Wigwam Jones
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Wigwam Jones
Caesar non supra grammati
Maybe. But how would you know? Were you there? Did you look at them?
Well, the former owners didn't feel they were worth moving....
"Hey @Gothamist - Those are the lousy records we left behind 5 months ago when we moved out."
I know one man's trash is another's treasure, so perhaps they could have just opened the doors and let the locals have them gratis prior to moving.
"Hey @Gothamist - Those are the lousy records we left behind 5 months ago when we moved out."
I know one man's trash is another's treasure, so perhaps they could have just opened the doors and let the locals have them gratis prior to moving.
Wigwam Jones
Caesar non supra grammati
They also said that records could not be recycled, which is untrue. So I'm not going to put a lot of stock in what they say.
Wigwam Jones
Caesar non supra grammati
Yeah, I understand. I was at Oakland University today. I was like a kid in a candy store; tons of virtually unplayed records for next to nothing. I put out the notice to SMAC, but no one showed. Aside from a couple of patchouli-smelling hipsters, I was the only guy looking at the records.
I guess I'm kind of ticked at the way this company chose to deal with their responsibilities, though. Apparently they just moved out and left what they didn't want behind for the landlords to clean out. Nice. Sorry, I think they have at least the responsibility to clean up after themselves, and if it had come to "no one wants these," then donate them or send them for recycling.
TheNLOwner
Analog Tape Addict!
There'll be tons of diggers saving whatever can be saved though. Whether that would be recycling or re-using, it's up to them and the amount of damage on the records... May the digging begin!
How'd that work out for you? did you get some good stuff?? I thought about going after I saw the CL post yesterday, and totally forgot about it. :bash:
But it's OK, as I'm in a slim down mode right now and looking to move stuff out, not bring more in. Plus Spotify is working out really well for me by allowing me to listen and audition w/o owning.
Agreed! They should have called the Girl Scouts!!
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Wigwam Jones
Caesar non supra grammati
If you read the article, apparently, the majority were tossed into dumpsters, and the garbage men showed up and got into an argument with the pickers, ending up by covering the dumpsters and refusing to let the pickers pick. Kind of sad.
Wigwam Jones
Caesar non supra grammati
Worked out really well. Over 100 new records, and by new I mean in M to M- condition for real. Lots of things I particularly love, like Jean-Pierre Rampal, early recordings on Monitor, Counterpoint-Esoteric, and other classic but defunct labels. I passed by a lot of excellent classical music, but got more than my share of others that I love. About two dozen E. Powers Biggs organ albums, another favorite. The guy cut me a huge break on the price as well. Less than 1/2 the advertised price on CL.
terrya
Active Member
UPDATE II: Mike Davis, owner of Academy Records, has responded. He confirms they aren't the ones tossing the old vinyl, it's likely the new tenant or landlord. He tells us, "I know people get really excited when they see a dumpster full of records, but these are just the ones that weren't worth schlepping to our new spot. There are undoubtedly some decent records in there somewhere, but it would probably take a lot of work to find them!" He added, "Despite what the outraged people in the comments section seem to think, records can't be recycled or melted down to make new records (a practice abandoned by labels decades ago due to poor quality and defects)."
Well that may have been spurred more by a concern for liability than anything else. The last thing they want is to get sued by someone who injured themselves digging through the stuff inside their dumpster....
ra7c7er
Hoarding records since 1990
Nearly every vinyl presser buys vinyl (or knows where to have it recycled) if you have enough of it. If that place had enough "garbage" vinyl to fill a dumpster I guarantee with a couple phone calls they could have sold the stuff to a recycler for more than the nothing they got putting it in the dumpster.
Blackrock recyclings offices are less than 15 blocks from the dumpster where these were left. Not to mention the 9 other recyclers that deal in vinyl recycling in New York.
Blackrock recyclings offices are less than 15 blocks from the dumpster where these were left. Not to mention the 9 other recyclers that deal in vinyl recycling in New York.
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Wigwam Jones
Caesar non supra grammati
Well, as others have said, he's wrong. Vinyl records can indeed be recycled; even if the vinyl is not used to make new records.
In addition, my previous comment also stands, but I'll strengthen it somewhat. It takes a sleazy tenant to leave behind inventory when they move, putting the onus on the landlord to clean up after them. You leave it like you found it.
I'm not impressed with Mike Davis or Academy Records. If I lived in NY, I'd tell him so in person.
fred soop
Super Member
Is this going to be the test record for the new Shure V115-VI?
Dennman6
Active Member
And right on top of the dumpster pile is "Eileen Farrell Sings Irish Songs", a 1947 Columbia Masterworks 78rpm album I've had since 1980. It's a good album of an up-and-coming opera star doing what greats like John McCormack & Marilyn Horne did. Popular music to sell the voice to the public(although in McCormack's case he was well established & continued to alternate between operatic, popular, ballad singing on records). That album isn't junk, but so sorry it isn't a rare blues artist. God forbid it should be some Robert Johnson Vocalians in the usual ratty condition they sell for at $2,000 a disc! In a thrift store, swap meet, or antique mall that Farrell album would be $2-5 today, so maybe not worth carting to the next location of this vendor. But Farrell was a fine singer & if the right collector happened across the records in the dumpster they wouldn't be in that photo. I actually "rescue" albums of similar repertoire(78 or 33) from Goodwill, Salvation Army, DAV, etc.-even if I already have a copy on my record shelves. It might be in better shape than what I've got, & if not it goes to a "re-homing area". If I know someone who likes the music it'll go to them at some point. Granted, the classical/opera/ethnic/niche or oddities are loved by a minority of music lovers. However the store owner was right about not being able to recycle records nowadays-especially 78s. The record companies had shellac scrap drives during WWII, which resulted in some of the crummiest sounding 78rpm records ever produced. Records from the 1920s & 1930s sounded better than some(not all) of the 1940s Decca, RCA Victor, & Columbia 78s. But hey, it helped defeat the Axis powers...
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