So I witnessed something depressing today.

[The Curmudgeon]

Maybe it's something we should all do at a certain time in our life, I dunno. Not wanting to sound like Holden Caulfield or anything, but it still depressed the hell out of me.

I was in a second hand music store; a real grimey, old school shop under a bridge that deals in, mostly, punk, rock and blues records. I've found some awesome rare stuff in there, as well as the first Arcade Fire EP ("with poster!"). I love the place.

Anyway, I was standing near the till when a guy came in with a full box of CD's. The guy was about 30, and he was selling what looked like his entire music collection. There was a ton of metal in there, CD singles, EP's, limited edition stuff.. a sign of an obvious passion and love for music. And he was getting rid of it all.

The guy at the till browsed through some of it, saying things like "haven't seen this one in a while" etc. The guy said "yeah, it's all just taking up space now. I've got them on my computer now anyway."

He walked away with £40. FORTY POUNDS. For what looked like a near 20 year odd obsession.

So am I the only one who found this a sad state of affairs? I've dedicated an entire room of my house for my CD collection, and I get that not everyone would do that. Maybe he's got kids now or something. Maybe his partner is a bitch that hates metal. Who knows? But to just give all that stuff away for money that won't make any real difference... man. How tragic.

[trashcanman]

Yeah, I don't sell my music for that exact reason. If anything, I'd rather just give it away. The idea of selling my CD's for under a dollar apiece so some dick can resell them all for 8 bucks without any credit for the sale going to the artist to the artist or anything doesn't sit with me. Used CD's used to be really cheap (and in some stores, they still are), but in my area they are sometimes more expensive than buying them brand new on Amazon or Ebay, which is just ridiculous. And if you need an idea of how stubborn I am with refusing to part with music I bought and paid for, I STILL HAVE MY CASSETTE COLLECTION.

[The Curmudgeon]

Ha, good for you! Your wife must be pretty understanding about that sort of thing. I know guys who get nagged and nagged to clear away all their "shit."

That record store I was in is actually pretty decent when it comes to paying out; they give you half of what they sell the CD back for. Most albums are £3, so you'd get £1.50 for selling it to them. Rarer or more popular stuff (Bowie, Pink Floyd, Beatles etc) goes up to £4 and £5, and it's £2 and £2.50 for those. Seems fair enough to me (not that I've ever sold anything).

There's a new place opened in town called "CEX" (no idea why), and it's this huge fucking three storey building with games, consoles, CD's, DVD's.. you name it. They've got stores all over the UK. Now, how much would you expect if you sold, say, this lot?

R.E.M - Automatic for the People
Prince - Purple Rain
Blur - Blur
Manic Street Preachers - Holy Bible
Weezer - Blue
Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
Placebo - Black Market Music
Joy Division - Joy Division
David Bowie - Low
Ash - 1977

That's just a random example, but it's the same idea. Ten full albums. How much would you expect for that lot? Well, with these fuckers you get.... 10... PENCE. Seriously, ten fucking PENCE. That's, like, what, 15 cents? Something like that? And yet the place is always full. Who the fuck would give their stuff away for that kind of money?

[trashcanman]