In terms of possessions, I have few of real sentimental value. When we moved from Connecticut to Indiana, we purged my entire house and what was left was put into storage(and then a 1/3 of that was stolen when the methies broke into it).But certain things have always stayed 100% by my side always.
My guitar. Records. Photos. A stuffed cow I’ve have since I was 16. A little something from all my family that have passed on; mom’s earrings, dad’s poncho.
There’s one other thing that I am the proud owner of and every once in a while I like to dig it out and think back to that glorious day.
Before “Nevermind”, there was “Pretty Hate Machine”.
It’s March 1989 and I just got my first paying job, a brand new record store opening near my house. The manager needed a crew and I lucked out. We had s many perks but the best part is that we really could open up any cd we wanted to play in the store. The day Pretty Hate Machine arrived in our store(October) changed everything.
Until then, I listened to college radio and classic rock. Nine Inch Nails reached in and struck that nerve in the dark corner of my brain reserved for the things that go to the grave with you. It was like the music just fused with my soul like Venom does with Spiderman.
In the spring of 1990, NIN started coming to Miami a LOT. I saw them a lot, too, with some of the best emerging industrial acts. Uncle Sam’s, the indie music shop in Ft Lauderdale, had nabbed an in-store appearance with the band.
My copy of Pretty Hate Machine signed by the original NIN studio band. Oh yes, be jealous.
I’m not sure how we coordinated it, but me and 3 of my co-workers took my piece of shit car without air conditioning and the saggy cloth roof all the way to Ft. Lauderdale to meet them. Little did we know how close to greatness we stood that day. I had them sign my PHM, a tshirt I had made and another cd, the cd-single for Head Like A Hole. The t-shirt met an untimely fate many moons ago when it was mistaken for a dirty cleaning rag, but the music stayed with me at all times.
I don’t really care about celebrity as much as I used to, and I doubt this would have any actual value to anyone. I know there are collectors, I just don’t see anyone forking over any amount of money significant enough for me to give it up.
But, you know, I’ll consider it!