From the Dumpster

Several months ago, Jolee and Shayna's favorite restaurant, the Regal Beagle, closed its doors. It is now a posh nightspot called "Echelon" with chandeliers over its bar. It used to be a family restaurant with a replica of the Partridge Family bus inside, with tables on the bus at which one could dine. The food was average, but the 70's-themed eatery was fun, with disco and other 1970's genres playing on the sound system, and decor straight out of the era.

About a month or so ago, a huge dumpster was perched out front and a loud ruckus emerged from the space formerly known as the Regal Beagle. The bus was being cut apart and removed piecemeal into the giant receptacle.

No, I did not take scrap metal, no, not at all. However, a few weeks later, the dumpster overflowed with other debris, including several LPs that had been framed, under glass, as wall decor. Now, they were laid out on the top of the heap, under broken panes of glass.

I rescued a few. Why? Because they were there. I'm sorry. I can't help myself. They deserved better. The records were still in their sleeves. At the very least, I thought, I could share them on the blog. So here, for your entertainment, is what I recovered:



It's really not that remarkable, except for the two Osmond albums. I gave Donny's LP the center stage because it has the most, well, interesting look. Also, some of the song titles: "Sweet and Innocent," "I'm Your Puppet," "Hey Little Girl," "Don't Say No," and "So Shy," all on side one, are so sacharinne and gag-induicng, that they are blogworthy. Side two is not as over the top, with songs like "Flirtin'," "Burning Bridges," "Time to Ride," and "Wake Up Little Susie." But, side two opens with a ditty called "Lollipops, Lace and Lipstick," one of the great song titles of all time, in my book. Keep in mind, Donny was 13 when this album was released in 1971.

Anyway, these albums, once destined for the landfill, are most likely on their way back to the landfill. There's not much market for these, despite being immortalized by BillyBlog. The exception is the Stevie Wonder LP. Shayna has taken a shine to Stevie, thanks to her music class rehearsing his songs for the year-end musicale. She wants the LP art on her wall, and I want to nail the record up there too. Old LP's make great wall art. I learned that on Trading Spaces.