The weird world of music memorabilia
[This was my weekly column for GlobalNews.ca. – AC]
I recently did some spring cleaning in the home office which involved asking if everything on my shelves of music memorabilia still sparked joy. A set of Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Tommy beer steins purchased at The Ramones Museum in Berlin? Gotta keep those. An Oasis-branded Frustration board game? Still appreciating on eBay. A box of Rush PopTarts? I have no idea where those came from, but I’m keeping them.
This went on for a while. A Kurt Cobain Unplugged action figure. A matryoshka doll featuring the members of U2 purchased at some flea market stall in Moscow. An Abbey Road coffee mug that I might have accidentally put in my pocket. A Kirk Hammett Funko doll still in the package.
In the end, nothing got thrown out. How could I part with these unusual physical connections to music? My pack-rattery could be so much worse and far more damaging to the bank account, not to mention my marriage.
My own collection is nothing compared to that of others, like Vern Simon of Maple Lake, Minn., who is on a mission to be recognized as having the world’s largest collection of KISS memorabilia.
