Found a scratched up copy of 'The Soft Bulletin' in a bin in Cincinnati and it changed my week

I was digging through a dollar bin at a record store on Vine Street last Tuesday, not expecting much. The cover was faded and the vinyl had a deep scratch on side two. I bought it anyway because I'd heard the name but never listened. Put it on when I got home and that scratch just made the song 'Waitin' for a Superman' skip at the perfect, saddest part. It felt like the album was broken on purpose. Has anyone else had a damaged record add something to the music instead of ruin it?

3 comments

3 Comments

amyc222mo ago

Funny you should mention that. My old car only played cassette tapes, and I had a worn-out copy of Nebraska that would get stuck in a loop during "State Trooper." The repetition of that one line made the whole drive feel tense in a way a clean copy never did.

schmidt.grant1mo ago

My copy of Kid A has a skip that makes Thom Yorke sound even more sad, so I get it. Hugo Ellis would hate my whole setup lmao.

hugo_ellis2mo ago

Come on, it's a scratched record. You're reading way too much into a skip. It's a flaw, not some secret artistic choice. The band would probably tell you to buy a new copy. Sometimes a skip is just annoying.