by DirtyMartini on 11 Mar 2009 13:46
[quote="Dietmar"]
Do you need a car? Great, then buy it!
You don't need a car? What's the point, then?
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That's my opinion as well. I'd only encourage buying that car if that car is useful as a car. If it works and is in decent shape, then the price (the starting bid, at least) is pretty nice for a car that'll get a person 'round regardless of the previous owners. The SC provenance just makes it a conversation piece as well. I spent a long day on the pitch enduring the Bangles and Mickie Free (oh.god.) with the Smaxes, and while Smax may be excitable, I trust him (and his wife's ability to smack him upside the head) to make conscious purchases.
As the line between fandom and ick goes, I personally agree with Dietmar's distinction between personal and professional. I'm very particular about that line on certain topics; that's why I won't post photos of the flag in Stewart's studio without express permission. As memorabilia goes, I tend to collect mostly things that I have a personal connection to, really; but in the broader sense, I would stick to items related to the public musician rather than the private individual. But I admit that there are times when the line between the two can get a bit blurry, particularly based on what the item itself is.
E.g., as many know, I own a pair of Stewart's drumming gloves. They're sitting in a big envelope on my bookshelf with ticket stubs and other sundry tour stuff (including a strange piece of carpet) that need to find a home. Truth be told, I've considered passing these gloves along quite a few times. Cuz to me they're kinda weird. What puts them into the kinda weird category for me is that they're a piece of clothing. A broken stick, a gong mallet, a busted drumhead -- those are gear. They're tools. They make the music. But clothing goes past my level of comfort between personal and public.
There's a whole precedent of framing winning jerseys, so I find the MSG t-shirt to be cool; because it was thrown by Stewart at the last show, there's a historical tie and even a personal connection as well. One could certainly argue that these gloves too are a tool that makes music; that's a valid angle. And they were used during a performance, so there's certainly a musical tie; but they weren't collected or thrown from the stage or a part of a historically significant event. They're of no practical value: I can't drive them to market or clean with them. They have no antique value or pedigree like an old book. They do nothing but exist as they are. They're a pair of gloves that came out of Stewart's dressing room. And because they couldn't be used again, they were headed for Stewart's trash -- so in a way, they are a tin headed for the garbage.
The one thing that stops me from getting rid of them is the fact that Brad handed them to me; they have a personal connection and a story attached, like my guest pass. Or like the old doorknob that I keep on my desk. Or the broken chopstick in my pencil cup. I got to exchange a couple of quick sentences with Stewart about them at Red Rocks. If these gloves didn't have that personal connection -- if they had been an item swiped from Stewart's dressing room -- I wouldn't have kept 'em, even though they were worn on stage. Were they a pair of Stewart's old mittens, I'd definitely not have them. While I appreciate and understand the thought behind the old Nike socks, I personally wouldn't want them either, even despite the Gateshead connection. I'd happily hang a cracked cymbal on the wall, but clothing is just more personal than I'm comfortable with.
Would I buy that car? If I were in the market for a cheap ride, maybe; it depends on what other options I had found. But while the SC connection would be funny and a quick, cheap thrill, I'd make the decision regardless of the car's background rather than because of it.
Dramatic highlights & a unique musical cosmos. Guaranteed.
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So that is probably not much help.
or a shirt he'd worn off-stage?
