Saying Goodbye To An Old Friend

With the arrival of a newborn (again), the removal of clutter in my collection continues.  One item that I actually uncovered that I completely forgot I owned was my original copy of The Transformers:The Movie vinyl album.  I can't believe that I forgot I owned this!  And it's now on eBay.  Well, hopefully it's sold by the time this hits.  Gotta make room, you know.  What I'm doing here is documenting something that gave me a lot of joy before it gives someone else joy.

Ah, memories.  I still remember when I bought this.  It was 1989, a full three years after the movie was released.  I was in the sixth grade and dragged out to yet another record store with my parents.  Weekends when my dad was home were basically always spent at record stores, which isn't the worst thing in the world.  At any rate, whenever I ran across something - a 45 or an LP that was reasonable and not a burden on my parents' nerves, they usually got it for me.  On one fateful trip, I ran across this gem - and it was on clearance!  Ninety-nine cents later, I was sitting in the car holding this beauty.  At this point, I already had a stereo, so I was able to listen to this thing nonstop.  It drove my parent's crazy.  I no longer have a turntable and I have the soundtrack on CD, so I'm o.k. letting this thing go.

Remarkably, this album has held up extremely well.  That is most likely due to the fact that my dad is an absolute beast at keeping his albums in brand new condition.  Sadly, the cover isn't in the greatest shape thanks to my abuse as a kid, but the vinyl is spotless.  Not a scratch or scuff.  I really hate to part with such a great keepsake, but space is space.  Man, I hope the new owner appreciates how great this album is.

Speaking of how great this album is, I think I'll run down my favorite tracks from the album in descending order.  I'm going to omit the Vince DiCola stuff.

1. Instruments of Destruction by N.R.G. - Hair metal, sure, but such a great song.
2. Hunger by Spectre General - Fun bit of trivia: Spectre General is actually a Canadian hair metal band called Kick Axe.  Apparently there was some legal issue preventing them from using their actual band name on the soundtrack.
3. Nothin's Gonna Stand In Our Way by Spectre General - I'm sensing a trend here...
4. Dare to Be Stupid by "Weird Al" Yankovic - I thought that it sounded like Devo when I was a kid, but I wasn't sure.  I recently saw Yankovic perform this on TV with an orchestra.  It was magic.
5. Transformers Theme by Lion - Well, it is the theme song.  Don't forget: something evil's watching over you.
6. Dare by Stan Bush - I will just say this: I can't stand Stan Bush.  This song is the least grating on my ears.   Sacrilege, I know, but there it is.
7. The Touch by Stan Bush - No comment, other than Marky Mark did a better job with this song.