21st Century Boy has taken the backward dive into pre-me music devices. Problem: either shipping or my own wanton clumsiness caused the wee tiny needle to fall off. I'd chalk it up to the former if I had my warranty card.

A recently-gifted Numark TTi turntable that plays records and can convert them into mp3 format and do the same with cassettes with a certain gerryrigging and I guess it can probably do your taxes as well--that's what I'm (not yet) working with.

A gent in town quoted me a price for the cartridge and professional replacement thereof; I trust him, but right now I haven't the capital to pursue that option. Bestbuy.com sells the cartridge for about half that suggested price, but I haven't a clue if it's something that'd be easy enough for me to install myself. I can use basic tools and I'm a lego champ but it was not recommended that I try a cartridge change on my own.

Help is greatly appreciated. If you've ever been a 22-year-old kid salivating over your newly-purchased copy of Elliott Murphy's "Aquashow" with no way of playing the damn thing, you've felt my desperation. My guess is if you know of that record you could probably give me awesome advice.

--Andy