It Happens Here: David Bieber Archives in Norwood a warehouse of pop culture history
NORWOOD - David Bieber lives his life by one simple saying. Nothing in pop culture is trash. You can find his vast array of treasures at the David Bieber Archives on Morse Street in Norwood.
Calling him a collector would be selling him short. Bieber is an archivist.
"I value everything, I really do. I think we're here at the archives to put context to things, to connect the dots of the real world and to make sense of the debris of the culture," he told WBZ-TV.
Working in radio and in print as an adult gave him the real bug.
"Those were the day jobs and I got paid and I was happy to cash the check but almost equal or more consequence were the toys and the treasures. The promotional items, the trade magazines. The posters, the records, the CDs, everything under the sun," Bieber said. "I've saved soda can from the 70's, the 80's."
There are more than two million items in this warehouse and some are fascinating. There's a wall of guitars.
"They all have a story and they're all singular, unique. They were created by the late musician, Asa Brebner. Asa was a later day member of the Modern Lovers," Bieber said.
How about this for a collector's item? There's a braille Playboy magazine. There are no pictures, it's truly for the articles. Apparently this is not the only one in existence. There's another one out there signed by Ray Charles.
You also can't miss the Lego replica of RUN DMC's My Adidas it's part of an area devoted to the 50th anniversary of hip hop and its origins.
"We do some installations just for our own enjoyment," Bieber told WBZ.
There are old transistor radios, miles of vinyl records and boxes and boxes of t-shirts. All of it means something to him.
"It's the little things, it's the things that re-connect you with your childhood, your adolescence. Your first job, your first love, all these different things are components that really add up to the totality of your life."
For more information, visit Bieber's website.