Tom talking about the destruction of his 'stuff' was genuinely moving. People who don't collect things assume that it is 'just stuff'. But to people who collect things they like (music, books, etc), these things are largely irreplaceable, and take a lifetime to accumulate. I am not talking about people who hoard junk, or people who collect collectables and then keep them in mint condition for future sale. I am talking about people (and I imagine this includes most WFMU listeners) who collect the things that have had an impact on them in some way. Even buying Self Portrait, listening to it, and realising that it was every bit as bad as legend would have it, makes the CD important, even if you never listen to it again.
Of course, the loss of personal artefacts, like 'Nice Memories' or the basketball writing, is even more tragic. I'd be in a worse state than Tom.
