Uh oh. That's a pretentious title. Let's see where it goes!
The concept of a Record Collection is, admittedly, kind of silly. I love collecting expensive, meticulous plastic discs that shake a needle to shake my speakers! I say this entirely without irony. I do actually love these stupid vinyl pressings. The physicality! The pretty artwork! The occasional extras! I adore them to the point where I sometimes plan entire days around the fun of handling them.
When planning for those days, I have a small box set aside for any records that are part of the upcoming set. This box probably holds about 30-40 LPs, and was actually meant for storing 7" records so the lid doesn't even fit. Should I accidentally go out and perform a vinyl set live, that's where I'd store the records. There's only one small problem with this, despite a loaded box being rather heavy for my rather out-of-shape self. I have a couple more records than 30 or 40. I probably have about 250 LPs/Albums/Singles/Whatever, taken from a quick guess look and then a little counting to double check. Hell, 250 is a low estimate, it might be closer to 300. Damn these stupid discs. I don't want to think how much money I've wasted on them.
But... Wasted? Is it wasted if I have enjoyed listening to each one? See, that's the thing. I'm pretty sure I've never sold a record back to a shop. I tend to be rather picky about my selection, while also being open to what may show up. I'm sure every person who looks through music at a store follows a similar ritual, but I have a sure-fire method that has only obtained *pure bangers* for me. (I should write about that sometime...) I tend to come across a lot of varied and interesting albums this way, to the point where I've not really been inclined to sell anything that's come into my possession. Could I? Should I? Yeah, probably. But for now my two long wooden crates and three square cardboard boxes will have to do.
My first records were bought around 2017. My very first record was the soundtrack to the video game Starbound. At the time, I used to only go through Goodwill or online stores to buy records. For my birthday one year, my mom got me one of those record subscription services, so I got some "jazz" and "essentials" albums early on that way. I thought they were cool, but I didn't fully appreciate them at the time. I had one of those all-in-one record-cd-cassette-radio-aux-bluetooth-speaker abominations.
It wasn't until around COVID that I bought an Audio-Technica AT-LP60. And then an amp for it. I found a couple record shops a distance away, but would only start regularly shopping there closer to 2023. I also had gotten involved with BONEQUEST FM at that time, making a Jizzy Japanese Jazz Mix for the BoneQuest anniversary. Later, 2025 brought about Vinyl Vibes once I got *really* interested in records. Shopping skyrocketed. Bank account plummeted.
Later I bought an AT-LP140XP (now I can get War of the Worlds into the correct pitch!) and then a Numark M2 scratch mixer, hooked it through my Yamaha MG10XU and streamed it to the world. Or, just my speakers, usually.
I suppose I should also write down some of the things I have in my collection? Kind of hard to relate to something if you don't know any details about it. I doubt I'll review every single album I have, but the variety and scope could give a better idea of the kind of person I am, and what I like to listen at.
Fun fact: you can check out part of my collection on Discogs. It's *very* lacking at time of writing. Eventually I aim to have everything on there, but for now it's just random things I remember to add... There's even a few CDs on there. But it's not all-encompassing yet.
I'd break my records into a two kinds: Music and Noises. Not to say Noises aren't "Music" if intended as such. Just that not all Noise is Music while all Music is ultimately Noise. Get it? Good.
Music includes... Music. Duh. Music is as music is. Music. Yeah! You know it. You love it. The band I have the most of is definitely King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, an Australian Surf-Turned-Psych-Rock-and-Electronic band that does a lot more styles than you may think. 19 albums and counting! Following that would be The Protomen with their harder Rock Opera about Mega Man of all things. A couple acts on vinyl, some CDs.
I have a large variety of jazz ranging from required classics like Buddy Guy's Left My Blues in San Francisco, to newer niche stuff with Mark Shippy/Alex Cunningham's Ghost Note. I also have some other classics with Pink Floyd or Modest Mouse.
Plus I have a nice selection of electronic music! Plenty of ambient works from Steve Roach. Some Vangelis here and there. Of course, there's Wendy Carlos or Mort Garson. Huge inspirations for my own work!
Beyond that is the Stupid Nerd Shit. Soundtracks! Video games! Anime, movies, TV shows! Stupid nerd shit! I love it. I'll have to make a few articles about the Special Select shows I have in the works. Maybe a whole article just about each subcollection.
More interesting is the stuff I would consider more Noise. Multiple 1960-80 recordings of trains. Musique concrète. A *lot* of traditional instruments played weirdly, or one-offs like occult recordings and machinery field recordings. Lots of recordings. Lots of sounds.
I'll be honest, as this article gets longer I worry about losing people, including myself. I think for the moment, this kind of gives a basic frame of mind that I have when it comes to vinyl records.
But we've not covered the entire title of the article, have we?
I struggle to write. A lot. Through the lens of all these records, I want to learn to express myself more through the English language. Maybe, just maybe, you can enjoy my little ramblings that I throw into the void. I know, I know. Just get to writing the reviews already! I will! I just need to get over myself a little first.
