Droppin' Science on Digging

Since this is my first writing on the topic of record collecting and music, (on a blog dedicated to the previous mentioned activities) I decided that it would be good to have some sort of background on where I am coming from. Droppin some science on what I do, and a little bit about how I go about it. Sure, I will go through some more details about artists, stores, and other musical field trips in future scribblings.

When I was in college, all those years ago, I had a buddy who use to collect comic books. By the time I was in college I was getting my toes wet in the arena that is record collecting. To a certain degree it was a cool little niche and something to do with all that extra free time and extra money that I seemed to have then. In my dorm room I had a turntable and roughly 10-12 records. Just things that I would get when heading to some of my favorite record store at the time. My buddy, Mike, said something that has stuck with me as this hobby has become a little more time consuming; and financially. Sometimes to my wife's dismay. Mike said to me: “collect what you like, don't worry about the value of it. As long as it has value to you, that is all that matters.”

What a revelation, a revelation that occurred almost 13 years ago. With that I started my real journey through record stores, Goodwills, Salvation Army stores, garage sales, antique stores, and whoever else happened to have a handful vinyl setting in some crate waiting to be explored, bought, and taken to a new home. To me it wasn't about finding the missing pressings of some Beatles, Stones, or Miles Davis work. It is about finding things that speak to me. Wandering around a record store in an almost daze, my hands go through the musty smell of cardboard and wooden racks. It creates an almost intoxicating affect when I walk through and see stacks of records, just waiting for me to pillage them.

I don't go into the store with a list. I just go in and dig. There is so much that can be found when you are not looking for it, and it would be worthless to have a shopping list. The same type of shopping list that you head into the grocery store with: Milk, eggs, cheese, soda, coffee, etc. etc. etc. For me if I have a list, it leave a huge room for distraction, and in the sense of collecting; distraction is the key to find new things. If it wasn't for distraction I wouldn't have found some albums like “The Kenny Burrell Quintet with John Coltrane.” or Jr Walker & the All Stars “Road Runner.” Two albums that have been purchased many moons ago and still get regular spins on my turntable (both when sitting in the basement and gigging as a DJ.)

There are two different schools in the realm of record collecting. It is to a certain degree the same as guys who collect and refurbish vintage cars. There are the guys who buy the car and trailer it to the show, and there are the other guys who rev up the engine, spin the tires, and feel the power of the car as it hits the road on the way into the car show. Records are just the same way, I know there are guys who collect records for their value and show them off as if they are priceless piece of art, and then there are guys like me. Who pull them off the shelves, put them on the turntable, and listen the analog hiss, warmth, and pure form in which music is to be listened to.

But, collecting records isn't an art form. It isn't about finding the holy grail and then putting them up as a relic of financial superiority. It is about the enjoyment of music. To listen to music how it was intended. From the sound of a great Jazz album like “The Kenny Burrell Quintet featuring John Coltrane” to the Native Tongue of De La Soul's “Stakes is High.” The feel of a 7, 10, or 12 inch platter in your hands, the art work, liner notes, and the smell. Yes, records have a great smell; musty or otherwise. To collect records is about finding new music in a manner that means digging through A-Z rather than searching iTunes so you might get to hear a song on shuffle when hit play on your iPod.

All in all, it is about excavating and finding music that speaks to you on an emotional level. It isn't about being a hipster who wears the funny sock hat in the summer, but the joy of finding music that is truly unique and moves you. To walk into any store and know that you are going to find something, anything, and everything. That is record collecting to me.