What's your take on hardcore music collectors?
 

I don't mean people who amass a collection of records by buying one copy of each. I mean record-buyers who feel the need of owning several variants of the same album.

They can't take it with 'em when they die.

Wankers.

I've found I've gotten so selective these days. Like each year my interest in having all these records just gets smaller and I only want very certain stuff. And as far as reissues goes, it's basically just SY.

Excusable for "audiophile" purposes, such as finding the best-sounding pressing or trying to get as close as possible to the first set of stampers in the country of origin (all the while assuming your system is worthy of the time and expense involved).

Otherwise it can be ridiculous. Though certain reissues/remasters can be well worth checking out. And I guess these people have kept me employed for various stretches, so I can't speak too ill of them. I have a little bit of that in me, but I try to keep it in check. I would usually rather get something I don't already have with what little money I have to spend these days.

This reminds me of the aging and foul smelling lot who go to record fairs, blocking every stand and desk and chat about some japan only pressing of the dire straits or pink floyd record and try to determine in their small minds eyes bulging whether it's "MINT" or "VG" like they didn't already own the damn album.

Having said that, I do have some cds I'd like to replace with vinyl.

I guess record collecting might make sense business -wise. People seem to be willing to pay big money just for the sake of the edition or the origin of the album.

I'm guilty of this, but only with SY and only when the dupes are very cheap - fr'example, I got the Zensor version of the debut EP years ago before it was reissued, then got a great deal on a Neutral original. I got the expanded 2disc version when it was reissued, and some time later found the SST one for about £3.
Is that so bad really?

For any other artists, if I end up with more than one, I'll keep the original and pass the extras on to a friend, apart from a handful of cases where I've kept both mono & stereo copies.

I haven't the time for multiple versions of the same record. Audiophiles confuse me. But fair play to them. Having said that, I have got different conductors/ musicians doing the same pieces. But that's different and expected, right?

the differences have to be major. like different recordings, producer or something. but that doesnt mean in the first place that its buyworthy. since the online era where you can get almost anything if you got enough money had made me way more picky. I never was one of those "I need all versions" guys. I am a sucker for bonus material like artworks, tunes or any extra content. I also like limited editions.
I prefer a limited pressing of an actual album way over some bottlegged and crappy sounding shit.
I collected a ashitload of nirvana bootlegs in my teens, which were pretty hard to get in the early nineties. for two reasons: no web and I live in germany, they actually CARE for what is being sold in a way that makes it almost impossible to find pirate material anywhere sold officially. Ive sold most of that bootlegs at the beginning of 2000 on ebay, cuase they were JUST bootlegs

If I had the chance of starting again, I would only buy vinyls and D/L mp3s. cds suck, they are small and made of ugly plastic. a nice cover in a decent size is what matters most beneath the actual music, imo.

I try to not buy doubles, and I do cringe when I get something on vinyl that I have on CD, but CD's are not the same.

Having said that, I have multiple pressings of various albums, mostly to get better sound, for my old beatles albums were second hand and scratched and cracked (and I wore them out).

I make exceptions for colored vinyl. I have 4 different copies of Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge. one regular. one clear vinyl. one in puke colored viny and one picture disc.

I have daydream nation at least 4 different ways and am looking for the russian bootleg!

I mostly do this only for sonic youth

I haven't collected hardcore music in several years now. Much of that stuff has been sold/given away, but I've held on to the mandatory Black Flags, Poison Ideas, etc/etc. Minor Threat annoys me.


j/k

bad joke.

Hmm....Only albums I've ever felt some serious need to collect are ANYTHING i don't have already SY related. Stooges. Nirvana. 80's texas punk (Butthole Surfers, Big Boys, Scratch Acid, etc...really wish I could find me some Toxic Shock)...

All that "CBGB" stuff.

I agree w. atsonicpark. You can't take any of it w/ ya when ya die (I don't collect the way I used to, seldom buy anything)...BUT, it's fun. Almost (!!!) everything anyone ever does boils down to entertainment. Wether it's being a hardcore collector of anything, jogging, owning a pet, sex, religion, books whatever.


If ya enjoy it, do it. Just don't steal or kill + we're good.


swann swashtray

what is great about collectors is that, when they die, if we are lucky, their collections have been taken care of and the items can go to new homes.

Agreed. I like to think that before I die I can pass on my stuff to some kid that'll appreciate it. Hopefully at a time when I'm near deafness anyways. haha...you know, like when i'm 432 and have outlived anyone/everyone that mattered to me anyways.

Are there still people who want to pay $300 for a Black Flag, or Misfits 7 inch?
When it can be downloaded for free.

There are people who will pay that, because it is an artifact.

a Matisse doodle is worthless to own, when you can just download a pic of it, but it is not the same is it?

I can appreciate that mentality, even if it sometimes saddens me a bit. I just remember the days when music couldn't be downloaded. Some of the best fun I ever had was walking around Athens record stores and leaving w/ stacks of music.

But, times are changing.

I do download stuff.

But....this doesn't change the fact that I also collected a lot.

I'll still buy something on occassion if the price is right. Picked up Neil Young's (perfect condition) "Harvest" on wax @ Goodwill a couple days ago. 2.50...I win.

I found Neil Young's ON THE BEACH for $1.50 at a thrift store. fucking cool.

Everything Matisse wrote, or draw, or paint is worth money.
But the reproductions are worth nothing (maybe some feelings to the viewer, but no money).

agreed, but i doubt the people in their teens and 20's will be record hounds like the generation before them. they learned to approach and listen and gather music much differently.

but a quality reproduction conveys the imge, just as a quality reproduction MP3 conveys the sound of a Misfits 7"

what one buys when one buys are or records is the artifact.

that is why people wil pay thousands for rare Beatles stuff, or hundreds for very rare Misfits 7" singles.
They are already 30+ years old.

It still boggles my mind when some seem to concern themselves a bit to much w/ the way others are listening to their music.

Just listen to the music, if it sounds good to you...you win.

An artifact?!!
You're turning mystic when talking about music!

Think of it like Warhol. He produced many copies of each of his paintings. Each wasn't a 'unique' artefact, but it was an artefact of Warhol's art.

Simple economies of scale: a single Warhol is worth more than one for which there were 50 produced. If there was, say, a single copy of the first Beatles demo, that would be worth much, much more than my copy of the White Album.

There's the popularity of the band to factor in, but the fact that Black Flag (or whoever) are now incredibly influential means that their original, limited artefacts are worth a lot of money. If their first single was a limited edition of 1, it'd be worth a lot more than a limited edition of 500.

None of this comments on the quality or otherwise of the music - it's not really about the music itself but everything that surrounds it. If you just want the songs, download them (or buy the CD re-issue), but if you like the artefact (which is still a huge part of listening to music for a lot of us), the rare 7" is much more appealing. Personally, I have a lot of sentimental value attached to certain parts of my record collection, but that doesn't quite extend to spending my arse on rarities.

By artifact I just meant the original creation/output, gualbert!

all media are artifacts, even CD's.

the early Misfits 7" singles, which were pressed in runs of 100, or even 50 because they were just broke ass jersey kids, were in many cases put together by hand by Danzig and the boys. When you have something like that you are holding the actual item they busted their asses off to produce.

It adds to the enjoyment, at least for me.

the song is the same, and the song rules if you love it, but the actual record is much more than just a song. That is important to people like me who grew up scrutinizing record covers to learn about musicians and stuff.

Well, fine.

I got a Cherubs/Slug 7 inch single, and my copy is the NR ONE, of a limited edition (of course). Do you think it's worth money?

to a fan of either band for sure.

There are people willing to pay $14000 for a Misfits 7"

The singer has an unusual haircut, but waoh!! weird. hard to believe.

a 1st state Beatles BUTCHER cover can go for hundres of thousands....

:eek:

One of my favorite bands ever. This was my avatar for the first year or so I was on this board:

You should use it as your avatar again

OLD SCHOOOOOOOOOOL

I think my first avatar here was Mario or Yoshi or some shit.

Cool cover, great record.
Are you interested in that Cherubs/Slug 7"?
Auction starts at $10000.(eventually the price will get a bit lower)

good idea Derek.

...Anyway, to answer people's questions, in the past few years, I've gotten rid of just about every movie and cd/tape/record I ever owned. I have thousands of burnt cd's and burnt movies but the entire idea of "collecting" just seems ... not for me. I'm a very minimal person. I am actually thinking of selling all my musical equipment except for my guitar and a practice amp (I have like 7 amps, keyboards, basses, pedals, all this useless fucking shit). I have OCD as it is, for real, the idea of collecting things and such just seems tiresome, I don't have the energy for it. My original response was probably better -- you can't take it with you when you die. Well, let me reiterate the fact... what is the point, exactly, of having a ton of shit? I mean, if you are actively enjoying it, then sure. But even with the stuff I have now, I just keep giving it away or selling it because I'm like, "Wow, I will never listen to this ever again, why doesn't someone else have it?" I'd rather make other people happy. One man's trash is another man's awesome fucking Trashmen vinyl. You know?

So sorry, no Cherubs 7" for me.

A few years back, I owned probably 2000 horror/artsy/exploitation/experimental/weirdo DVD's/VHS's. I now own like 50 actual movies (and 15 of 'em are Kitano films). I just looked at this huge of shit that I had been collecting for like 9 years and went, "Eh. Fuck it." Put them ALL in trashbags, sold just about everything or gave it away. I traded like 400 of them for this laptop. It was nice. Felt very.. freeing. And I can still enjoy the movies, I just enjoy them on a dvd-r.