Skip to main content

Vinyl Records

I used to have a large collection of albums, maybe around 200 or so, from two main periods: the late 60s to mid 70s ie pre-punk; then the following few years, the years of punk, new wave, and reggae. It all stopped when I sold my records in 1983 to help fund my travelling which ultimately led toa near four years working my way around the world. I say working my way but actually I onlt worked in three countries - Greece, Australia, and New Zealand. All the rest I managed to do on what I had earned from those jobs.

Anyway a couple of years ago I got a record player for my Christmas and started buying albums again. And now, being an out of touch old fogey, re-bought some of the albums I already had eg. Exile on Main Street, and Blue, and bought as vinyl for the first time many albums I had bought as CDs. eg. Love's Forever Changes.

In the interim years I had totally lost my love of punk and new wave so I haven't bought any more of those, not even Never Mind The Bollocks, though I made an exception for the wonderful Bob Marley and the Wailers.

Despite my son's best efforts I still can't properly get into contemporary music, probably because I haven't tried to break through the unfamiliarity gap.

But recently I've not been so keen on adding to the standards or expected albums from my now classic late 60s to mid 70s era. So no Neil Young, Bob Dylan, etc. Whereas a year or two ago even seeing the album covers did something good in me, now they're kind of samey in my mind. But what I found on Amazon earlier this week was that a lot of refound live or radio performances by bands are now being released as - relatively cheap - vinyl records. So I got my first one - early live performances in Europe by The Move.

So I like the idea of buying niche albums by bands from that classic period, rather than their classic ones, which I already know, both musically and album covers. It'll be interesting to see if this form of cllecting holds sway for any length of time.

One of the things that particularly interests me about this is the idea of imperfect and incomplete things. Demos, first takes, early versions, unedited ones, etc. Live music has a similar unpredictability about it. I like demos, often more than the finished versions.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lessons from The Book of Chuang Tzu - Part 5

The wise person does not hold onto life, nor do they fear death. They arrive without expectation and leave without resistance. They came calmly, went calmly, and that was that. They are not interested in what becomes of them. Their kindness enriches generations yet they have no great love for people. They do what they want. They are not judgemental. Cheerfully smiling, they are content. When calm, they appear to be one with the world. Their inner nature seems unknowable. They get on well with society. They follow the natural course of events. Death and birth are fixed. They are beyond the control of humanity. This is just how things are. People praise and criticise leaders and thinkers but it would be so much better if they just follow the Tao. To have a human form is a joyful thing but in a universe full of possible forms there are others just as good. The sage rests contented with all things. They take pleasure in early death, old age, in the origin and in the end, and sees them all ...
Post a Comment
Read more

On The Bible Part 1

Introduction So the chances are high that this won't last; a commentary of The Bible as I read it page by page. My ideas usually fizzle out pretty damn quickly, but I'm hoping The bible is sufficiently important to sustain my attention and stimulate my intellect and emotiojnal intelligence and mindfulness to keep me commenting on it until I've done the whole lot... and educated myself enormously in the process. Why do such a thing? Well, it is probably the most important book in human history as it has been the most influential, at least until thesecond half of the twentieth century. Even now, if you consider the influence of evangelical Christians in the USA, and the State of Israel, you can still see how strong an influence The Bible has in today's world. Yet most people, myself included, have probably only heard children's versions of some of the Bible stories, or those carefully chosen extracts read in church or school in our childhood. The vast majority of The ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Conditioned - Part 1

When I was about ten the local Catholic priest started taking me to Celtic football games, and the occasional international featuring Scotland, at the national stadium, Hampden Park. During Scotland games against England the fans would chant "If you hate the fucking English, clap your hands." All the Scottish fans sang it, and all clapped. and "We hate Jimmy Hill, he's a poof, he's a poof." (Jimmy Hill was one of the foremost football pundits at the tine, and English.) At Celtic games the fans sang "Fuck the Queen and the UDA" Later in my life one of my best friend's brother was a Rangers season ticket holder, but sometimes because of his work he would be away when a home match was on. He'd give his other ticket to my friend. One time my friend asked if I wanted to go, so we went together. This was in the late 1980s or early 90s. I don't remember who Rangers were playing. What I do remember is at one point the fans started singing ...
Post a Comment
Read more