What to buy next?

10-22-07 What to buy next?

For someone who ostensibly doesn’t need to buy any LP’s or CD’s – I often find myself asking myself the question: “What CD / LP to buy next?”. Of course, as is often the case, the real answer is “What crosses my path that looks enticing?” – as well as “What’s in the $3 bin?”. The smallest things can set me off in a new direction – and it has always been that way.

I have been known to be watching a DVD of the re-broadcasts of a 1970’s Australian TV show called “Countdown”, starring Ian “Molly” Meldrum – and spot something of interest (such as when the show was co-hosted with Robin Scott aka “M” Mr. “Pop Muzik”). Another Australian TV show on DVD (an 80’s one, can’t remember the name) set me off onto Godley & Crème – just by showing me 4 or 5 of their videos.

$3 bin is a magnetic place; I return to it often. Oh, there’s that thing I read about! The British press write about this group! Look, an 80’s thing on CD that I missed! It’s $3 – who cares? I can always trade it in somewhere else and likely get $4 for it!

About a decade ago, I let my guilt get the better of me and I began to collect vinyl again – after taking roughly a decade off from buying vinyl – I lived in England and Holland and mostly just got CD’s. So, after a while – I notice that the stuff I genuinely want is hard to come by (or more expensive than I can justify), so I get interested in “stuff I missed”. Or I’ll decide to expand my interest in a group, after being fond of a single track (a good example of this is Yello’s “Goldrush” – for years the only track by them I could remember).

In the late 70’s / early 80’s, I bought a few Monochrome Set records, then gave up on them – I do not now remember how or why, but I didn’t keep up after the 2^nd album. About a decade ago, I found an inexpensive CD “Compendium” and it launched me into my “completist” state, where I try to find “everything” on an artist. Thankfully, this scenario doesn’t seem to happen a lot!

I work my way through the collection – who do I need more CD’s by? Which artists should I bother trying to find all the original LP’s? What to buy next?

Happy times – between now and the end of the year, I hope to be selling lots of LP’s and CD’s. Some will be sent out on a list, others boxed up and taken to Amoeba (in San Francisco, the Amoeba store that seems to me to give the best credit).

If you collect music, drop me a line and let me know what you are looking for. Maybe I can help. Doesn’t matter if it’s vinyl or CD’s. If you’d like to see a list of the records or CD’s I will be selling, also get in touch. Those of you who have bought from me before know that my lists are interesting and reasonable. What to sell next?