Columns Retired Columns & Blogs |
We used to brag about how many records we own, I once owned over 2,000 ( most were crap ) but we were proud about it.
Today it's kinda "absurd" unless a person is a bon-a-fide Collector/hoarder.
It takes one hour to perform the vinyl record playing ritual ( for each record ). It also requires an up-to-date $10,000 player, a $5,000 Arm, a proper $5,000+ phono cart., a rather pricy RIAA equipped Pre-amp, a Record Cleaning Machine and a storage system the size of two bedrooms. Phew! and that's just for starters.
Now lets play all these Albums, hmm, how long will that take us?, we'll probably never get round to playing 80% of them because we won't feel like that Gerne just now, besides we'll wanna play that latest "find" we just found.
So the collection just keeps enlarging and enlarging and enlarging until our family does an "intervention" or a stroke does it for them.
Besides, how many record playings does it take to burn out a phono cartridge? I'd expect ( from experience ) that a nice MC will survive 500+ plays but cross your fingers from that point on. Playing Vinyl is very pricy, a person has to be an obsessed fanatic to commit to this sort of medium. Still, there are quite a few savoring the Record Bins, god bless em.
Vinyl loyalists are becoming Viantologists.
I, as an ex-vinyl guy, am an Apostate.
Vinyl has not become a main-stream phenomenon, it's a niche Social Trend.
People collect everything! I know a Cement Contractor that collects every Outboard Motor Evenrude, Johnson and Mercury ever produced, he has 4 Barns to store them, he proudly says that they're smaller than cars. A "Craft" lady (I know) collects Yarn, the entire second floor of her home is dedicated to yarn storage. Then there's the Coca-Cola collectors, what can anyone add to that?
With Billions of Vinyl out there, we now have an emerging group of Vinyl collectors, bragging about their discoveries, just like the "good-ol'-days". We need to establish some sort of pecking order. Todd the Vinyl Junkie proudly announces his collection at 12,000!
Can anyone top that?
Tony in Michigan
ps. Amazon has a NEW Elton 17-11-70 for $248