Why Do People Collect Things?

[beetleron]

almost as bad as one of Big dans posts

next time keep it brief......

.and try not to bloviate

[SteveAJones]

almost as bad as one of Big dans posts

I wouldn't know as he's on permanent ignore...and now so to are you

[Otto Masson]

This guy collects 78s - because he loves the music. Has more than 25,000 of them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfNCXsWs38k&feature=related

[SteveAJones]

This guy collects 78s - because he loves the music. Has more than 25,000 of them.

What a truly outstanding feature! A real slice of Americana right there. I'd sure like to meet Joe Brussard one day and hear a few of those records.

[silvermedalist]

Some things are worth collecting.

[Otto Masson]

What a truly outstanding feature! A real slice of Americana right there. I'd sure like to meet Joe Brussard one day and hear a few of those records.

The man certainly seems friendly enough. A friend of mine who is a huge blues and jazz fan told me about the documentary, which is fascinating indeed - cf. IMDB. There is another shorter one about him called Joe Bussard, King of Record Collectors, directed by Steven Lance Ledbetter, that I've also seen. In cases like these the collector's mania is really transformed into an important cultural project in it's own right. Bussard has actually salvaged a lot of music from oblivion - in some cases the copies he has are the only ones still left. He has also been very willing to collaborate on release projects, so as to make the music available to a wider audience, and was one of the people who worked on the fabulous Charley Patton boxed set: Amazon link.

[SteveAJones]

M. Gerard Vachon's Elvis Presley Collection (Quebec City)

Depicted in photos below are an incredible 8000+ ELVIS PRESLEY items from a private collection built over 35 years of accumulation.

This collection is composed of 3800 33 1/3 records from China, Japan, South Africa, Germany, Poland ,more original from U.S.A. and more., 2000 45 rpm records from all the world and more original from U.S.A., Promo, Limited edition, Picture Disk, 45 Session Box from all the world,

Lot of 27 Elvis 78 Rpm Record of which is That's All Right Mama on Label RCA Canada and 2 NOT FOR SALE on White label 78 Rpm promo Album which are Hound Dog, Don't Be Cruel #20-6604 (G2WB-5935) RCA VICTOR and I Want You, I Need You, I Love You - My Baby Left Me #20-6540 (G2WB-0271),

The complete collection of 60 cards to collect from Bubbles inc. Company U.S.A. 1956 Elvis Presley Enterprises plus the complete collection of the 66 cards to collect from Boxcar Entreprises inc.1978 , Original 1978 wine bottles and champagne ,

Lot of original film posters , more Original film poster from France and more Elvis songs sheets.

On each pictures there are a lot of Very Rare item like

The NOT FOR SALE Don't Cry Daddy 45 Rpm with Elvis and Lisa Marie on august16 1997 at the Midsouth Coliseum on the A Side and Elvis Don't Cry Daddy on july 24 1970 (alternative take.)

TOO MUCH MONKEY BUSINESS Acetate Die made of Zinc and Sterling RCA Victor 1967. Only 9 copies existing in the world,

Originals picture of the Elvis Karate Session Signed by his teacher KANG RHEE on septembre 9 1974 with a copy of the Elvis karate certificate exactly like the original copy given to Elvis plus 16 original pictures album from this Karate Session. One Original Elvis picture with the 4 Las Vegas Hilton Policeman in 1971 signed by Elvis and each policeman. This picture came from the Jimmy Velvet museum.

One picture from the original Elvis advertisement show on the front of the International , plus le menu Original du 6 septembre The original september 6 1971 Menu from the Hilton restaurant plus one ashtray with match from the Hilton Hall plus one Original program.

On the other picture you see The Elvis Has Left The Building By His Friend 45 Rpm J.D. Summer QCA Records inc. 1977 #QCA 461 picture cover, + 40 signed stamps by J.D. Summer And The Stamps, One Original signed picture with J.D. Summer And The Stamps, One 33 1/3 Rpm Elvis Favorite Gospel Songs 1977 #QCA 362 by J.D. Summer And The Stamps Quartet signed on back. Each item was signed on january 8 1993 at the Hotel Ramada Inn at Stratford, Ontario

THE ELVIS BOOK Volume II 1987 signed by Sean Shaver, copy #533 of 999, number 87-50067 ISBN O-9602826-4-5, with Original tanks letter and 8 x 10 picture signed by Priscilla Presley.

One Lisa-Marie picture from the hospital with Priscilla in her arms, These pictures are originals and were taken on February 5 1968. One Original picture with Elvis and his father at the time of his mother's death on august 14 1958. One Original Elvis Army picture in 1958 and more than 100 other pictures.

One Elvis Scarf Kit from july 27 1976 show at Syracuse N.Y. with original ticket stub plus one original picture with Elvis and the girl who catch the scarf. Plus an untorn ticket from the September 28 1977 show at Savannah Civic Center in Georgia.

Untorn ticket from the Elvis In Concert show at the Hulman Civic University Center, Terre Haute Indiana State University on September 26 1977, A Series of 6 Elvis In Concert tickets at the Asheville Civic Center Arena seats 1,2,3 section, 206 row E and seats11,12 section, 216 row I.

One Original TCB Necklage 14k. One TCB 10k Replica ring, One 10k replica Horseshoe ring,

One scarf kit with splitted ticket plus one non splitted ticket with picture from the St-Petersburg Fla. February 14 1977 show. One laminated picture with ticket from the Syracuse N.Y. july 27 1976 show

An Elvis tuft of hair from the Jimmy Velvet museum with authenticity paper, One mint 45 rpm record, Shake, Rattle And Roll I Got A Woman with Blue Moon Boys (Elvis Presley Radio Spécial ) #Sp-1-28 MONO 4136 on label White Knight ,Gold in color recorded in January 28 1956 with original mint cover, + One 8 albums box Elvis Aaron Presley, 25ieme anniversary #DJL1-3781 R.C.A. U.S.A. 1955-1980 Limited Edition. The Elvis Aaron Presley 1955-1980 25th anniversary Test Pressing Indianapolis 33 1/3 rpm record #CPL8-3699-8, signed copy by Joan Deary Vice-président of RCA with authenticity paper. Only 9 copy in the world. The Elvis Aaron Presley 1955-1980 25th anniversary 33 rpm Sampler For Radio Station #DJL1-3781 NOT FOR SALE + The NOT FOR SALE RCA 33 rom #DJL1-3721 Elvis Aaron Presley Sampler Excerpts from the 8 record 25th anniversary album.

Also the 8 record box Elvis Aaron Presley #VO4435 Limited Édition .

One 45 rpm record Elvis Presley/ Black Star SGT BILKO Productions EPE-1588 1960, first recording before Flaming Star on label Bilko Records Italy, One set of four 4 inches records , Million Dollar Quartet with Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash, One 33 1/3 rpm record, Radio Interview (armed forces network radio interview, Frankfurt, west Germany, 1960) an Amérivox picture disk. There is so much item in this collection that it will be necessary to come in Quebec to see and realize the value of this museum.

[Anjin-san]

Hi all,

Holy cow! Thanks for that Steve! RIP Elvis,....

KB

[ledzepfvr]

One Lisa-Marie picture from the hospital with Priscilla in her arms, These pictures are originals and were taken on February 5 1968.

Priscilla would have Lisa Marie in her arms, not as it reads here.

[Texas Melanie]

Priscilla would have Lisa Marie in her arms, not as it reads here.

Than would have been quite difficult.

Was Elvis' hair clipped off in small sections right after he died? I see the small snippet of hair in one of the photos.

[SteveAJones]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j7F_4S2lgM

[SteveAJones]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-2PxqeT2CQ

[Charles J. White]

Speaking for only myself, please don’t be offended, but I firmly believe it was almost a type of mental disorder because when me times comes, and I pass on, none of things I collected are coming with me. So I stopped. I was listening to Howard Stern one morning maybe 6 months ago, and he described the same sort of thing and he decided it was immature and silly and his words resonated with me for some reason. To spend thousands of dollars collecting music was at a point where even me 10 year old son was looking at the whole idea as crazy. So I stopped. My wife is happy and no longer makes jokes about how the walls had 2000 albums of vinyl and compact discs using up all of the space in our entertainment room. I emptied the place out, and have gone for a more open concept style. For those of you still hooked on collecting, go back and watch the movies High Fidelity, and Wall Street, and About A Boy, they will resonate with you!

[SteveAJones]

Speaking for only myself, please don’t be offended, but I firmly believe it was almost a type of mental disorder because when me times comes, and I pass on, none of things I collected are coming with me. So I stopped. I was listening to Howard Stern one morning maybe 6 months ago, and he described the same sort of thing and he decided it was immature and silly and his words resonated with me for some reason. To spend thousands of dollars collecting music was at a point where even me 10 year old son was looking at the whole idea as crazy. So I stopped. My wife is happy and no longer makes jokes about how the walls had 2000 albums of vinyl and compact discs using up all of the space in our entertainment room. I emptied the place out, and have gone for a more open concept style. For those of you still hooked on collecting, go back and watch the movies High Fidelity, and Wall Street, and About A Boy, they will resonate with you!

How ironic; Howard Stern is often entertaining because of his own immature and silly pursuits! Anyway, I have resolved the issue of mortality simply by replacing ownership with stewardship. Personally, I'm impressed when I meet people who have maintained an heirloom/a collection for generations. The Cobbolds and the Knebworth House estate definately comes to mind - have kept it in the family for more than 500 years!

I for one am going to miss listening to the music, perhaps as Kim Fowley describes below.

[DavidZoso]

I have all my stuff in my house-cd's, dvd's, videos, books, posters,t-shirts, photos etc but I also have two temperature controlled storage rooms full of stuff. I have totes and totes of cd' and dvd's still in their plastic- haven't even opened them yet. I guess I am a bit of a hoarder haha. I do really have OCD but that is more for washing hands and counting, In a Nutshell...I have too much Shit.

I will say that not only does rust never sleep but DUST never sleeps to.

[SteveAJones]

Titanic Collections

[SteveAJones]

Bill Graham's Vintage Concert Tickets

[SteveAJones]

Meet the Dallas man who owns a half-million records

Kye R. Lee/Staff Photographer

John Gasperik’s lifelong dedication to music started in elementary school as an Elvis fan. Now he has a life-size Elvis statue at his Shake Rag Music Store in Dallas.

2 of 2

By BRENNA RUSHING

Special Contributor

Published: 04 October 2014 08:30 PM

Updated: 04 October 2014 08:33 PM

John Gasperik’s lifelong dedication to music started with a 7-inch 45-rpm Elvis Presley vinyl he carried around in elementary school.

He was hooked on Elvis.

Then the Beatles came along.

A 10-year-old Gasperik saved his money to buy his first Beatles record at a local garage sale. These “garage sale treasure hunts,” as he remembers them, helped Gasperik build an astonishing collection of vinyl records, instruments and memorabilia, most of which are for sale at his Shake Rag Music Store in Dallas.

The story of how he landed in Dallas selling cool wares is a much longer tale, however. After graduating from high school in Sherman, the long-haired hippie moved to Dallas to get away from his small-town roots.

“I packed my guitar and a little suitcase with just a pair of pants and two shirts, got on the highway, stuck my thumb out and headed to Dallas because it was a big city,” he says.

When he first arrived, in 1971, he was homeless. He squatted in vacant houses around Lee Park, asking for spare change at the nearby 7-Eleven and selling flowers on the street.

Luck was on his side, however, and in one of many chance encounters, he lent his guitar to a stranger. He learned later that the man was country singer Charley Pride, and it was Gasperik’s guitar Pride used in a photo shoot that day.

The interaction inspired Gasperik to save for a camera and start his own photography business, so he began working odd jobs. One included transporting blood from blood banks to hospitals. After moving back to Sherman to take a few photography courses at a local college, he returned to Dallas and started snapping pictures at a local rock club called Mother Blues. It was a go-to spot in the ’60s and ’70s for big-time music fans, says Kirby Warnock, then editor of Buddy magazine and current documentary filmmaker in Dallas.

Gasperik liked the club because it offered all-you-can-eat dollar hamburgers and beers on Sundays. It was also a place for more happenstance encounters, such as the Sunday when he noticed Willie Nelson sitting behind him.

“Back then, all of the top concert acts would come by Mother Blues after their shows,” Warnock says. “Because John was a regular there, he usually got their pictures.”

Warnock purchased some of Gasperik’s photographs for Buddy Magazine at the time; one in particular was a shot of Led Zeppelin’s frontman, Robert Plant. Gasperik simply walked up to Plant and asked if he could take his picture in the beer garden out back.

Easy as that, Plant said yes.

Shots in the dark

In 1975, Gasperik managed to buy a car and enough darkroom equipment to develop his photos, though he was still homeless. At night, he would meet women at the club and stay at their houses; he developed his photos in their kitchens to sell the next day. Gasperik received $5 for the Led Zeppelin photos and says they were his first paycheck as a photographer.

He became the unofficial house photographer for Mother Blues and began selling photos to Buddy. That helped him get a full-time photography job at a local talent agency during the late ’70s, which also gave him a place to live: He moved into the photo studio while he worked there.

A few years later, Gasperik scored a job at the brand-new Hard Rock Cafe, where he regularly met top musicians like James Brown, Pete Townshend, Don Henley and Roger Waters.

But Gasperik could make twice as much selling the records and music memorabilia he’d been collecting from garage sales. So he further scoured flea markets for vintage treasures in the ’90s and eventually opened his own shop near Lower Greenville in 2001.

He named it Shake Rag Music Store in honor of Elvis, whom he still adored.

“When Elvis was a little boy, he lived in Tupelo, Mississippi,” Gasperik says. (He’s a bit of a musical encyclopedia.) “His father got thrown in jail, so they had to move to the poorer part of town across the railroad tracks, which was called Shake Rag. That was when Elvis first heard the blues and gospel music. I figure that’s the birthplace of rock ’n’ roll, so I thought it was an accurate name for the store.”

The store later moved from Lower Greenville to Live Oak Street, where it operates today.

Musical library

A visit to Shake Rag is like stepping back in time. Posters of the Beatles and other artists line the walls alongside row after row of guitars and other stringed instruments for sale. Every nook and cranny is bursting with memorabilia — photos of musicians he’s met through the years, cases of vinyl. He’s captured five decades of music under one roof.

Michael McDaniel, a regular Shake Rag customer and a musician, says he used to pass the store daily until he stopped in on a whim. It was the life-size Elvis statue at the door that drew him.

“My mouth was agape because there was so much stuff,” he says. “He has packed in a ton of unique and pristine items in that store.”

Gasperik’s Beatles “Beat Time” pinball machine, priced at $2,000, is one such rarity. Produced in the mid ’60s, it is one of the only Beatles-style machines of its kind from that decade, Gasperik says.

So how does a longtime collector decide what to sell and what to keep? He says if he finds a record in better condition than what he owns, he’ll upgrade his personal collection and sell the other copies.

“My Beatles and Elvis collections are big,” he says, “I’ve got their entire catalogs in mono, stereo and mint-condition copies. I also have a collection of every style of guitar and drum set that each Beatle played.”

His record collection has taken a lifetime to build, and his current estimate is around 500,000 vinyl records, which includes his personal collection and the store’s copies. There are only a few items he couldn’t bear to sell: the Beatles slot machines, an original RCA dog and some of Elvis’ personal items that Gasperik purchased at an estate sale.

Although Gasperik loves buying and selling vintage rarities, he says he won’t be doing this forever. His collection has grown too big, he says, so he plans on selling most of it and closing down in two years.

His decision comes just as Dallas is having a surge of record stores, with several open or opening in the coming months. But for Gasperik, who has owned the store for 13 years, he has only a few more things he’d like to check off his musical bucket list.

“All my years, I’ve never actually met a Beatle, and I’ve only got two left to meet,” he says. “Before I die, I’d like to meet a Beatle and shake their hand.”

Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney are in town Oct. 11 and Oct. 13, respectively. This could be Gasperik’s chance.

Brenna Rushing is a freelance music writer in Dallas.

http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/music/headlines/20141004-meet-the-dallas-man-who-owns-a-half-million-records.ece

[Charles J. White]

Is it the love of music or is it the mental disorder of collecting things? Again speaking for no one else but me, anytime I was on the road for work, or out on vacation I always made a point of making note where such and such used record store was located that I happen to see when driving by, or looking places up online in a particular place where I was living or visiting and so on. It got to the point where I had to go and visit such and such used record store during a lunch break or perhaps in the evening when I had a few minutes to spare, otherwise I might have a bad day and think about what music I might be missing out on.

It began to dawn on me when my wife said to me, 'hey besides you and so and so, does anyone else spend so much time visiting used record store "A" ' and she was right although I refused to admit it at the time. When I was listing to Howard Stern discuss almost the exact same thing with similar details, I decided it was time to get rid of the posters, magazines, concert tickets, and other stuff. I had trouble getting rid of some stuff but for the most part have paired it down to just studio albums on whatever format.

Of course my home was robbed a number of years ago and I had some really SUPER RARE e.p's and self-financed album 1st recordings, pirates, and bootleg concert recordings of various bands, and autographed stuff stolen which also made it a bit easier to stop collecting, although it was one of the few moments in my life where I actually sat alone and cried about it when i realized they were stolen and never to be seen or owned again along with a rare turntable I owned - but I feel better now that I stopped collecting music related things and focus on just studio albums.

So I'm not sure if it's just "the love of collecting music" or a mental disorder. Maybe on a subconscious level, the collecting of music related things helps fill a void from childhood or something that I'm not in touch with yet?

[SteveAJones]

Is it the love of music or is it the mental disorder of collecting things? Again speaking for no one else but me, anytime I was on the road for work, or out on vacation I always made a point of making note where such and such used record store was located that I happen to see when driving by, or looking places up online in a particular place where I was living or visiting and so on. It got to the point where I had to go and visit such and such used record store during a lunch break or perhaps in the evening when I had a few minutes to spare, otherwise I might have a bad day and think about what music I might be missing out on.

It began to dawn on me when my wife said to me, 'hey besides you and so and so, does anyone else spend so much time visiting used record store "A" ' and she was right although I refused to admit it at the time. When I was listing to Howard Stern discuss almost the exact same thing with similar details, I decided it was time to get rid of the posters, magazines, concert tickets, and other stuff. I had trouble getting rid of some stuff but for the most part have paired it down to just studio albums on whatever format.

Of course my home was robbed a number of years ago and I had some really SUPER RARE e.p's and self-financed album 1st recordings, pirates, and bootleg concert recordings of various bands, and autographed stuff stolen which also made it a bit easier to stop collecting, although it was one of the few moments in my life where I actually sat alone and cried about it when i realized they were stolen and never to be seen or owned again along with a rare turntable I owned - but I feel better now that I stopped collecting music related things and focus on just studio albums.

So I'm not sure if it's just "the love of collecting music" or a mental disorder. Maybe on a subconscious level, the collecting of music related things helps fill a void from childhood or something that I'm not in touch with yet?

Interesting post, Charles though I don't know if I necessarily agree with your premise that collecting is a mental disorder as such. Having said that, I have noticed that the behavior of hoarders seems to be rooted in underlying or unresolved issues. Personally I don't consider myself a hoarder, but there's no question I am a collector (of many things). Collecting does fill an emotional void at times, particularly in hyper-impersonal environments or during troubled times.

Years ago there was a time when I would purposefully take trips solely to document concert venues Led Zeppelin had performed, but with the advent of the internet it began to seem a bit pointless. I could no longer justify going thru the time and expense when so many pictures were just a mouse click away, to include many taken during the same era they had actually performed.

If I am conflicted about anything now as a collector, it is my pursuit of bootleg compact discs. The prices are ridiculous and the content can normally be found for free. I've cut back considerably but every now and then I'll get the itch to purchase a stack of new releases and so I do.

[scylla]

When people talk about "collecting" records or books, I think there's a distinction to be made between collecting them to listen to / read them and collecting them just to... have them. The former is perfectly reasonable, even up to the point of having thousands upon thousands of records, if you really are that into your music and are listening to them all at least sometimes. The second seems, to me, deeply weird.

I've got a lot of books and records. E-readers and MP3 came along at just the right time for me - just as I was running out of shelf space, and out of places to build new shelves. So I've opted to embrace them both rather than become one of those people who get swamped in their crap and end up with it owning them instead of vice versa. It's a bit of a wrench - I do like the way all the stuff looks on the shelves - but it's the sensible option, and way better for the environment. The point is the music (or the text), not the physical object.

People who collect obsessively, to the point of hoarding and letting it take over their life and their home, all seem to be compensating for some lack elsewhere in their lives. Often if you dig a bit you find it's people who have a history of losing people or things they cared about in sudden and traumatic ways. Or else people who collect things that remind them of a "better time" because they feel their lives are worse now. It's about clinging to memories and refusing to accept that the past is past. Having the physical trappings of fun stuff you did when you were young (like keeping tickets from every gig you ever went to or whatever) can't ever make you actually feel that way again, and having something that has actual associations with someone you admire can't bring you any closer to them. Or can it, collection fans? Maybe that's the difference between collectors and non-collectors. Do you actually feel that it does? If someone here could tell me the point of having a T-shirt that belonged to your idol or a lock of their hair or whatever I would appreciate it, because I really don't get it. I mean, what do you do, just.... sit there and look at them? I don't even see the point of autographs. And if you like looking at backstage passes or whatever, you can see more online than you could ever collect yourself.

I used to have a "collection" of hundreds of NMEs, Melody Makers etc, not just for the sake of having them but for the information they contained - articles on my favourite bands. Ah, I remember the days when you actually had to access physical bits of paper to find out anything about the latest act you were obsessed with - scanning the small ads to find the right back issue of Q magazine or whatever and ordering it, buying fanzines (coins taped to a bit of card, sent in the post), going down the reference library just to find out what other records someone had made... the internet put paid to all that. I scanned the odd piece that didn't seem to be online, saved the lot on an external hard drive, and recycled all the music papers. I don't miss 'em. They were starting to smell musty, and I needed the room. I can find things way faster too - just search the computer for the right file name. Junked a load of reference books too - why have them gathering dust when you can Google it? I look forward to the time when technology obviates the need to collect anything. Digital hoarding, of course, is the new problem. I've got over 7,000 pictures saved, and if I lost my (several hundred) bookmarks I'd be utterly stuffed.

[bcarter690]

I don't know if this has been addressed on this thread yet but I've always wondered why people collect things.

I've heard theories that its often in response to some sort of trauma. Some way of controlling a little part of the world.

But I don't know if that holds true. Maybe for hoarders this theory applies. But for the casual collector, I think its just fun to search and obtain all of something that holds your interest.

As a kid, I collected bottle caps, match book covers, GI Joes and bubble gum cards.

That lead to the logical, eventual Zep collection.

[Charles J. White]

Interesting post, Charles though I don't know if I necessarily agree with your premise that collecting is a mental disorder as such. Having said that, I have noticed that the behavior of hoarders seems to be rooted in underlying or unresolved issues. Personally I don't consider myself a hoarder, but there's no question I am a collector (of many things). Collecting does fill an emotional void at times, particularly in hyper-impersonal environments or during troubled times.

I agree

[Charles J. White]

When people talk about "collecting" records or books, I think there's a distinction to be made between collecting them to listen to / read them and collecting them just to... have them. The former is perfectly reasonable, even up to the point of having thousands upon thousands of records, if you really are that into your music and are listening to them all at least sometimes. The second seems, to me, deeply weird.

I've got a lot of books and records. E-readers and MP3 came along at just the right time for me - just as I was running out of shelf space, and out of places to build new shelves. So I've opted to embrace them both rather than become one of those people who get swamped in their crap and end up with it owning them instead of vice versa. It's a bit of a wrench - I do like the way all the stuff looks on the shelves - but it's the sensible option, and way better for the environment. The point is the music (or the text), not the physical object.

People who collect obsessively, to the point of hoarding and letting it take over their life and their home, all seem to be compensating for some lack elsewhere in their lives. Often if you dig a bit you find it's people who have a history of losing people or things they cared about in sudden and traumatic ways. Or else people who collect things that remind them of a "better time" because they feel their lives are worse now. It's about clinging to memories and refusing to accept that the past is past. Having the physical trappings of fun stuff you did when you were young (like keeping tickets from every gig you ever went to or whatever) can't ever make you actually feel that way again, and having something that has actual associations with someone you admire can't bring you any closer to them. Or can it, collection fans? Maybe that's the difference between collectors and non-collectors. Do you actually feel that it does? If someone here could tell me the point of having a T-shirt that belonged to your idol or a lock of their hair or whatever I would appreciate it, because I really don't get it. I mean, what do you do, just.... sit there and look at them? I don't even see the point of autographs. And if you like looking at backstage passes or whatever, you can see more online than you could ever collect yourself.

I used to have a "collection" of hundreds of NMEs, Melody Makers etc, not just for the sake of having them but for the information they contained - articles on my favourite bands. Ah, I remember the days when you actually had to access physical bits of paper to find out anything about the latest act you were obsessed with - scanning the small ads to find the right back issue of Q magazine or whatever and ordering it, buying fanzines (coins taped to a bit of card, sent in the post), going down the reference library just to find out what other records someone had made...

That was me, I walked away from it, my wife and others would ask me why I had "so much junk related to music", it became embarrassing for me, and so I stopped. Keeping tickets to every gig was the one which annoyed my wife the most and one of my mates would just shake his head and tell me to throw the shit out. Besides studio music, the only other things I kept were music biographies or autobiographies because they helped pass the time of boring hotel nights. I must confess, I did keep a couple of T-shirts that hang on my office wall, and I kept a Beatles Trivial Pursuit board game.

[Charles J. White]

I can remember the exact moment, and feelings I had when my dad taught me how to use the turntable for the very first time, I would have been 6 years old, it was almost an addiction like sensation. That moment is what started me down the path of collecting music related things so I'm convinced that on a subconscious level there is more to it besides the love of music. The odd thing is when I showed my son how to use the turntable I could see a light bulb moment in his eyes but it went out a few minutes and he found the turntable and CD player to be just silly.