This post is for those of you who have a passion for music. If that's not your thing, you might have trouble understanding the level of excitement I felt when friends recently sent me a package of old records that I used to own.
First, here's the background story:
I left the UK in 2005 and decided to live my life in Canada. One of my decisions was to travel light, so I started giving away some of my things to friends and neighbors. At that time, I had a significant CD collection and listened to all of my music on a Marantz CD player, through a pair of Mission speakers. To my ears, music had never sounded so clear. I didn't feel the need to transplant my remaining vinyl records to another country. I hadn't even had the means to play them for several years. I ended up donating them to one of my closest friends. We spent years attending concerts together and countless evenings listening to music on the Marantz system, so he was the obvious choice.
More than 10 years passed without me giving a second thought to my old vinyl collection. Then one day, another close friend finally convinced me to give vinyl another try. I bought a turntable. That simple sentence actually required a lot more effort than you might imagine.
There are many areas where I will happily buy a budget option, but that's not the case when it comes to music. My usual thought process is to buy one of the entry level options from a proven manufacturer. I narrowed down my search and eventually found myself choosing between an Audio Technica LP120 and a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC). The Pro-Ject was my final choice. Then I needed some records.
The biggest reason for attempting to improve the way I listened to music involved Modest Mouse. I had been a casual fan of the band for years, but during 2014, I found myself playing the band's music almost non-stop. The albums that I had dismissed as being too raw finally fell into place. I loved it all. How could I listen to that spectacular music in a way that would do it justice? I found myself ordering every Modest Mouse album on vinyl (I already owned the CDs). Unfortunately, the shipment was delayed until Strangers To Ourselves was released, so my initial new record collection was limited to Ugly Casanova's Sharpen Your Teeth. I gave the album one listen and I was completely sold on the vinyl experience. I found myself sitting in the dark listening to every note as if it was being played by a musician sitting across from me.
I spent about $1,000 on records and equipment before I heard that one record. If I hadn't liked the result, it would have been an expensive experiment. If you factor in concerts, the various format changes, equipment, and remastered and bonus versions of existing albums, I have easily spent $50,000 on music over the course of my life. It's safe to say that I'm a fan and that music is important to me.
That was a longer background story than I anticipated, sorry.
Ever since I rediscovered vinyl two years ago, I've had a dilemma. Just what exactly should I buy? If I just buy everything I already own on CD, am I wasting money? How many albums do I listen to on a regular basis? Can I justify buying things I might not play even once during the year? So I decided that vinyl would be the ultimate format for those albums that do receive regular play, and I would restrain myself beyond that. To further complicate things, I knew that eventually my friends would dig through their attic and return the records I gave them 12 years ago. I never anticipated asking for them back, but I didn't understand the level of passion I would feel for the old format. When I found out they weren't being played, I explained what it would mean to me if they could possibly be returned. Once that became a certainty, I had to reign in my purchases even more. What had I owned anyway? What would be in those boxes when I finally opened them?
As a result of all these unknowns, my record collection numbered just under a hundred until a certain package arrived a few days ago. I paid the shipping, which ended up being $280. To my surprise, the package took just one day to travel from England to Canada. I collected the records and sat down to document the experience. The first thing I noticed is that the entire package fit into two record cases, one black and one brown. I recognized those cases from my past. I had bought them around 30 years ago.
What would I find inside?
I started with the heavier brown box. It appeared crammed with a mixture of 12" singles and LPs.
Would I find anything embarrassing from my extreme youth? Probably not.
The first thing out of the box didn't even have a cover. Ah yes, The Beatles 1967-1970 compilation I had bought from a friend for 50 pence while I was in school. I decided to make an Excel spreadsheet as well as add everything into my Discogs collection. I didn't actually own any Beatles vinyl until that moment. While not a band I listen to very often, it was exciting to own an original pressing of something that had sentimental value to me.
Next out of the box was an album by the Fall. My favorite band from about 1980 to 1995 was heavily represented. I became more and more amazed at what was in the box. That first album, A Part Of America Therein, 1981, was one of 17 Fall albums in the box. The first 11 studio albums were all there, along with a live album, a few compilations, and the legendary Slates EP. There were also a number of 12" singles and 45s. Try to imagine yourself in a similar situation. One of the most important bands in your life is suddenly a huge part of your record collection again. The vast majority of the albums are original pressings and most are out of print (although a few are starting to see releases again).
One thing I noticed immediately was that everything was in incredible shape. No musty smell, damage, or warping of any kind. They actually look clean enough to play in many cases, but I'll definitely clean them first.
Next out of the box was Blondie. In fact, the first six studio albums were there, as well as a 12" and some of Debbie Harry's solo stuff. I almost bought Parallel Lines at the flea market every time I saw it. I'm glad I restrained myself.
All of these thoughts about music make me think about where our musical influences originate. My parents and grandparents never showed any interest when I was growing up, so my early favorites came from listening to the radio. Then, when I was about 12, my neighbor introduced me to the music of David Bowie. That has stuck with me for more than 40 years and I still own most of Bowie's output. Perhaps my biggest influences came from school and then the John Peel show. You can easily see Peel's influence here as 39 of the 111 records are by The Fall. I was delighted to find more bands originally discovered by listening to Peel's show. This first box included albums and EPs by Half Man Half Biscuit and Yeah Yeah Noh. Bands discovered at school included The Damned and John Cooper Clarke, so I was delighted to find Damned Damned Damned and two Clarke albums hiding in the box.
And so to the second box. It felt a lot lighter than the first because about half the records were 7" singles. That said, it was still an exciting package. The most welcome and unexpected record was definitely the original pressing of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures. I remember buying it in the final years of school. The recent 180g remaster sounds fantastic, but it's incredible to own the original again. The black textured sleeve with its iconic logo was in superb shape.
Other welcome finds in the second box included singles from The Wedding Present, Sugarcubes, Pavement, Magazine, and Throwing Muses. My Muses vinyl collection is severely lacking and most of the albums are out of print, but it is good to have a few more singles and EPs to play on vinyl. There were a few other surprises, such as a Bill Nelson single on red vinyl and the Buzzcocks' Spiral Scratch EP, which has always been a favorite of mine.
Music is like a time machine. It allows us to travel back and experience all kinds of things, good and bad. The memories attached to these particular records are mostly very good and it's great to have doubled the size of my fledgling collection. I can't thank my friends enough for the effort involved in making this happen.
For those of you who like statistics as much as me, here is a full list of what was in the boxes:
| Artist | Title | Format |
| Beatles | 1967-1970 | 2LP |
| Beck | Devils Haircut | 7" |
| Belly | Pretty Deep | 7" |
| Belly | Seal My Fate | 7" |
| Blondie | Sunday Girl | 12" |
| Blondie | AutoAmerican | LP |
| Blondie | Blondie | LP |
| Blondie | Eat To The Beat | LP |
| Blondie | Parallel Lines | LP |
| Blondie | Plastic Letters | LP |
| Blondie | The Hunter | LP |
| Bowie, David | Pinups | LP |
| Bragg, Billy | Between The Wars | 7" |
| Breeders | Head To Toe | 10" EP |
| Buzzcocks | Spiral Scratch | 7" EP |
| Clarke, John Cooper | Me And My Big Mouth | LP |
| Clarke, John Cooper | Zip Style Method | LP |
| Damned | Damned Damned Damned | LP |
| Drugstore | Fader | 7" |
| Dury, Ian | Do It Yourself | LP |
| Fall | Slates | 10" MiniAlbum |
| Fall | Hey! Luciani | 12" |
| Fall | Mr Pharmacist | 12" |
| Fall | The Peel Sessions | 12" |
| Fall | Why Are People Grudgeful? | 12" |
| Fall | Telephone Thing | 12" EP |
| Fall | Couldn't Get Ahead | 12" Single |
| Fall | Free Range | 12" Single |
| Fall | Living Too Late | 12" Single |
| Fall | There's A Ghost In My House | 12" Single |
| Fall | Victoria | 12" Single |
| Fall | Call For Escape Route | 12" Single + 7" Single |
| Fall | Kicker Conspiracy | 2 x 7" |
| Fall | Bingo-Master's Break-Out! | 7" |
| Fall | C.R.E.E.P. | 7" |
| Fall | Cruiser's Creek | 7" |
| Fall | How I Wrote 'Elastic Man' | 7" |
| Fall | Lie Dream Of A Casino Soul | 7" |
| Fall | Oh! Brother | 7" |
| Fall | Rehearsal Early '77 (Vol.1) | 7" |
| Fall | The Man Whose Head Expanded | 7" |
| Fall | Totally Wired | 7" |
| Fall | 77 - Early Years - 79 | LP |
| Fall | A Part Of America Therein, 1981 | LP |
| Fall | Bend Sinister | LP |
| Fall | Dragnet | LP |
| Fall | Grotesque (After The Gramme) | LP |
| Fall | Hex Enduction Hour | LP |
| Fall | Hip Priest And Kamerads | LP |
| Fall | I Am Kurious Oranj | LP |
| Fall | Live At The Witch Trials | LP |
| Fall | Palace Of Swords Reversed | LP |
| Fall | Perverted By Language | LP |
| Fall | Room To Live | LP |
| Fall | The Wonderful And Frightening World Of... | LP |
| Fall | This Nation's Saving Grace | LP |
| Fall | Totale's Turns (It's Now Or Never) | LP |
| Fall | Fall In A Hole | LP + 12" EP |
| Fall | The Frenz Experiment | LP + 7" |
| Foxx, John | No-One Driving | 2 x 7" |
| Foxx, John | Metamatic | LP |
| Girls Against Boys | Super-fire | 10" |
| Half Man Half Biscuit | The Trumpton Riots | 12" EP |
| Half Man Half Biscuit | Dickie Davies Eyes | 12" Single |
| Half Man Half Biscuit | Back Again In The D.H.S.S. | LP |
| Half Man Half Biscuit | Back In The D.H.S.S. | LP |
| Harry, Debbie | Free To Fall (Picture Disc) | 12" Maxi |
| Harry, Debbie | KooKoo | LP |
| Harry, Debbie | Rockbird | LP |
| Harry, Debbie/Blondie | Once More Into The Bleach | 2LP |
| Joy Division | Unknown Pleasures | LP |
| K.U.K.L. | The Eye | LP |
| Lennon, John | Imagine | 7" |
| Magazine | Give Me Everything | 7" |
| Magazine | Touch And Go | 7" |
| Nelson, Bill | Furniture Music | 7" |
| Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark | Red Frame/White Light | 7" |
| Pavement | Carrot Rope | 7" |
| Pavement | Stereo | 7" |
| Pavement | Give It A Day | 7" EP |
| Peter Cook & Dudley Moore | Derek And Clive (Live) | LP |
| Pixies | Debaser (Demo) | 7" |
| Pixies | Limited Edition Interview Picture Disc | LP |
| Psychedelic Furs | Dumb Waiters | 7" |
| Queen | Bohemian Rhapsody | 7" |
| Queen | Now I'm Here | 7" |
| Riley, Marc with the Creepers | Fancy Meeting God! | LP |
| Sonic Youth | Master=Dik / Beat On The Brat | 12" EP |
| Specials | Ghost Town | 7" |
| Sugarcubes | Deus | 10" |
| Sugarcubes | Planet | 12" |
| Sugarcubes | Walkabout | 7" |
| Throwing Muses | Chains Changed | 12" |
| Throwing Muses | Dizzy | 12" |
| Throwing Muses | Dizzy (Promo) | 12" |
| Throwing Muses | Counting Backwards | 12" Maxi |
| Throwing Muses | The Fat Skier | 12" MiniAlbum |
| Throwing Muses | Ruthie's Knocking | 7" |
| Throwing Muses | Shark | 7" |
| Throwing Muses | Shark | 7" |
| Various | Vinyl Conflict 2 | 7" |
| Various | They Shall Not Pass | LP |
| Wedding Present | Brassneck | 12" |
| Wedding Present | The Peel Sessions | 12" |
| Wedding Present | Montreal | 7" |
| Wedding Present | Montreal | 7" |
| Wedding Present | Sucker | 7" |
| Wings | Listen To What The Man Said | 7" |
| Yeah Yeah Noh | The Peel Sessions | 12" Maxi |
| Yeah Yeah Noh | When I Am A Big Girl | 12" MiniAlbum |
| Yeah Yeah Noh | Cutting The Heavenly Lawn Of Greatness | LP |
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