Wheat and Chaff
September 17, 2008 by Ailbhe Malone
Filed under Anablog
There’s an interesting post on the blog section of yesterday’s Guardian re: culling albums. Yer man argues that 200 albums is enough for anyone to own, even for research/reviewing purposes. Right now, I own about 400 albums. I think. I haven’t checked. Physically, I certainly have about 300. Then there’s iTunes. Throwing away music feels a little like defining who you are by what you’re not. While I can’t think of a time in the future where I’d desperately need to listen to the Coyote Ugly OST, I’m still reluctant to throw it away. It has a decent bluegrass song on it that I once liked. Also, if I had culled all my albums a couple of years ago, I probably would have chucked out a John Coltrane box set- one that I listen to a lot now.
Here’s the question for today then, asked again for our non-Guardian readers, is 200 records enough? If so, what would you cull from your collection?
Edit: I actually checked how many records I own. Physically, 400. Non-physically, about the same again. And I’m keeping them all.
I’ve got about 3,000 albums and I wouldn’t throw out a single one of them. When you own about 600 albums people say “Cor, what a big record collection you have – how impressive! Do you own ‘Trout Mask Replica’? Great! Classic innit? Let’s not listen to it though…” But when you own thousands of records, people say “What are you doing!? Are you MENTAL? Do you have OCD?”
Pathetically, I can’t bring myself to just throw things away, but I’m happy to lend people records, and if they don’t give them back I think “oh good they liked that one…”
I own all of Morrissey’s albums, but believe me, it doesn’t make you happy! (Boom, boom!)
I’m the same. I don’t mind records going astray, but I don’t physically like to put them in the bin. Point in fact, my desk drawer is full of free compilation cds from every magazine I have ever bought. Want an acoustic version of 5ive’s ‘When The Lights Go Out’? I’m your woman.
I lost most of my CD’s moving house about eight years ago, and have been all digital ever since. I rip, and then ignore (or give away) those CD’s I do buy (can’t give away review copies due to watermarking unfortunately). According to iTunes I have 3188 albums; and yes I delete / don’t ‘acquire’ stuff that I’m not interested in – the pool of music is limitless, hard drive space is not. Screw CD’s, although I’d probably buy vinyl if I had a record player, as it really does sound nicer. Even if, as MayKay says “Only cunts buy vinyl”.
I can’t collect shit. I’m crap at it. Sometimes I just fuck buckets of stuff away, it gives me a thrill, like when the KLF burnt all that money, except on a smaller scale. I tend to upset people when I don’t look after material presents they give me. All my CDs are on loan, scratched, snotted on, banjaxed and pathetic. I left about 30 in a taxi a month ago. It felt good to be rid of them. Various mystery gummy substances were making them cling to the sleeves in my CD carrier.
I remember they had some DJ Top Trump cards out about ten years ago. John Aquaviva had about 10,000 records, or so the card said. I remember thinking to myself, ‘why does he have that many records?’
I’m both ashamed and proud to say that I’ve probably that amount myself. There’s an awful lot of shite amongst it though. These days I dispose of albums by giving them to charity shops. Reduce, reuse, recycle.
But Matt, what if you want them back?
He’s not getting ‘em!! I’m trawling all the oxfam shops today in order to see what I can get. Hey there’s an analogue feature! You heard it here first haha.
Like in Smash Hits! when they used to go through people’s bins?
As has happened a few times, I’ve given it away only to want it back. In which case I spend a stupid amount of cash to order it online from some far flung online record shop. As such I only give it to a charity shop if i really don’t want it.
BTW If you went through my bins you’d only find lots of shitty kids nappies. Maybe that last line should read kid’s shitty nappies.
Or even kids’ shitty nappies! Grammar and syntax is such a pain in the hole.
Grammar and syntax is such a pain in the hole. Pun intended?
I used to count the CDs I had really obsessively, and took great pride in the fact that I had more than my friends, but now I couldn’t get an accurate count because so many of them are loaned to people, or I can only find the box, or I know I have it but can’t find any physical evidence, or it’s on vinyl.
I’ve definitely got more than 200 exclusively on CD though, probably about 400 including review copies, singles and compilations. If 200 is meant to include downloads, then I’d have no chance of surviving on that. Every album I’ve ever given away or swapped I’ve wanted back within a year. It’s a psychosomatic thing.
You know I have spent the last week or so since iTunes changed format organizing my iTunes which has virtually all my music. Since they put the new format where you see the pics of the albums and not just the names my slight OCD nature has meant I HAVE to put an album cover to all and do it manually. I don’t know why but I have to.
Anyway during this I have decided to make my collection on my computer more manageable and culling a lot of albums I don’t need or listen to. I am liking the streamlined nature of it all. 200 albums gone I am down to about 700 on my computer so far and half way through my culling and I am enjoying it.
I am a natural hoarder as well. I can’t throw anything away but have been tempted to give away my physical albums recently but I don’t know.
Ooops, i stopped counting at 4,000 albums!
mostly digital now though.
I have just under a thousand albums on cd and pushing 3000 on digital. I also have twelve on vinyl. I’m a hoarder and ‘acquire’ roughly ten albums a week- although I do make a point of listening to them straight away it can often be a case of ‘oh actually you’re shit- onto the pile with you’. My filing systems a joke and in need of a major overhaul. If only there was time…
Yeah the digital compost heap can be unforgiving. Come to something in the wrong mood the night you download it and it might be tainted for the rest of its life.
That’s the thing you see, if I actually physically own a record, I’m likely to be far more forgiving. Whereas if I can’t see its (metaphorical) little face, I don’t really care if it lives or dies in the aether.
Um, I haven’t got a clue. They’re all over the house in teetering stacks, mainly in the conservatory where the spiders live. I have the most informed spiders in north Dublin. 900 albums on iTunes at the moment and that’s after my friend wiped everything by mistake a few months ago *sob*
I tend to buy Irish EPs and albums. I rarely ever buy international stuff, it mysteriously turns up on my hard drive after a late night on the web *cough*. The reason being, I might love something for a few weeks but eh, who the fuck listens to Anthony and the Johnsons now? Zackly.
I listen to Antony and the Johnsons now. The self-titled album and “I Am a Bird Now” AND the Hercules and Love Affair album too. Why the hell did you give up listening to Antony and the Johnsons??
I listened to I Am A Bird Now about a month ago. It’s high up the alphabetised list so it gets a click about once every six months.
I hoard so much crapola I even have every Observer Review section from the last year under my bed. Sad.