I had waited far too many days and become equally disappointed every time. My physical mailbox had not gotten any lettered food for a long time and was just as empty as my life. Well aware it was the time of the month when bills soon would drop in, I thought about putting up a note to the postman with the text "Fragile, Don't Crush" but decided not to do that as he never would understand anyway. Another useless day had passed. I was tired of people who pretended, those who acted as puppets in the drama of life. On the way home I realised summer was over and my body was too thinly dressed. I should had been used to it, but I was still not prepared for the cold. I missed something warm and genuine. The most concrete thing I found was lying on my desk - a phone bill for calls I did not remember I had called.
I miss the time when a new record could save my life. To check the mail and discover that the CDs I dreamt of had finally reached their new home. Material happiness which for a moment was the most important thing in life. Although it was bought with money. Although it lasted only a few seconds. It was only a few years ago, but that time feels infinitely far away.
To explain an extreme interest in music to an outsider is difficult. I have never really tried. I discussed pop music in general with a fellow pop nerd on the way home from the Camera Obscura concert. I think we both, not entirely unexpectedly, valued our respective record collection as our most prized material possession. I find it hard to imagine life without my records. They are part of my identity.
Collecting is a two-edged sword. It is fun and engaging, but you are never really satisfied. For every record I buy, I discover three new ones which remind me of gaps in my collection. There was a time when I was not aware of Shelflife, Labrador, Matinée or Sarah. It was probably not a better time but a simpler existence. My collecting is complicated. I clearly have a different relationship to records today compared to five years ago. My computer in combination with broadband have made me lazy. Many of my recently purchased records are lying untouched in the bookshelf while they have spun countless imaginary revolutions on the computer. I almost never play my CDs at home any longer. They mostly collect dust, but they still mean a lot and I could never imagine to get rid of them.
The feeling of something genuine may explain why I still buy records. Of course I want to do the right thing and support my favourite bands and record labels economically by purchasing their records, but that is only true for artists signed to small indie record labels I respect. I let the mainstream artist Anna Ternheim serve as an example. I buy her records because I want to own the CDs, but I have no sympathy for her record label which mainly spreads trash culture.
It is possible to explain collecting by comparing records with trophies, but I have never felt a persistent desire to show my collection to others. It feels, however, important to show the collection to myself. I recognise the spines of some favourite records while being several meters away. That is exactly why it is boring to sort folders on the computer whereas it is nice to move around phyiscal covers in the real CD collection. The folders remain as just only folders. They contain the music but nothing more. As I am writing this I am taking out Pulp's album Different Class to see how I react. It is clear that I have emotional bonds to the physical disc and the jewelcase cover, despite the ugly, round, purple sticker which says that the disc contains the singles Common People, Mis-Shapes and Disco 2000. I open the cover and take out the booklet. The feeling is as genuine (though of course not as magical) as the first time I came home with the CD.
My own record collection obviously means the most to me, but I also love to have a look at other people's collections. If I discover a band I adore, I further go through the collection encouraged by the possibility of finding another favourite record which I do not have in my own collection. I look at the fronts and backs, but do not take out the booklets, not in other people's collections. That only happens in exceptional cases. I get fascinated by record collections and easily disappear into my own world. I remember an afterparty where I could not help but look through the LP collection. The girl who lived there said she knew I would check the collection sooner or later. It is fun to guess what records a collection contains after I have seen parts of it. Each collection is personal and that is probably why it is so interesting to investigate plastic pieces and paper covers.
Take a record like Belle and Sebastian's The Boy With the Arab Strap as an example. It is printed in (at least) tens of thousands copies. It is thus in no way exclusive. The sound is almost as good on mp3. It is one of my favourite records, but it is also a very good proof that exclusivity is not the main factor in my collecting process. Memories are much more important, and that proably explain why I do not like used copies. Except for some Belle and Sebastian bootlegs, I think I only own one used record - The Primitives' Lovely. I want records that I have scratched and worn myself, but not records that already are destroyed and consumed by others. I am sick, I know. I should, however, have made an exception and purchased The Boy With the Arab Strap promo at the same time I bought the Tigermilk promo. Occasionally, used in near mint condition can be alright.
Records help me remember my life and songs often serve as chronological reference points. This became very clear the other day when a girl, with a more normal interest in music, by chance heard the song Lemon Tree by Fools Garden. After thinking for a while, she suddenly said "Paris 1996, just after I graduated [from high school]". That was a nice memory for her. For some, nostalgia is the main reason to collect, but I do not want to have that many old (old as in released a long time ago) records. It is boring to buy old records when you know in advance exactly how they sound.
The influence of file sharing on my record purchases is a subject I would rather not discuss in this text, but file sharing has inevitably affected my record purchases so I will try to briefly explain my views in the next paragraph and be done with that. It is fun to take a chance with a new album by a band I have not heard before, but I can not afford to buy records in that way anymore (someone who wants a Happy Mondays record?). Moreover, you sooner or later get to a stage where it is difficult to pick up recommendations from others. My taste in music had stagnated. Internet came as a saviour and revolutionized my music listening. With file sharing programs like Direct Connect, there is a chance to listen to records, to assess them solely by your own impressions and then decide if you want to purchase them. I order for about as much money per year as before. I am much more satisfied with my purchases nowadays, but seldomly surprised. I mainly buy CDs from bands signed to minor labels, and I have a special interest in EPs. I often buy records released by bands I would not know about if it were not for the internet. I would not buy anything I do not like, but records that are difficult to get hold of become more valuable because they are exclusive. I am thinking about buying The Snow Fairies' Get Married thanks to the wonderful front cover, but exclusivity or cover layout have never driven my collecting. In the end the musical quality of the record comes first.
To get back to the record collecting topic again, I note that much was different in the past. In the old days, I found it natural to listen to one album for several months. Things are changing for good and bad, and some memories change over time. I forgot why I bought many of my records. When I doubt my choices in life, I try to select the memories of why I made the choices I did. Sometimes the reasons I once had do not feel relevant or valid anymore, but they are important to make me understand. It is the same way with CDs. I sometimes become a little surprised to find No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom in my bookshelf, but I do not need to hear many seconds of Don't Speak to understand why I bought the album. Don't Speak may represent all the special songs I fell in love with at some point in life. Those songs alone made it worth to buy the albums (except for a few cases where I only should had bought the single). Don't Speak was released in 1995 and I was then 13 years old.
Today I am 23 years. I live another life with new bands and new favourite songs. The love of pop music is the only thing that lasts. If I ever in the future will remember this great blog, then it is not thanks to the band which wrote the song the blog is named after. I really wanted to name my blog after a song by Langauge of Flowers instead. Songsaboutyou was unfortunately already taken on blogger and I am still sorry about that.
I sometimes take my record collecting too seriously. I have given away the occasional singles because I thought they did not fit into the collection. Is there anyone who wants a record by Happy Mondays (yes, I hate Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches and that was the last time I listened to hype and established "truths" about what album you will like, that is quite a few years ago now) or Starsailor? It is just as if those records are dragging down the overall impression. I therefore need to get rid of them to get consistency in my collection.
Sometimes I miss opportunities to find bargains (the Shelflife sale, anyone?), but I have given up the idea of the perfect record collection. The records listed below would make me come close. I will not buy everything though and some of the records will get out of stock. That leaves me with Ebay only.
It feels just as good to tell you, because one of these records may become your The Boy With the Arab Strap or Songs About You. At the same time, I know it would feel very empty the day, I against all odds, would have obtained all these records. That would be the time to get a new hobby and start over again.
Songs About You is the only signed disc in my record collection, and it is also my all-time favourite album. If I have to choose another favourite in my collection, it would be the white promo single Is It Wicked Not to Care? with the green cardboard sleeve.
Finally, you will not get a link to my record collection. Pop music is not a competition. I prefer to call it love instead.
MY RECORD COLLECTION WISHLIST
Acid House Kings - Say Yes If You Love Me EP (2002, Labrador), 7.83 USD Tweekitten
Annemarie - The Living Model EP (CD-R, 2005, Music Is My Girlfriend), 30 SEK Fractiondiscs
Architecture in Helsinki - Fingers Crossed (2004, Bar None Records), 13.65 USD Cduniverse
The Arrogants - Your Simple Beauty EP (2000, Shelflife), 8.95 USD Tweekitten
The Arrogants - Nobody's Cool EP (2002, Shelflife), 8.95 USD Tweekitten
The Autocollants - Why Couldn't Things Just Stay the Same (1999, Shelflife), impossible to find
Backfish - It's Emily (1997), 145 SEK Dgr
Belle and Sebastian - Wrapped Up In Books EP (2004)
Marit Bergman - From Now On EP (2003)
The Besties - Singer (2006, Skipping Stones), 120 SEK Fractiondsics
Brittle Stars - Brittle Stars (2000, Shelflife), impossible to find
Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken (2006)
The Cardigans - For What It's Worth (2003)
The Consultants - Work From Home (2005, Shelflife), 13.85 USD Cduniverse
Dear Nora - Dreaming Out Loud (2001)
Douglas Heart -Douglas Heart (2003, Labrador), 149 SEK Dgr
Fibi Frap - How Fast Is Your Heart Beating EP (2004)
The Field Mice - Where'd You Learn to Kiss That Way (1997, Shinkansen), totally fucking impossible to get this in mint condition without paying over the odds but I want it.
Free Loan Investments - Ever Been to Mexico EP (2002, Shelflife), 10.55 USD Cduniverse
The Gentle Waves - Green Fields of Foreverland (1999, Jeepster), 159 SEK Dgr
The Gentle Waves - Falling From Grace EP (2001)
Go Sailor - Go Sailor (1996, Lookout), 12.15 USD Cduniverse
Happy Birthdays - Happy Birthdays (CD-R, 2004), 35 SEK Dgr
Heavenly - vs Satan (1990), 12.89 USD Cduniverse
Hello Saferide - Would You Let Me Play This EP 10 Times a Day (2006, Razzia), 39 SEK Dgr
Looker - Looker EP (2006)
Lucky Soul - Lips Are Unhappy (2006), 2.50 GBP Rough Trade
Mates of State - All Day EP (2004, Polyvinyl), 6.19 USD Cduniverse
Mates of State - Bring It Back (2006 Barsuk), 11.59 USD Cduniverse
The Maybellines - Chatfield Holiday (2002, Best Friends), 10 USD Tweekitten
My Favorite - Kids Are All Wrong EP (2003, Double Agent) 8.95 USD Cduniverse
Popsicle - Popsicle (1995)
The Positions - Bliss! (2006), 14.15 USD Cduniverse
Postal Blue - Road to Hapiness (2006, Humblebee), 55 SEK Fractiondiscs
The Primitives - Pure (1989)
Razorcuts - R Is for Razorcuts (2002, Matinée), 125 SEK Fractiondiscs
Razorcuts - A Is for Alphabet (2003, Matinée), 49 SEK Dgr
Red Sleeping Beauty - Singles (2000, Siesta), ahhhhhh how I want this.
Red Sleeping Beauty - Bedroom (1995)
Red Sleeping Beauty - Smile 7" (1995)
Rough Bunnies - Rough Bunnies Goes Pirate (2002)
Saint Etienne - Sylvie (1998), you find it on Ebay. I want the green one!
Saint Etienne - Good Humor (1998)
Shelflife Records - You're Still Young at Heart (2003), perhaps the best-ever collection. It includes Free Loan Investments - Rush Hour by The Shermans!
Shelflife Records - You Make Me Smile
Shelflife Records - One (2001)
The Shermans - Happiness Is Toy Shaped (2001, Shelflife), 12.50 USD Tweekitten
The Shermans - Falling Out of Love EP (2001, Shelflife), 8.95 USD Tweekitten
Skypark - Summer Days Are Forever EP (1998)
Slowdive - Souvlaki (1993), 9.75 USD Cduniverse
The Snow Fairies - Feel You Up (2003, Red Square), it is impossible to get hold of if unless you order directly from Red Square.
The Snow Fairies - Get Married (2005, Red Square), 110 SEK Fractiondiscs. Worth buying just for the cover.
The Snow Fairies - Voila! (2006), directly from the band in that case.
The Softies - It's Love (1995), 14.97 USD Cduniverse
Stars - Ageless Beauty (2004), I once found it at Swedish mailorder Cdon and should had bought it then.
Stars - Set Yourself on Fire (2004), I want the US edition (it is not worth to buy the European version because of the ugly front cover)
Strip Squad - Just Obey! EP (2005), also impossible to get hold of now.
The Tidy Ups - Dizzy Heights EP (2006, Music Is My Girlfriend), 45 SEK Fractiondiscs
The Wilson Hospital - Call Me A.S.A.P. (2003)
All records except for Red Sleeping Beauty - Smile are CDs. Buy them from Fraction Discs, Delicious Goldfish Records (Dgr), Cduniverse, Tweekitten and Rough Trade.
