The Vinyl Thread

[Imperor]

I talked about it. You demanded tolerated it. And now here it is. A thread to consolidate all our vinyl talk.

What'd you find recently? What are you listening to? How long do you think this thread will last? Why am I asking so many questions.

Here's my haul over the past week:

Sharon Van Etten - Epic - BING072
Bon Iver - For Emma Forever Ago - JAG115
Okkervil River - I Am Very Far - JAG185
Tom Waits - Mule Variations 11th anniversary reissue - Anti-87099-1
Radiohead - Kid A - Capitol 5284831
The National - "Terrible Love" b/w "You Were a Kindness" - AD3X50
Cut Copy - Zonoscope - MODVL134
EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints - SOU021LP

I've also had a lot of fun putting my entire collection on Discogs.com and figuring which pressings I had of what. Even managed to find out my Led Zeppelin IV is worth more than five times what I paid for it.

I'll tell you all about my adventures cratedigging for Stevie Wonder LPs if this thing takes off. If not, we'll pretend it never happened.

 

[bonocomet]

I vinyl. I have a lot of my collection (a few hundred maybe) from the olden days when it was the only way to go. All my nearly complete sets of Bowie and Beatles. U2 of course. The Beatles are mostly all original releases from the 60's and 70's, though I've never checked to see what they're worth since I'm not selling. I do wish I had kept all my vinyl though. When I moved from a larger house to a smaller one in the 80's I just left most of it in the old house.
I don't really go out actively buying vinyl anymore, though I do buy all U2's new releases on vinyl when they release them. I did find the Mofo remixes recently so I picked it up because it was pretty cheap, but I have no idea if that's even an official release (?)
And I will add that I love the smell of vinyl.

 

[No spoken words]

I really do miss vinyl. I often think about going that route once again but never pull the trigger. I should, though.

Nice thread.

 

[bono_212]

I started purchasing vinyl during my Sophomore year of college. I'm up to about 125 records by now. I wish I had more of The 2 than I do, but I've got the TUF single and album, so that's worth a great deal to me on its own.

But I'm actually most proud/pleased to own The Land Before Time Soundtrack.

 

[Jive Turkey]

I picked up Helplessness Blues the other day and was super pleased to find Small Change in the Waits section. Been looking for that one forever

 

[Imperor]

I picked up Helplessness Blues the other day and was super pleased to find Small Change in the Waits section. Been looking for that one forever

That's fantastic. I've had a hard time finding his stuff for a reasonable price, but I got an absolute steal on that Mule Variations reissue. I'm trying prioritize how to go about fleshing out my Waits collection. Nighthawks and Swordfishtrombones are probably my first orders of business, although I need Small Change, Blue Valentine, Real Gone, and uh, who am I kidding, everything else except for Mule Variations and Rain Dogs since they're the only two in my collection. It'll take a while. But given that I'm on week five of a massive Waits bender, they'd be good investments.

As far as Shuttlecock goes, I'm still always looking for the 90s albums. I've got all the 80s stuff plus No Net (which I'd happily part with if somebody really wants it), and I guess I'll be getting the inevitable Achtung Birdie reissue, but Cockropa and Poppycock have thus far eluded me.

 

[lazarus]

Speaking of Mule Variations, I found an empty CD case at the thrift store but wanted to buy it anyway for the booklet and the cover.

The guy gave it to me for free because I was also buying Blue Valentine, which did have the disc inside. So both of those for $1. Sweet.

Sorry that wasn't about vinyl. I did listen to Supertramp's Breakfast in America and Janis Joplin's Pearl on my record player the other day though.

 

[bono_212]

Breakfast in America

 

[cobl04]

One of my favourite things about going to America last year was martha's recommendation to check out these "Amoeba" stores. I first went to the one at the dodgy end of Haight St in San Fran, and spent a hunge or so, and then I spent about $300 at the one in Hollywood. In some ways it's probably a good thing I don't live near there, as I would literally waste my life away in that store. I spent six hours flicking through every rack and could easily have spent thousands. These are the vinyls I own, most of which came from Amoeba.

Architecture in Helsinki - Places Like This
The Beatles - Abbey Road
The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
David Bowie - Low
David Bowie - Station to Station
David Bowie - Stage
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest (bought because most of you kept banging on about how much better it sounds on vinyl)
The Flaming Lips - Embryonic (by a long, long way the coolest thing I own)
The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful/Doomed
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (special 35th anniversary edition, I think)
Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason (a gift from my brother's friend's Dad, who liked the letter to the editor I sent in when Rick Wright died)
The Police - Synchronicity
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Rolling Stones - Exile on Main St (the one that came out last year)
Steely Dan - Aja
Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstacy
Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic
U2 - The Unforgettable Fire
U2 - New Year's Day single
The Who - Live at Leeds

Unfortunately, my parents, thinking they were getting me a really good Christmas gift, got me a record player/cd/tape/radio/aux type thing, but it's a cheaper brand and records sound shithouse, so I've hardly listened to any of these.

 

[lazarus]

Man, I wish I had been standing up on the second floor video department balcony so I could have yelled "FRIGGIN' COBBLER!!" to everyone in that cavernous place.

 

[No spoken words]

the dodgy end of Haight St in San Fran,

Whew, so glad you survived.

 

[Imperor]

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (special 35th anniversary edition, I think)

That's the same edition I have. That's a very well put together set, right down to the posters and stickers. Plus it's one of the weightiest records I own. **** feels like 360 grams. I'm jealous of your Low and Station to Station, you should know.

You'll appreciate this, by the way: Outkast - Insound.com

 

[u2popmofo]

Despite not owning a record player, I still have a small collection of vinyl. I'll have to compile and list what I have sometime.

 

[cobl04]

That's the same edition I have. That's a very well put together set, right down to the posters and stickers. Plus it's one of the weightiest records I own. **** feels like 360 grams. I'm jealous of your Low and Station to Station, you should know.

You'll appreciate this, by the way: Outkast - Insound.com

Yeah it's awesome, and very heavy. Station to Station and Low are second hand, but awesome nonetheless.

And I can't decide whether to thank you or curse you for bringing that to my attention. They deliver to Australia, so there goes well in excess of $100!

 

[bonocomet]

I love Amoeba in Hollywood and sometimes drive up there and spend hours just browsing.

 

[Imperor]

And I can't decide whether to thank you or curse you for bringing that to my attention. They deliver to Australia, so there goes well in excess of $100!

You'll at least save some coin by not buying **** ass Idlewild.

 

[cobl04]

You'll at least save some coin by not buying **** ass Idlewild.

Very true. I'd be happy to be part with the CD copy I have of it to be honest. Not very good.

 

[martha]

Unfortunately, my parents, thinking they were getting me a really good Christmas gift, got me a record player/cd/tape/radio/aux type thing, but it's a cheaper brand and records sound shithouse, so I've hardly listened to any of these.

It's all about the needle, my boy. A shitty needle will permanently ruin records.

 

[LemonMelon]

Whew, so glad you survived.

Seconded. The remaining members of Grateful Dead have nothing left to do but come down and murder.

 

[the tourist]

I'm going to pillage my parents' 45 collection sometime very soon. They've got a couple hundred of them... stuff I grew up on. They never, ever listen to that stuff and would probably gladly just sign it on over to me as long as I make them cds of all of it.

 

[Reggo]

I don't have a lot of vinyl, but what I have I think is pretty cool. The entire Lookouts' discography, including the first album ever pressed by Lookout Records back in 1984. Its serial number says it's number 7. I'm the kind of nerd that thinks that sort of thing is cool.

My most prized vinyl, though, is an original pressing of the Sex Pistols' Never Mind The Bollocks... in amazing condition. Found it in a used vinyl shop downtown. Love that thing.

How does one clean the dust off of vinyl? A soft cloth like a Shamwow or something?

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Yeah, my parents have a **** ton of awesome old vinyl albums from the '60s and '70s that they haven't touched in forever, and that are going to be passed down to me.

Impy, on that discogs.com site, where do you look to find out how much a specific vinyl album is worth?

Not that I'd sell them, but I'd be very curious to see if my parents are sitting on some valuable ****.

I know that my mom has original (or at least very close to original) vinyl pressings of Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Peppers, and Abbey Road.

And my dad has so much stuff. I really should write it all down someday and post the list here. Basically all the big "sacred cow" famous ass '70s rock albums, and an assortment of other ****. I wouldn't sell any of the stuff I really liked, but if I find out that my dad is sitting on a copy of ****ing Aqualung that's worth $200 bucks, it might be tempting.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

here's all my stuff: dizrythmia dot com

i haven't had a chance to buy much lately because of money issues and being separated from my record player. last thing i bought was duran duran's boys keep swinging (pink vinyl, woo).

my parents have even more records than i do, but i don't consider them mine, but of course i can play them whenever i want (when i'm in town, obvs).

 

[cobl04]

Man, I wish I had been standing up on the second floor video department balcony so I could have yelled "FRIGGIN' COBBLER!!" to everyone in that cavernous place.

I love Amoeba in Hollywood and sometimes drive up there and spend hours just browsing.

I could literally spend an entire day there no worries at all.

 

[martha]

How does one clean the dust off of vinyl? A soft cloth like a Shamwow or something?

A VERY clean, 100% cotton t-shirt can be ok to use. Wipe in the direction of the grooves, lightly.

And always wash your hands before handling the records, even when you're just turning them over. Always handle them by the edges and the centers; try to never touch the vinyl itself.

/tutorial

 

[Imperor]

Impy, on that discogs.com site, where do you look to find out how much a specific vinyl album is worth?

Once you find the exact pressing you have or you're looking for, you can check out who's selling it and for how much on the right side of the screen. It's not an exact appraisal of what a particular record is worth, but it's interesting to see what price people list them. It's almost kind of like an old baseball card collection with a copy of Beckett, something I loved doing as a kid.

 

[onebloodonelife]

I'll have to do an inventory soon, but I think last time I counted, I was topping 150 records, including some Beatles first pressings, Sgt. Pepper's in mono, and a signed Shearwater 7".

 

[bono_212]

Once you find the exact pressing you have or you're looking for, you can check out who's selling it and for how much on the right side of the screen. It's not an exact appraisal of what a particular record is worth, but it's interesting to see what price people list them. It's almost kind of like an old baseball card collection with a copy of Beckett, something I loved doing as a kid.

When the new issue of Beckett came out, my world stopped for about five hours while I appraised my baseball card collection.

It wasn't quite so much fun when I found out the cards I had that were worth the most were fakes . Ah to be ten again.

 

[If you shout...]

Impy, on that discogs.com site, where do you look to find out how much a specific vinyl album is worth?

If you're checking market values, Discogs is mostly worthless. The market is poorly maintained and inconsistently updated by sellers, because it's free to list **** (unlike eBay). It's not that everything is wrong, but that there's no way to find out what is right. Go here, like everyone else, if you need to appraise something:

popsike.com - vinyl records lp price guide - record collector

Again, not perfect. But a **** of a lot better.

 

[IWasBored]

i stopped buying stuff on vinyl when i ceased to own a record player (although i did drop a couple extra bucks on interpunk.com when i realized that it would get me the most recent bad religion album on vinyl and cd packaged together). it would just be collecting something, and not actually using it now, which makes no sense to me. but i used to spend a decent amount of money on singles (especially splits) and EPs because they contained non-album tracks from the albums i decided were better bought on cd for the whole practicality/portability thing (in college=limited turntable access, while sonically awesome meant bringing milk crate o' vinyl to radio station with me). before that, i used to raid the used record store in town on a regular basis--which is why i own multiple copies of each clash album and quite a few springsteen albums (except combat rock and tunnel of love. i only have them on vinyl for some reason).

i never got to the point where i'd buy the same single multiple times because it came in blue, green, and red and needed them all, but i was kind of enamored with colored vinyl for about a year. felt the same way about picture discs, which is why i have some weird bootlegged interview with u2--well, that and i think it was 2 bucks. it looked like a good idea, but the sound quality was so crappy you can't even hear the interview. singles-wise, i've mainly got a bunch of punk rock 7"s, none of it super crazy obscure or anything.

vinyl...the only thing i've ever bought on ebay. every so often i consider trying to unload some of it on ebay, but that sounds like too much of a hassle masking a shred of sentimentality or something.

that u2-3 12", someone's gotta want that, right? no album art, found it in a box of u2 stuff (and yes, i did buy pretty much all the crap in that box of stuff. mostly records, but there was some book and a handful of passengers/pop-era propaganda magazines) for 5 bucks at a used record store, i seemed to think it was cooler than sliced bread when i was 17, but now not so much.