My Newest Video - New Additions to the Collection

Hey there, Wanna See My Seven Inches?

I just posted this video the other day. I decided to start going through my 7" vinyl singles. I grabbed a bunch at random and started talking about them. I think I'll be doing a few more volumes of these.

Record Collecting Makes a Comeback!!

The newest addition to my music room (aka the basement)

Over the last few months, my bug for record collecting has returned. Technically, it never really left. But, about a decade or so ago, I was really broke and sold a large portion of my collection to raise money. Since that time, I pretty much stopping buying vinyl.

Once I started doing my radio show, I started getting loads of promotional CDs. I barely needed to buy anything. In fact, I'd say that about 95% of the growth in my collection has been from free music sent to me for the radio. A few months ago, I finally gave up on getting my old turntable fixed. It was a classic, but when the motor died, I knew it would be more expensive to fix it than to replace it. A buddy of mine who fixes up old turntables and re-sells them, sold me a Sony table he had. I added a Shure cartridge, and have been using it ever since. In fact, it seems to have re-ignited my love for vinyl.

Over the last few months, I have added enough to my record collection that I needed to invest another storage option. I bought the above piece from Ikea. It's not sold as "record storage" - they sell it as shelving - but that's what it is perfect for. Now I have to fill it!!

Most of the stuff I have been getting is used. I hit up Half Price Books once or twice a week. I also try and stop by some other used record shops when I can. As far as brand new stuff goes, I usually only get it direct from artists at their concerts. There are exceptions. I recently grabbed the new 3 LP re-issue of Led Zeppelin's debut album. It is amazing. Well worth the cost. I also snagged 180g vinyl re-issues of The Kinks' 'Give the People What They Want' and KISS' 'Psycho Circus.' I grabbed the 'Psycho Circus' specifically for the lenticular cover. It was so cool I made a video of it:

Just Look at That!

Look at that baby! Ain't she sweet? It's the Shure M97xE High-Performance Magnetic Phono Cartridge that I ordered yesterday for my turntable. I can't fucking wait. Amazon had it discounted from $165 to $73. This is double what I have paid in the past for cartridges. But since I keep acquiring more vinyl, there is no need to get cheap when it comes to the cartridge. I anticipate falling into a deep vinyl hole this weekend.