Well, there’s no way to explain it, I had missed these gems from New Zealand’s musical past.  Some lost tracks from my time in student radio, others ingrained in my memory while playing on high-rotation on commercial radio. Love ’em or hate ’em, I had to have them on vinyl. It was almost embarrassing to be a Kiwi DJ and not have these on vinyl … or even CD. Some of these I loved. Some of these I loathed. Some of these I’d forgotten. Others I just never thought of buying. Most I’d never thought I’d see, let alone buy! Luckily (?!?) an associate was having a “Garage Sale” and I snagged these from him. I’m rapt.

Being a child of the 70s, 80s (and quite possibly a large chunk of the 90s), has provided me first-hand insight into changing … mediums. Analogue to digital and the creation many other digital channels. I can’t attempt to explain if any of these were good or bad ideas, but I will say, it continues to be a hell of a ride! ‘Cyclical’ is a word you may have heard thrown around. A lot. Seriously, it just keeps coming around …

What’s old is new – and by this I mean #vinyl. During my childhood, my medium of choice was an AM Radio and my parents’ Record Collection. I really enjoyed listening to music – nothing unique in that. I did take free piano lessons at Primary School, but after I’d mastered “Chopsticks” my enthusiasm had faded. So, back to radio and records. I listened to my parents’ records on an old wooden encased turntable/speaker set-up on our pool room (as in Pool Table). The first records I remember playing were The Doobie Brothers “The Captain and Me” and the Godspell Soundtrack, but I didn’t treat them well. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had no idea how to handle vinyl and I was pretty callous with those records. My parents weren’t impressed.

Lesson #1: Respect property – especially that of others. (Well, I was just 6-7yrs old)

Years later, once I had begun my vinyl journey (nobody called them vinyl back then, they were just records or albums) I began to realize I was a “collector” of sorts. More of an enthusiast, as I bought what I liked, when I could afford it. My first #Album was Queen – Greatest Hits (which later became known as Greatest Hits Vol.1) which was suggested by my step-brother, Darryl. He was a big fan.

Lesson #2: Listen to other opinions and be prepared to trust their advice.

I also remember buying my first 7” Single. As I began to listen critically to other types of music, I was intrigued by a song I kept hearing on the radio … other than the “oldies” tracks my parents had always seemed to listen to. I dropped my pocketful of collected change on the counter and proudly took home, Heaven 17 – “Temptation” … which was received with mixed reviews from friends/family.

Lesson #3: Research … and do what you like.

By now my collection was growing. Over the next few years I was introduced to; Punk, Post Punk, New Wave (well, more synth music), Alternative, Rock, Classic Rock and still more commercial “Hit Music”.

Lesson #4: Diversify.

I transitioned from volunteering on a local Campus (“alternative”) Radio Station to working at a local (“commercial”) Radio Station. I was faced with the dilemma of leaving the “cool” arena of alternative music I had discovered and playing the music I had previously sworn to hate! But it was my job… I found myself justifying this (because I loved listening to commercial radio as a child) by recognizing radio-friendly music served a purpose and had a happily engaged, listening market. Plus, I began to like it again.

Lesson #5: Embrace change and keep an open mind.

My first flatmate was a huge classic rock fan and a ‘Record Collector’. This was back in the days when you sent away a letter for a distributor’s catalogue, waited for it to arrive, read it cover to cover, made your selections, then mailed your order/bank draft back (often to another country) and happily waited several months for your records to arrive. He converted me into a classic rock fan and taught me a huge amount about the origins of “rock”.

Lesson #6: Always be ready to learn something new.

I even bought some Led Zeppelin II … on Compact Disc.

Lesson #7: Don’t be afraid of change.

But I still loved/bought vinyl.

Lesson #8: Stay true to yourself.

Eventually, with my growing experience and expansive record collection, I landed a gig DJing at a local nightclub. I needed to play a lot of “Dance Music”.

Lesson #9: Be prepared to Specialize.

In this role, I was expected to play requests, to a varied (and more often than not) intoxicated audience. Everyone wanted their favourite song played – or if they had just arrived and missed it, wanted it played again. Now!

Lesson #10: Diplomacy can be a huge advantage.

Eventually, I realized leaving a career in radio was not the smartest career move, so I was thankfully able to return to my previous role at the Commercial Radio Station.

Lesson #11: Don’t burn your bridges.

** Ok, those last two lessons weren’t directly related to vinyl, but they were learnt in the presence of vinyl. **

  —– —– —– —– —– —– —– I LIED. THERE’S ACTUALLY 18 LESSONS —– —– —– —– —– —– —–

Once I realized I had a true love of vinyl, that would continue (since I’d shipped my collection of approx. 1,200 records to Canada), my on-going collection skills needed to be honed. I need to learn the current norms of “Grading” the physical condition of used vinyl, as provided on Discogs. (NM – Near Mint to P – Poor)

Lesson #13: Keep up with current industry developments/techniques.

All very good! Buying vinyl again is fun, until after another visit to a local Music/Record Fair, you realise you’ve inadvertently purchased the same vinyl. Yes, I had a Excel Spreadsheet at home on my computer, but whilst “Create Digging” I had no way to double check my inventory. A fellow collector was happy to suggest a mobile option, which I now use almost every time I revisit a record store or music fair. This has saved me many double-ups/wasted money – plus, it’s great for insurance purposes!

Lesson #14: Invest in technology that will save you time & money.

So I was officially a vinyl collector, again! Buying vinyl records on-line has become vastly easier/safer in recent years, especially with the aid of sites like Discogs. As a result, I’ve made purchases from several international sellers (USA and Europe) and to reduce shipping costs per record, I often find myself buying additional vinyl … that’s more of an impulse.

Lesson #15: Set budgets and stick to them.

Also, walking into music fairs that are Cash Only, with only your budgeted amount in your wallet helps. Another problem I’ve discovered is at a later date, whilst physically digging through bins at local stores, I’ve then located the vinyl (previously purchased on-line) for a much cheaper price. Ouch.

Lesson #16: When possible research/buy local.

But I’ve also discovered the locally sourced vinyl or record sleeve, was of a lower quality than the record I had previously purchased/imported.

Lesson #17: Learn from your mistakes … but don’t beat yourself up.

Shortly before Discogs began to drain my bank account, I discovered a Canadian seller via Kijiji.ca who had many great albums/singles for sale. I contacted the seller, who emailed me the full catalogue in a spreadsheet. I spent many hours reading through the catalogue, creating a shortlist, before making a final selection for purchase. Once submitted, I was sent a price for my purchases & shipping – which required a Canada Post Money Order. This was a little unusual, being the age of Emoney transfers, PayPal etc. so although I felt somewhat weary I moved forward with my purchase. I Googled the postal address, checked the physical location, and reached out to some local collectors who were aware of this seller – who confirmed it was legitimate, their only concern was the grading could be a little “generous”. So, I mailed my order off  … which eventually arrived, well packed and as described.

Lesson #18: Be wary, but trust your “gut”.

There you have it. My “10 Life Lessons Vinyl Record Collecting has taught me” – these may not be ground-breaking, but I hope they were informative and perhaps even slightly amusing.

Happy Collecting! 

I really was convinced that I had all the Stone Temple Pilots (STP) I needed until I discovered this vinyl was available on Discogs. I’d like to think I have quite an expansive STP collection – first on CD, but more recently on vinyl. However, a few months back I set myself the challenge on retrograding (not sure if this is a real word, I use it a lot) all my STP to vinyl, BUT – just to make things interesting, in coloured vinyl or picture disk format. With Discogs and a few moments of internal conflict over “…did I really want to get a numbered, transparent Music On Vinyl re-release?” I just bit the bullet and begin the ordering process.

At this point, I thought I had all the STP vinyl I needed. Having seen STP in concert twice and enjoyed their acoustic sets I was “aware” of the MTV acoustic release, but had never really pursued this – mainly because I thought this was only available in CD format. I have to say my main concern with this vinyl was that it was unofficial. I’m still not 100% sure if this means Bootleg, but after investing in a (The) Cult bootleg LP a few years ago (and regretting it) I just expected the quality to be poor and to be disappointed. This was obviously prior to the internet and Discogs reviewers.

This was “released” by VINYLOGY a Russian website/company. The reviews said great sound quality, but many had a problem with the “gaps” between tracks … I’m guessing because this was dubbed directly from the CD? So as a borderline diehard STP fan, I took the calculated risk and ordered. It arrived, and apart from the slight split in the cover (caused by the motion of the record inside the cover) was in great condition. Note: I often request Discog’s Sellers remove the vinyl from the sleeve/cover prior to shipping to avoid this. Since this was a sealed LP and didn’t seem like the right thing to do. I have no idea why I think that.

There are a couple of differences from the CD release. “No Memory/Sin” is missing, but it does include “Vasoline” which includes the note “(BONUS 1994)”. I’m cool with that. A big fan of the song Vasoline, as ‘Core‘ remains my favourite STP album.

To conclude, another solid STP purchase! Again, I’m not sure if this is an illegal bootleg of the original MTV release, but I really enjoy hearing it on vinyl and I’m very glad I (finally) purchased it.

If you’d like to know more about this album, have a quick read of this Wikipedia page, which you may have to translate from Italian, but thankfully the Chrome browser will do this for you.