Tag Archives: vintage vinyl

Her Vinyl Quest

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New Stack 2

Another package filled with vinyl arrived last night and I could hardly contain my excitement. Since starting this new collection just about 4 weeks ago, this may have been the longest stretch without bringing a new album into our home – 7 whole days. To be fair, the delivery was slightly delayed due to the inclement weather over the weekend, which really set my level of jonesing up on high. I am certain that I must be driving my husband crazy by now, but he just shakes his head and smiles a little – after reminding me how fast my collection is increasing.

In just about 4 weeks, I now have 47 albums, but is that fast? I supposed it might be, but I really have no comparison. For someone who didn’t stumble upon a collection left by a relative, I suppose I might have made some swift progress, but let me break it down just a bit. Of those 47 albums, 14 were new purchases, 2 were gifts, and the rest were either bin finds or pretty cheap purchases from a handful of online shops. All in all, I think I’m doing just fine, but stopping to consider this inspired me to move forward with some intent for building the collection, something besides the obvious of having as many awesome and varied records as possible.

After picking up on a similar idea while reading through various vinyl blogs, I’ve decided to make it my mission to purchase one record that carries some significance for each year of my life. Now, this doesn’t mean that this is all that I will purchase, that would just be madness, but it does give me some focus, and it definitely makes for a great challenge that is sure to spark some deep thinking and just plain fun. My rough plan is this:

  • Start with creating the list. Working year by year, I’ll need to spend some time determining the options. This could potentially mean that what I want on vinyl for a particular year may not be available, so some back up options might be necessary, but figuring out what to dig for is going to be half the fun – then comes the actual digging.
  • Soundtracks are okay if they are significant enough, but I plan to stay away from greatest hits selections. Given that they are basically compilations of works over various years, something about it seems like cheating in this case.
  • The entire album doesn’t necessarily need to be significant (that’s a pretty tall order), but there should at least be a solidly meaningful song included, or maybe it has more to do with the artist and the time than even just a song. I should be able to figure that out as I work through each year.
  • I’m still trying to determine how I feel about reissues. My thoughts are to  avoid any reissues, and that is certainly where I’ll start, but I’ll let the hunt determine where I officially land on this point. Some exceptions may be necessary, but we shall see.
  • There is no time limit on this quest of mine, but I start today. I cannot use any of the albums I’ve already purchased towards this challenge – which just knocked a few good ones out.

Obviously, if this interests you at all, you’ll be able to follow my journey right here on the blog. In fact, a new category is in order: Her Vinyl Quest. Let the fun begin!

– Her

Whiskey Vinyl Vibe #3

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Costello

She talked me into rummaging through the bins at the local “antique mall” today – as she was after some vintage vinyl to add to the collection. I, of course, indulged her – as we tend to do that for each other when it comes to our own little obsessio…. err… hobbies.

After a lovely lunch at our local German-style brewery/biergarten (Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, if you’re interested) we toddled off to the antique mall. I’d been there once before, but never paid any attention to the records on offer.

She made out pretty well, we both had a good time and I managed to score a really solid copy of Elvis Costello’s “The Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions”.  So, that’s the record we put on when we got home, as it was now her turn to indulge me. I love Elvis Costello.

Elvis is, obviously, British and I remembered recently reading an article from Hayes and Jarvis about the UK’s favorite cocktails, and the most popular whiskey cocktail to make their list was the venerable whiskey sour. So, that’s what we’re drinking.

This one is easy folks, so the recipe is short and sweet:

2 oz of whiskey (we used Rough Rider Distillery’s rye whiskey – I like the spice backbone of rye in this cocktail)
2/3 oz of fresh lemon juice (about the amount you get from a half of a decent sized lemon)
1 tsp of super fine sugar

Combine all of the above in a shaker full of ice and shake well. Strain into your preferred glassware – we don’t have sour glasses, so we went with coupes – garnish with a cherry, orange slice, both or neither.

Now sit back and enjoy this working man’s cocktail with your favorite blue-collar music.

Cheers!

-Him

Vinyl Find 2

First of all, he is absolutely correct – we do tend to indulge each other’s interests, which is not always the most responsible behavior, but we sure do have a good time. As for today’s finds, I am pretty happy with the score. Granted, Paul Young and John Waite may not exactly be hot items, but I was a fan back in the day and for $2 in near mint condition, how could I go wrong? Even the husband had to admit that the Donna Summer was a pretty fantastic find. My love for Giorgio Moroder productions continues to grow, and both the Donna Summer and the Flashdance albums add to that particular obsession. Last, but not least, the near mint Lena Horne might be what I’m most proud of. There is something pretty special about owning a 1958 album that looks like it was untouched, and my brief test play confirmed just how beautiful this record is going to be. I can’t help myself but to wonder who owned it before me, that might be one of my favorite parts of picking up vintage vinyl.

After some fairly easy cleanup, every one of these made today’s antique mall visit worthwhile – god knows that place is nearly equivalent to the sensory overload of IKEA. I’m glad the hubby was able to find something to enjoy – and I’m equally pleased that I reaped the benefits of his cocktail inspiration tonight. I guarantee this won’t be his last vinyl find, nor will it be the last whiskey we share.

-Her