I chose to read this episode instead of listening to the VoiceOver, something about the topic drew me in. Your writing is always excellent, but in my humble opinion, this is one of your best. It’s beautifully written.
You're wise beyond your years, Andy....but, as an old soul (in every best and most honourable way possible)...of course! And, I had to listen....like every week! As you and the FR&B firmament know, my vinyl has been cast to the four winds, via eBay, a couple dozen years ago...and, if there's a country I didn't ship to, it's likely on another planet!
So, my vinyl legacy has long been given new forever homes, and my vinyl legacy in memories populate the pages of where they belong....proudly, FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE, where they'll be preserved and enjoyed, presumably, forever!
As for myself, I can't think of anything other than "'Til I Die" and "Surf's Up" as my final funereal songs...the last 2 tracks on The Beach Boys' 1971 "Surf's Up" album. I've always (since I was 16 playing it the week of its release) heard those songs back-to-back, especially when I (often) just played only those songs on Side 2. I can't think of anything more pleasing and fitting than having Brian, a major life hero for decades, singing me to sleep with his (and Van Dyke Parks') well-known and no less confounding, lyrics, and Brian's emotional melodies and tear-pulling chord changes.
Thank you so much, Brad! Your kind words, straight to my heart! Thank you for listening. It was so tough to record it, as I didn't have my usual "tricks" to rely on, but at the same time, I enjoyed doing something a bit different this time around.
Your story with your records was very much on my mind when I wrote some sections of this text, particularly the reference to music lovers all around the world. It's fascinating that little pieces of Brad, fragments of your story, snapshots of your life through records are enjoying an extended vacation in lands afar! And how you, through your venture, managed to get all those US promos in the hands of avid collectors around the world (I'm looking at you, Japan!) who perhaps had no other feasible way of enjoying those records, especially during those years! Quite remarkable, if you think about it, how you helped build of facilitated those bridges, and how you continue doing the same, now with the stories themselves on your page!
As fate would have it, I don't think I myself have yet decided on which song(s) I'd like at my funeral (despite going through every single sentence in that text more obsessively than I'd edited or proofread any other). There's obviously Mariah's "Vision of Love", but there's something funny, even comical, about it being played at a funeral, especially all those runs at the end... I mean... "and it was AAAAaaaaaaaaaAAAALLLL... AaaaaaaaAaaAaaaaaoHoHoHoHAAAAaaaaaaAAAaaAaALLL... that you turned out to BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE AaAaAaAaAaAhHhHhh" 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Come on, you can laugh, 'cause I'm laughing my arse off myself! It is just NOT the kind of song to bring a coffin in! I'd need to at least come out of my coffin flying like a phoenix from the flames, feathers and all! 😅😅 And then there's Pink Floyd's "The Great Gig In the Sky", because, well, obviously, right? But then again... all those ad-libs... well, at least no one will be able to say I wasn't consistent! 😉😂
Thanks a lot for always having my back 🤩 Means a lot!!
Thanks, Andy......That IS something about my "great sell-off" that salved my soul a bit....the pain of the loss of my collection hurt, of course, but it WAS fun seeing the bidding furor that would erupt over some of them!
And, yes, it was helpful for that income to be flowing in, but I was also aware of the somewhat altruistic nature of those transactions, too...that, now, these precious commodities I had enjoyed, were now getting into the hands of collectors all over the world...and, my rarities were making eyes bug out all over!
Yes, the Mariah elegy....that might need a re-think! But, I'm all about inappropriate laughter in uncomfortable settings!
'Twas I, after all, in my late-'80s youth minister guise in L.A., who caused a kerfuffle in church one December morning. Me and a small handful of my teen male charges sitting in the same pew, and the fateful merging of my having taught them about spoonerisms, and the hymn, "Away in a Manger":
I suddenly realized that a deliciously devious spoonerism lay in wait in this verse:
"The stars in the bright sky
Looked down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay."
And, as it happens, that spoonerism revealed the bringing together of the secular Santa with the baby Jesus about whom we were singing! Aye carumba! Of course, I had to share it with my lads, whispering...."The little Lord Jesus, a heap on the sleigh." Well, if you've ever tried to stifle a guffaw in a quiet, subdued, worshipful setting............
That, ironically, was also the Sunday we were visited by an apparently worshipful skunk. Yes, it seems he waltzed right in and sat in his own pew.
Thankyouthankyou....I'll be here all week! Tip your waitresses...........over......no, but seriously, try the veal. Goo'night, everybody!🤣
I totally see what you mean. The sadness after parting ways with your records was made less harsh not only thanks to the income but also the excitement of bringing them closer to collectors who might have waited for them for a long time… and in the late 90s, of all time, when vinyl was really scarce! Excellent timing for this multi-purpose venture.
Lol that spoonerism and the anecdote around it are hilarious!! So clever and quick-witted of you, on top of it, to the surprise of no one! 🤩
You’re something else, Mr Kyle, in the best possible sense! Thanks again!
😊.....That was another Daddy gift...My bro and I must've been around 10, mid-'60s, when he unleashed the joy of Rev. Wm. Spooner and his "invention" on us unsuspecting lads!
Next time you have a gathering, try the party game of spoonerizing album titles, or song titles, for that matter! Hilarity ensues! That should be a rolling thread or article, or something on here! In fact, some of our favorite artists have used spoonerisms to varying degrees of success....and, yes, album titles: Elton John's "Rock of the Westies" (aka "West of the Rockies"), and Aerosmith's "Night in the Ruts." Spoonerisms...they're not just for rock stars anymore!
I forgot to mention above, Mark (and Andy), a handful of those same youther doods in my youth group, late-'80s, I gifted with a t-shirt from a mail-order catalog I got once. What'd the shirt say? "Dain Bramaged"! I'm sure some, if not most, still have it! They LOVED it!!
Although I still act like a 12 year old, at least according to my wife, I am of a somewhat older generation.
I have thought about this subject more than I would like to admit. And I just met with an attorney to update my will and this was one of the items discussed.
Funny story, my two kids, both adults by legal standards, were over at the house a few months back and went to the album room. There they started to fight over albums that were theirs when I drop. I had to remind them several times that I was still here and in fact could hear them. But in a proud dad moment, they were arguing over albums I didn't even think they would remember from their childhood. I had very few rules in the house with regards to music, my only main one was that you could listen to anything as long as you could tell me where it came from and why it's significant to you. And now looking back, I may have concentrated a little too much on the blues and punk...not
So my goal this year to reorganize the collection and divide it up accordingly.
I've started a playlist for when I go, I try to review it every couple of years.
Thank you so much, Bob! I think it's great your kids have taken such a keen interest in music, particularly your records, and it shows that you paved the way for them in the best possible sense: teaching them the importance of establishing a meaningful connection, to start with, but also being able to articulate why it mattered to them, i.e. the intentionality of the act of listening itself. You've certainly taught them well, my friend!
Nice words, Andres. Coincidentally, just yesterday, I said to my wife that my summer chore is to start making a list of every record in my collection, probably speech-to-text to make it easier, as I have thousands. Amongst that number are some obscure rarities worth a fair few bob. When I pass, my wife and kids can keep what records they want and sell the rest. However, to ensure they don't unknowingly sell something cheaply that may be worth a decent amount of money, they will have my list.
I haven’t done this myself, but I’ve heard that there are fairly cheap, portable scanners, maybe your phone can work as well, where you can just scan the barcodes on your records, for the ones that have them, and they will populate a spreadsheet automatically. Maybe someone here knows the details around that and what different software works better than others. Maybe that’s a topic for Andres to write about for a future newsletter! I certainly would like to know more about it.
That’s cool. Sounds time consuming, but definitely a possibility. Scanning would also most likely help differentiate what pressing it is (original, reissue, pressing plant, maybe even confirm the matrix, etc.).
Thank you, Michael! That's such a great and thoughtful idea on your part, as you will be familiar with some peculiarities that they may obviously miss. Speech-to-text is a great idea as it will help you save a considerable amount of time. Sounds like you've got the proper arrangements sorted out! 😉
This was just beautiful and wonderful even with such a heavy topic! (Laughing about Vinyl Virgin! ☠️)
Amazingly, I have not thought about what song I want played at my funeral! If I died today, my friends would totally play “Pink Pony Club” because in the past few weeks, anytime we’ve been in a place that has TouchTunes, I’ve played it at least once! Hahaha!
A couple of months ago, a friend played the song “Dead” by They Might Be Giants at my brewery’s vinyl night, and his wife said it’s the song he wants played at his funeral!! 🤣☠️🤣☠️ After he played his set, he verified.
Some of the lyrics:
I came back as a bag of groceries
accidently taken off the shelf
before the date stamped on myself
Did a large procession wave their (did a)
torches as my head fell in the basket, (large pro-)
and was everybody dancing on the casket? (cession dance?)
Now it's over I'm dead and I haven't
done anything that I want (now it's over)
or, I'm still alive and there's nothing I want to do
I know that my two younger boys would appreciate my vinyl collection. I’ve been meaning to have a conversation with my best music buddy to see if he has a will or plan for his vinyl collection. He’s single with no children, and is an only child. He has over 17,000 albums.
I definitely already grabbed what I wanted from my mom’s vinyl because she didn’t have a record player - but then one of my nieces bought her one for Christmas, so my sister asked me to bring them back! 🤣
Thank you, Kristin, and especially thank you for listening! It wasn't the easiest thing to record (let alone to write) but I'm glad the humour touches I left here and there landed well 😅
That's such a powerful song your friend has chosen. Not pulling any punches, was he! 😂
I hope you can get at least some of your best music buddy's records, and that some of your mum's records mysteriously sneak back into your house! 😄🤣 Get her cheap reissues and keep the first pressings for you! 😂 (I'm such a bitch, I know, but... not a bad idea, if you think about it 😉)
Also, I love the story about “Dead” - one of my favorite TMBG songs. I’ve written about Older (which should be paired with “Dead”) and Fingertips, but Dead would be a good one to complete the TMBG triptych.
Kristin, what is TouchTunes? I feel like I’ve been living under a rock. I suppose having teenage kids keeps you in the loop with what is current even if you’re perceived to be the opposite.
Hahahaha! Actually, TouchTunes is the new (digital) version of a jukebox in the bars. You download an app and buy credits. The app shows you what’s in the queue. The hilarious thing is that you can find a bar on the app and play something from anywhere. One of my friends has a habit of playing Tiffany or Debbie Gibson after she gets home just to torment the people there! LOL
The Question is one that has troubled me for quite a few years ! When l am gone will my records find a home where the new custodian gets as much joy as they have given me.l am approaching 70 have been collecting for more years than l care to remember and still listen to vinyl daily.My earliest " Love me do" on Red Parlaphone is still part of my collection but here's the rub it's my collection, my daughter has no interest in records as its all on tap via electronic gadgets.My mate of 50 plus years has just got round to sorting his will and he is thrilled to leave me 700 plus long players from 70s and 80s however when l depart who has these also.Whennl attend auctions l see boxes of vinyl stacked in old cardboard boxes selling for a pittance and my mind turns to the joy these once gave to a now departed music fan.Your question is a really thought provoking one " What do l do with my vinyl?"
Thank you, Graham! I hear you, it can become a real conundrum. Perhaps, and this is just a thought, you could sell some or, if you prefer, start giving some away to places or people that you know will appreciate them. If it's any consolation, I firmly believe that records have this way of always reaching those who want/need them most. It may just take a little bit of time sometimes, but they always make it in the end 😉
I have acquired/inherited parts of three collections in my collection, which I have since mixed into the larger archive. Like Sister Sledge said (on their 1979 album by the same name — which I inherited from my aunt), “We Are Family.” It’s also how I acquired the first 6 Madonna records. From filmmaker Marlon Riggs’ collection. When I play these records I think of the people who gifted them to me and loved them when they were alive. Hopefully my records will go to someone who will think of me when they play them.
This is beautiful, Steve. I love the "amalgamation of records" you mention and, particularly, how spinning or even just holding a certain record can help you remember and connect with the memories of the previous owner, now also blended a bit with your own experiences. This is exactly what I was getting at when I wrote this. Thank you for reading.
I have also thought about this a lot (I have a few years on you, Andres!), but I am very fortunate to have two grown kids who both love music and listen to records. When the time comes they will inherit my collection and hopefully continue to enjoy it, though I keep thinking I should have them over to go through my records so I can point out the rarities or especially cool LPs that they might miss. . . Discogs doesn't always give *all* the details.
What I'm less sure about are the 1500+ CDs that I also have. . . I shudder to think that they may end up in a landfill, but hopefully someone will still be interested in them by the time I check out, and they can generate some money for Goodwill or another charity-based retailer. I'm not ready to let go of them quite yet.
In the last few years I have let go of a large quantity of paper items that I collected since the '60s, assuming that my kids will *not* be interested in stacks of Creem, Circus, Trouser Press & Mojo mags, plus huge quantities of clippings, posters, promo swag and the like. I've lessened the load but still have a lot of stuff. . .
Collecting - it's a disease y'know. I'm incurable.
Thank you, Hugh! It's great to hear your kids love music and will be the main heirs to your record collection. Very wise idea to point out peculiarities that Discogs tends to miss. As for your CDs, hopefully your kids will also be interested in at least some of them, and if not, I am pretty sure they will find other music lovers who will be. As I was saying in another comment earlier, records have this way of always making it to the ones who need them or want them most. While it's always safer to have proper arrangements in place, there's also something beautiful (albeit admittedly a bit scary) in trusting our records to find their way 😉
I have to agree with TheTwelveInch, Andy. Your writing is always spot on. But this piece is elegiac—and that has to be the first time I've ever used that word on Substack.
I hope I'm not repeating myself with this story. But when I first met the woman I would subsequently marry (and spent the next half-century with), one of the first things I did was check out her record collection to compare it with mine. THAT would tell me more about her than any pre-mating ritual banter.
And, since were in an elegiac state of mind, what I found: A good deal of cross-over, a good deal of things that surprised me, and some things I figured I would have to live with. It was (because it was a physical collection), a Rorschach test—which, over the years, has proven completely accurate.
This is one of the best arguments against the commodification of music by streaming platforms. It's dead air.
Thank you so much, John! A huge honour coming from you, and it is certainly the first time I've received such praise! Thank you, kind sir! 🙏🏻
I think that story (which I didn't know) is so beautiful on so many levels. Our records speak not just for themselves but predominantly for ourselves. They are more transparent than any personal statement we may produce about ourselves because they tap directly into vulnerabilities and truths we often can't (or won't) verbalise.
I'd even add: more so than books (which can also say a lot about the owner), purely because our reading selves can be more intellectual and "cerebral" than our music selves. Music has this primal element which... yeah, lays it all bare.
Completely agree that it's one of the best arguments against the commodification of music by streaming platforms.
Andy, even the thought of a full-on rave tires me out, let alone a grueling workout afterwards!
Seriously though, this feels like one of if not the best pieces you’ve ever written. The subject matter is in places raw and authentic and the writing is sublime. I’ve waited since Sunday evening to comment because I’ve been letting it all sink in.
I’ve lost count of number of people I’ve met who said they “loved music” who, when asked what they loved and were listening to now, stumbled and mumbled and said, “oh I’ve got some great EDM playlists I listen to on Spotify” or it turns out they’ve been listening to the same dozen albums since high school (which is fine, but I wouldn’t call them music lovers). There are music lovers and then there are REAL MUSIC LOVERS and IYKYK.
I’m not sure I’ve ever pondered funeral songs, but I’m gonna start! I’m reminded of the song “Tambourine” by RVG from 2023 about live-streaming a funeral during the pandemic:
“They're playing Drops Of Jupiter
Cause they never even knew ya
The room is so cold and dark
Your family are wearing masks
I can't hear the eulogy
The stream is bad quality
And I don't wanna see you go
Through a tab on Google Chrome
So I'm playing a record
I know both of us like
Thinking one day in the future
You'll be gone for a long long time”
For anyone that knows me, really knows me, they’d have an idea of what artists or songs I might like to have played at my funeral. And they’d certainly know what I WOULDN’T want to be playing.
I don’t have any physical media to leave behind. But I’m slowly building a legacy of my love for music on my Substack and in my playlists. As you wrote, so beautifully, “music has this habit of sticking around, stories forged by its fire never fully disappear”. When I’m gone, for those that I love and those that love me, there will always be the songs that’ll take them back to a place and time we shared. Shared memories really do live on in the music, long after someone has left us, and that is so so powerful to me.
Thank you so much, Mark! Your kind words mean the world to me. Seriously. Thank you isn’t enough.
I think it’s beautiful how you guys —and I mean those like you who usually write about music, and especially those songs or records that have meant/mean something special in your lives— are truly leaving a legacy of the sounds you cared to love, for all those who love you to reflect on and revisit time and time again.
I tend to, for now, sit on a slightly different stone, writing about the act of listening, or the community we build around it. That’s why in my case my main music legacy will be my actual physical records.
It’s wonderful how our deep love and passion for music can take so many different shapes and forms, including how we choose to “pass it on”, in whatever form that may take.
I'm not sure what will happen to my records when I'm gone. My brother used to like to come over and listen to them but I'm not sure how many he'd want. I'd certainly donate them to a good vinyl record store if I have the chance to do so!
Thank you, Dan! Maybe your brother will want some, I’m sure, even if it’s just for the nostalgia and the memories. Donating to a good store or arts/educational centre that good take good care of them is a great idea!
Yes, what playlist would I want …has changed as I get older. Not to makes those cry who may hear it, yet let them know what those tunes mean to me.
The vinyl collection? I care and I don’t. It was collected, curated and has been shared mostly for my pleasure and I get a great deal of joy when friends gather for a “needle drop” session. Will some family member want the collection when I’m unable to use it? Time will tell.
I started writing a memoir, for my family, about 6 years ago. One of the fun parts has been trying to identify a song that matches each section I’ve written so far. That is fun!
Thank you so much, Clark, for your kind words! It’s tricky, isn’t it, to settle on songs that are not only meaningful but which could send us off in the nicest possible way.
So cool you are writing your memoir! I love the songs idea. Good luck!
100% true in my dad's case (his collection now has it's own space opposite mine).
As for where mine wind up when I'm gone? I have no idea, but I'd like to think that even if my kids don't want them, they'd take care to make sure they all found good homes.
P.S. Funeral song? Good question, but I'd probably lean toward something like "Keg On My Coffin" by The Push Stars.
Thank you! I’m glad your dad’s records are hanging out with yours, and I am sure they will all find loving homes one way or another! Records tend to know where to go 😉
So cool everyone seems to have your funeral songs ready! I haven’t fully settled on mine. Vision of Love is the most defining of my life but the vocal showcase at the end seems a bit inappropriate for a funeral 🤣 Another candidate is Great Gig In The Sky, but… well… there seems to be a theme here 😁 I’ll go with St James Infirmary Blues and let the boys know I died standing pat 😎
I chose to read this episode instead of listening to the VoiceOver, something about the topic drew me in. Your writing is always excellent, but in my humble opinion, this is one of your best. It’s beautifully written.
Thank you so much, Pe. Those kind words, especially coming from you, have made my day. ♥️ Thank you for reading and commenting
You're wise beyond your years, Andy....but, as an old soul (in every best and most honourable way possible)...of course! And, I had to listen....like every week! As you and the FR&B firmament know, my vinyl has been cast to the four winds, via eBay, a couple dozen years ago...and, if there's a country I didn't ship to, it's likely on another planet!
So, my vinyl legacy has long been given new forever homes, and my vinyl legacy in memories populate the pages of where they belong....proudly, FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE, where they'll be preserved and enjoyed, presumably, forever!
As for myself, I can't think of anything other than "'Til I Die" and "Surf's Up" as my final funereal songs...the last 2 tracks on The Beach Boys' 1971 "Surf's Up" album. I've always (since I was 16 playing it the week of its release) heard those songs back-to-back, especially when I (often) just played only those songs on Side 2. I can't think of anything more pleasing and fitting than having Brian, a major life hero for decades, singing me to sleep with his (and Van Dyke Parks') well-known and no less confounding, lyrics, and Brian's emotional melodies and tear-pulling chord changes.
You're somethin', little brother.💖
Thank you so much, Brad! Your kind words, straight to my heart! Thank you for listening. It was so tough to record it, as I didn't have my usual "tricks" to rely on, but at the same time, I enjoyed doing something a bit different this time around.
Your story with your records was very much on my mind when I wrote some sections of this text, particularly the reference to music lovers all around the world. It's fascinating that little pieces of Brad, fragments of your story, snapshots of your life through records are enjoying an extended vacation in lands afar! And how you, through your venture, managed to get all those US promos in the hands of avid collectors around the world (I'm looking at you, Japan!) who perhaps had no other feasible way of enjoying those records, especially during those years! Quite remarkable, if you think about it, how you helped build of facilitated those bridges, and how you continue doing the same, now with the stories themselves on your page!
As fate would have it, I don't think I myself have yet decided on which song(s) I'd like at my funeral (despite going through every single sentence in that text more obsessively than I'd edited or proofread any other). There's obviously Mariah's "Vision of Love", but there's something funny, even comical, about it being played at a funeral, especially all those runs at the end... I mean... "and it was AAAAaaaaaaaaaAAAALLLL... AaaaaaaaAaaAaaaaaoHoHoHoHAAAAaaaaaaAAAaaAaALLL... that you turned out to BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE AaAaAaAaAaAhHhHhh" 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Come on, you can laugh, 'cause I'm laughing my arse off myself! It is just NOT the kind of song to bring a coffin in! I'd need to at least come out of my coffin flying like a phoenix from the flames, feathers and all! 😅😅 And then there's Pink Floyd's "The Great Gig In the Sky", because, well, obviously, right? But then again... all those ad-libs... well, at least no one will be able to say I wasn't consistent! 😉😂
Thanks a lot for always having my back 🤩 Means a lot!!
Thanks, Andy......That IS something about my "great sell-off" that salved my soul a bit....the pain of the loss of my collection hurt, of course, but it WAS fun seeing the bidding furor that would erupt over some of them!
And, yes, it was helpful for that income to be flowing in, but I was also aware of the somewhat altruistic nature of those transactions, too...that, now, these precious commodities I had enjoyed, were now getting into the hands of collectors all over the world...and, my rarities were making eyes bug out all over!
Yes, the Mariah elegy....that might need a re-think! But, I'm all about inappropriate laughter in uncomfortable settings!
'Twas I, after all, in my late-'80s youth minister guise in L.A., who caused a kerfuffle in church one December morning. Me and a small handful of my teen male charges sitting in the same pew, and the fateful merging of my having taught them about spoonerisms, and the hymn, "Away in a Manger":
I suddenly realized that a deliciously devious spoonerism lay in wait in this verse:
"The stars in the bright sky
Looked down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay."
And, as it happens, that spoonerism revealed the bringing together of the secular Santa with the baby Jesus about whom we were singing! Aye carumba! Of course, I had to share it with my lads, whispering...."The little Lord Jesus, a heap on the sleigh." Well, if you've ever tried to stifle a guffaw in a quiet, subdued, worshipful setting............
That, ironically, was also the Sunday we were visited by an apparently worshipful skunk. Yes, it seems he waltzed right in and sat in his own pew.
Thankyouthankyou....I'll be here all week! Tip your waitresses...........over......no, but seriously, try the veal. Goo'night, everybody!🤣
I totally see what you mean. The sadness after parting ways with your records was made less harsh not only thanks to the income but also the excitement of bringing them closer to collectors who might have waited for them for a long time… and in the late 90s, of all time, when vinyl was really scarce! Excellent timing for this multi-purpose venture.
Lol that spoonerism and the anecdote around it are hilarious!! So clever and quick-witted of you, on top of it, to the surprise of no one! 🤩
You’re something else, Mr Kyle, in the best possible sense! Thanks again!
😊.....That was another Daddy gift...My bro and I must've been around 10, mid-'60s, when he unleashed the joy of Rev. Wm. Spooner and his "invention" on us unsuspecting lads!
Next time you have a gathering, try the party game of spoonerizing album titles, or song titles, for that matter! Hilarity ensues! That should be a rolling thread or article, or something on here! In fact, some of our favorite artists have used spoonerisms to varying degrees of success....and, yes, album titles: Elton John's "Rock of the Westies" (aka "West of the Rockies"), and Aerosmith's "Night in the Ruts." Spoonerisms...they're not just for rock stars anymore!
So much fun! 😅😅 I need to start practising!
Oh, then you'll want to start with American actor (TV's "F Troop" in the '60s), Forrest Tucker!🌟
Haha I LOVE playing with words and having fun with spoonerisms. They’re great!
So much fun!
I forgot to mention above, Mark (and Andy), a handful of those same youther doods in my youth group, late-'80s, I gifted with a t-shirt from a mail-order catalog I got once. What'd the shirt say? "Dain Bramaged"! I'm sure some, if not most, still have it! They LOVED it!!
Although I still act like a 12 year old, at least according to my wife, I am of a somewhat older generation.
I have thought about this subject more than I would like to admit. And I just met with an attorney to update my will and this was one of the items discussed.
Funny story, my two kids, both adults by legal standards, were over at the house a few months back and went to the album room. There they started to fight over albums that were theirs when I drop. I had to remind them several times that I was still here and in fact could hear them. But in a proud dad moment, they were arguing over albums I didn't even think they would remember from their childhood. I had very few rules in the house with regards to music, my only main one was that you could listen to anything as long as you could tell me where it came from and why it's significant to you. And now looking back, I may have concentrated a little too much on the blues and punk...not
So my goal this year to reorganize the collection and divide it up accordingly.
I've started a playlist for when I go, I try to review it every couple of years.
Thank you so much, Bob! I think it's great your kids have taken such a keen interest in music, particularly your records, and it shows that you paved the way for them in the best possible sense: teaching them the importance of establishing a meaningful connection, to start with, but also being able to articulate why it mattered to them, i.e. the intentionality of the act of listening itself. You've certainly taught them well, my friend!
Nice words, Andres. Coincidentally, just yesterday, I said to my wife that my summer chore is to start making a list of every record in my collection, probably speech-to-text to make it easier, as I have thousands. Amongst that number are some obscure rarities worth a fair few bob. When I pass, my wife and kids can keep what records they want and sell the rest. However, to ensure they don't unknowingly sell something cheaply that may be worth a decent amount of money, they will have my list.
I haven’t done this myself, but I’ve heard that there are fairly cheap, portable scanners, maybe your phone can work as well, where you can just scan the barcodes on your records, for the ones that have them, and they will populate a spreadsheet automatically. Maybe someone here knows the details around that and what different software works better than others. Maybe that’s a topic for Andres to write about for a future newsletter! I certainly would like to know more about it.
That’s cool. Sounds time consuming, but definitely a possibility. Scanning would also most likely help differentiate what pressing it is (original, reissue, pressing plant, maybe even confirm the matrix, etc.).
Thank you, Michael! That's such a great and thoughtful idea on your part, as you will be familiar with some peculiarities that they may obviously miss. Speech-to-text is a great idea as it will help you save a considerable amount of time. Sounds like you've got the proper arrangements sorted out! 😉
This was just beautiful and wonderful even with such a heavy topic! (Laughing about Vinyl Virgin! ☠️)
Amazingly, I have not thought about what song I want played at my funeral! If I died today, my friends would totally play “Pink Pony Club” because in the past few weeks, anytime we’ve been in a place that has TouchTunes, I’ve played it at least once! Hahaha!
A couple of months ago, a friend played the song “Dead” by They Might Be Giants at my brewery’s vinyl night, and his wife said it’s the song he wants played at his funeral!! 🤣☠️🤣☠️ After he played his set, he verified.
Some of the lyrics:
I came back as a bag of groceries
accidently taken off the shelf
before the date stamped on myself
Did a large procession wave their (did a)
torches as my head fell in the basket, (large pro-)
and was everybody dancing on the casket? (cession dance?)
Now it's over I'm dead and I haven't
done anything that I want (now it's over)
or, I'm still alive and there's nothing I want to do
I know that my two younger boys would appreciate my vinyl collection. I’ve been meaning to have a conversation with my best music buddy to see if he has a will or plan for his vinyl collection. He’s single with no children, and is an only child. He has over 17,000 albums.
I definitely already grabbed what I wanted from my mom’s vinyl because she didn’t have a record player - but then one of my nieces bought her one for Christmas, so my sister asked me to bring them back! 🤣
Thank you, Kristin, and especially thank you for listening! It wasn't the easiest thing to record (let alone to write) but I'm glad the humour touches I left here and there landed well 😅
That's such a powerful song your friend has chosen. Not pulling any punches, was he! 😂
I hope you can get at least some of your best music buddy's records, and that some of your mum's records mysteriously sneak back into your house! 😄🤣 Get her cheap reissues and keep the first pressings for you! 😂 (I'm such a bitch, I know, but... not a bad idea, if you think about it 😉)
Love it 🤣🤣🤣
Also, I love the story about “Dead” - one of my favorite TMBG songs. I’ve written about Older (which should be paired with “Dead”) and Fingertips, but Dead would be a good one to complete the TMBG triptych.
Yes!!! It’s such a great song! There’s a stack devoted to TMBG songs! https://open.substack.com/pub/kissmesonofblog?r=1iil3&utm_medium=ios
Im a regular reader and commenter there. Love it.
Kristin, what is TouchTunes? I feel like I’ve been living under a rock. I suppose having teenage kids keeps you in the loop with what is current even if you’re perceived to be the opposite.
Hahahaha! Actually, TouchTunes is the new (digital) version of a jukebox in the bars. You download an app and buy credits. The app shows you what’s in the queue. The hilarious thing is that you can find a bar on the app and play something from anywhere. One of my friends has a habit of playing Tiffany or Debbie Gibson after she gets home just to torment the people there! LOL
I guess I’m not going to the fancy bars. bars. Actually, I’m not going to any bars. Except for maybe the chocolate bars.
Hahahahaha!!! We pretty much go to breweries or dive bars - not so much fancy bars.
The Question is one that has troubled me for quite a few years ! When l am gone will my records find a home where the new custodian gets as much joy as they have given me.l am approaching 70 have been collecting for more years than l care to remember and still listen to vinyl daily.My earliest " Love me do" on Red Parlaphone is still part of my collection but here's the rub it's my collection, my daughter has no interest in records as its all on tap via electronic gadgets.My mate of 50 plus years has just got round to sorting his will and he is thrilled to leave me 700 plus long players from 70s and 80s however when l depart who has these also.Whennl attend auctions l see boxes of vinyl stacked in old cardboard boxes selling for a pittance and my mind turns to the joy these once gave to a now departed music fan.Your question is a really thought provoking one " What do l do with my vinyl?"
Thank you, Graham! I hear you, it can become a real conundrum. Perhaps, and this is just a thought, you could sell some or, if you prefer, start giving some away to places or people that you know will appreciate them. If it's any consolation, I firmly believe that records have this way of always reaching those who want/need them most. It may just take a little bit of time sometimes, but they always make it in the end 😉
I have acquired/inherited parts of three collections in my collection, which I have since mixed into the larger archive. Like Sister Sledge said (on their 1979 album by the same name — which I inherited from my aunt), “We Are Family.” It’s also how I acquired the first 6 Madonna records. From filmmaker Marlon Riggs’ collection. When I play these records I think of the people who gifted them to me and loved them when they were alive. Hopefully my records will go to someone who will think of me when they play them.
This is beautiful, Steve. I love the "amalgamation of records" you mention and, particularly, how spinning or even just holding a certain record can help you remember and connect with the memories of the previous owner, now also blended a bit with your own experiences. This is exactly what I was getting at when I wrote this. Thank you for reading.
I have also thought about this a lot (I have a few years on you, Andres!), but I am very fortunate to have two grown kids who both love music and listen to records. When the time comes they will inherit my collection and hopefully continue to enjoy it, though I keep thinking I should have them over to go through my records so I can point out the rarities or especially cool LPs that they might miss. . . Discogs doesn't always give *all* the details.
What I'm less sure about are the 1500+ CDs that I also have. . . I shudder to think that they may end up in a landfill, but hopefully someone will still be interested in them by the time I check out, and they can generate some money for Goodwill or another charity-based retailer. I'm not ready to let go of them quite yet.
In the last few years I have let go of a large quantity of paper items that I collected since the '60s, assuming that my kids will *not* be interested in stacks of Creem, Circus, Trouser Press & Mojo mags, plus huge quantities of clippings, posters, promo swag and the like. I've lessened the load but still have a lot of stuff. . .
Collecting - it's a disease y'know. I'm incurable.
Thank you, Hugh! It's great to hear your kids love music and will be the main heirs to your record collection. Very wise idea to point out peculiarities that Discogs tends to miss. As for your CDs, hopefully your kids will also be interested in at least some of them, and if not, I am pretty sure they will find other music lovers who will be. As I was saying in another comment earlier, records have this way of always making it to the ones who need them or want them most. While it's always safer to have proper arrangements in place, there's also something beautiful (albeit admittedly a bit scary) in trusting our records to find their way 😉
Another incurable here!
Thanks a lot for reading and commenting!
I have to agree with TheTwelveInch, Andy. Your writing is always spot on. But this piece is elegiac—and that has to be the first time I've ever used that word on Substack.
I hope I'm not repeating myself with this story. But when I first met the woman I would subsequently marry (and spent the next half-century with), one of the first things I did was check out her record collection to compare it with mine. THAT would tell me more about her than any pre-mating ritual banter.
And, since were in an elegiac state of mind, what I found: A good deal of cross-over, a good deal of things that surprised me, and some things I figured I would have to live with. It was (because it was a physical collection), a Rorschach test—which, over the years, has proven completely accurate.
This is one of the best arguments against the commodification of music by streaming platforms. It's dead air.
Thank you so much, John! A huge honour coming from you, and it is certainly the first time I've received such praise! Thank you, kind sir! 🙏🏻
I think that story (which I didn't know) is so beautiful on so many levels. Our records speak not just for themselves but predominantly for ourselves. They are more transparent than any personal statement we may produce about ourselves because they tap directly into vulnerabilities and truths we often can't (or won't) verbalise.
I'd even add: more so than books (which can also say a lot about the owner), purely because our reading selves can be more intellectual and "cerebral" than our music selves. Music has this primal element which... yeah, lays it all bare.
Completely agree that it's one of the best arguments against the commodification of music by streaming platforms.
Thanks again!!! You've made my day!
Andy, even the thought of a full-on rave tires me out, let alone a grueling workout afterwards!
Seriously though, this feels like one of if not the best pieces you’ve ever written. The subject matter is in places raw and authentic and the writing is sublime. I’ve waited since Sunday evening to comment because I’ve been letting it all sink in.
I’ve lost count of number of people I’ve met who said they “loved music” who, when asked what they loved and were listening to now, stumbled and mumbled and said, “oh I’ve got some great EDM playlists I listen to on Spotify” or it turns out they’ve been listening to the same dozen albums since high school (which is fine, but I wouldn’t call them music lovers). There are music lovers and then there are REAL MUSIC LOVERS and IYKYK.
I’m not sure I’ve ever pondered funeral songs, but I’m gonna start! I’m reminded of the song “Tambourine” by RVG from 2023 about live-streaming a funeral during the pandemic:
“They're playing Drops Of Jupiter
Cause they never even knew ya
The room is so cold and dark
Your family are wearing masks
I can't hear the eulogy
The stream is bad quality
And I don't wanna see you go
Through a tab on Google Chrome
So I'm playing a record
I know both of us like
Thinking one day in the future
You'll be gone for a long long time”
For anyone that knows me, really knows me, they’d have an idea of what artists or songs I might like to have played at my funeral. And they’d certainly know what I WOULDN’T want to be playing.
I don’t have any physical media to leave behind. But I’m slowly building a legacy of my love for music on my Substack and in my playlists. As you wrote, so beautifully, “music has this habit of sticking around, stories forged by its fire never fully disappear”. When I’m gone, for those that I love and those that love me, there will always be the songs that’ll take them back to a place and time we shared. Shared memories really do live on in the music, long after someone has left us, and that is so so powerful to me.
Oh and those lyrics, Jesus! Goosebumps all over!!
Thank you so much, Mark! Your kind words mean the world to me. Seriously. Thank you isn’t enough.
I think it’s beautiful how you guys —and I mean those like you who usually write about music, and especially those songs or records that have meant/mean something special in your lives— are truly leaving a legacy of the sounds you cared to love, for all those who love you to reflect on and revisit time and time again.
I tend to, for now, sit on a slightly different stone, writing about the act of listening, or the community we build around it. That’s why in my case my main music legacy will be my actual physical records.
It’s wonderful how our deep love and passion for music can take so many different shapes and forms, including how we choose to “pass it on”, in whatever form that may take.
Thanks again!
I'm not sure what will happen to my records when I'm gone. My brother used to like to come over and listen to them but I'm not sure how many he'd want. I'd certainly donate them to a good vinyl record store if I have the chance to do so!
Thank you, Dan! Maybe your brother will want some, I’m sure, even if it’s just for the nostalgia and the memories. Donating to a good store or arts/educational centre that good take good care of them is a great idea!
Andres,
Thoughtful and well written as usual!
Yes, what playlist would I want …has changed as I get older. Not to makes those cry who may hear it, yet let them know what those tunes mean to me.
The vinyl collection? I care and I don’t. It was collected, curated and has been shared mostly for my pleasure and I get a great deal of joy when friends gather for a “needle drop” session. Will some family member want the collection when I’m unable to use it? Time will tell.
I started writing a memoir, for my family, about 6 years ago. One of the fun parts has been trying to identify a song that matches each section I’ve written so far. That is fun!
Thanks for the article!
Thank you so much, Clark, for your kind words! It’s tricky, isn’t it, to settle on songs that are not only meaningful but which could send us off in the nicest possible way.
So cool you are writing your memoir! I love the songs idea. Good luck!
My twin daughters will fight over mine. I'm 63, they just turned 30, and they're already taking dibs
Thank you, Ken! Lol I see they are wasting no time! 😅
"They will conquer your eldest’s living room"
100% true in my dad's case (his collection now has it's own space opposite mine).
As for where mine wind up when I'm gone? I have no idea, but I'd like to think that even if my kids don't want them, they'd take care to make sure they all found good homes.
P.S. Funeral song? Good question, but I'd probably lean toward something like "Keg On My Coffin" by The Push Stars.
Thank you! I’m glad your dad’s records are hanging out with yours, and I am sure they will all find loving homes one way or another! Records tend to know where to go 😉
So cool everyone seems to have your funeral songs ready! I haven’t fully settled on mine. Vision of Love is the most defining of my life but the vocal showcase at the end seems a bit inappropriate for a funeral 🤣 Another candidate is Great Gig In The Sky, but… well… there seems to be a theme here 😁 I’ll go with St James Infirmary Blues and let the boys know I died standing pat 😎