Confession Time
My main regrets as a vinyl collector and how to avoid them
Like in many other male-dominated fields, ego is overrepresented in the vinyl collecting community.
Weakness is not something collectors tend to show openly and unreservedly. But pretending to be perfect is exhausting, counterproductive, unhelpful and, frankly, quite pathetic, if you ask me.
In today’s video, I talk about my main regrets as a vinyl lover. I also share some of the lessons I learned from my own mistakes so you can avoid making them yourself.
Unscripted, impromptu, one-take-or-die, true Vinyl Room syle. Because life is better with no filters.
Do you like my “Brad Ramone” notepad? Get yours here!
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Do you have similar regrets yourself? What lessons have you learned from your mistakes?
Thanks a lot for watching. Happy spinning!
Thanks for the clever product-placement, Andy! When I was doing my collecting ('60s and '70s), it was pretty haphazard, as you know (for new readers, Dad was in radio, and brought home the latest promos from the station...he liked jazz, so I got the rock...I was 10 in '65, for reference).
I'd keep virtually everything he brought home, at least to listen to. Some I liked, some I didn't. I can't remember what I did with the latter, although I do remember a family garage sale, late-'60s, where I added some of my albums to the mix. Speaking of regrets, I remember marking a couple early Beatles albums at $1.50 (with marker on the back😱), and putting them in the sale.
And, these were the U.S. Capitol Records promos, with the "bullet-hole" PROMO in the upper right-hand corner! I, apparently, wasn't very bright as a 12-year-old! Obviously, my selling these had no reflection on the band....plenty of FR&B articles speak directly of my early love of the Fab Four. I suppose I was dense as to the "value of vinyl" as we routinely speak of today!
So, with all the resources out there, today (from "Goldmine" to Discogs to everything on the 'net, along with dutiful scouring and browsing), plus decades of "lessons learned" by those who went before, there's indeed, a wide chasm in the experiences of "rock's early days of vinyl" collectors, and the informed 21st-century vinyl collectors!
The credo for today, then, that I would scribble in your nifty and handy "Brad Ramone" notebook is "If you haven't already, learn from our mistakes! We don't aim to be pioneers for nothing!"💪😁👍
Your point about "Browsing is wisdom" is well taken. You never know what you might find, but it also gives you an idea of what's out there. It also ties in well with what you mentioned about just starting; taking a look through your neighbor's records can be a low-lift entry point into collecting.
Also: Is that notebook left handed?