On Record.
Anachronism is a hard concept to find. Many find it primarily within elders: parents incapable of understanding a computer or the proper facebook etiquette required to keep offspring as “friends.” Anachronism on the technological tip is something far more rare than the misgivings of chronologic familiarity. Those that look back to find the meaning of “lost” medium are the focus of these photos.
As humans we accumulate any bizarre assortment of things from concepts to objects and even ideologies for our personal collection. Concerning personal preference many define a personal brand and mixture of media to define a collection. Collectors, particularly record collectors, have this same mentality: holding onto fragments of recorded sound however obscure and inefficient, creates a community. There is no absolute way to define and isolate the mentality of a record collector, like the numerous discs haunting our shelves we are far too eccentric and numerous to be entirely understood without a lifetime of digging.
To be entirely understood is itself an impossible concept demonstrated mellifluously by a true record collection. The people and records included in these photos are testament to unique perception and catalog. Every record on display carries a story exemplifying a good enough reason for collection to the owner, when the story behind a special disc is told or presented a personality is laid bare. Every human has a rhyme or reason for the things they carry and the personality of a collection can be seen through its components whether focused on rarity, sentimentality or just one beautiful inner fold lined with incredible artwork.
Hardrives crash, emails fail and even texting can leave one devoid of success when it is most crucial. Records themselves are even more notorious for failure (many a DJ lacking vigilance can attest to the disruptive power of dust or a drunken elbow.) Many complain that records are nowhere near the efficiency and durability of digital formats and no argument can be made in retort. Durability and efficiency do not enter the equation to those holding crates, the focus is on sentimental rarity and invested love of music that can be literally touched.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhoops, let's try this again. Edit #1: Does the guy in the second picture work at Cactus Records? I think I bought concert tickets from him the other day...
ReplyDeletehe is the owner
ReplyDeleteRiley –
ReplyDeleteI liked this piece too. It’s definitely got a tighter feel to it than the other one, probably because it’s more personal and intimate. But there’s a broadness to it that I think pulls back from the sense of intimacy you are aiming for in both the photographs and in the piece itself. We talked about an aspect of this in class when we looked at Scott’s entry – like him, you seem to be aiming to say something large about a particular class of people (record collectors) but by so doing, you lose a little bit of the intimacy, and you certainly lose almost all of the personal connection. It doesn’t mean you have to write in the first person (though I don’t think your reluctance makes sense in this sort of piece), but it means somehow there’s got to be a move from “records” and “record collectors” to specific albums and people.
Collectors – at least the interesting ones who collect interesting things like records – do it not because (or not only because) of the accretion of lots of the collected items. They do it also because they form a sort of intimate relationship with the individual objects in a collection – collectors pull out objects and tell stories about them. Your piece steps above those stories and makes more general comments about the whole gestalt of record collecting, but I think a more narrow focus at the center of the piece would help you get closer to the sense of connection you’re trying to make here.
Riley -
ReplyDeleteWhy is there no new draft up? Am I grading this one?