Aging Collectors

I'll be 50 next month, and I'm kind of leaning toward retiring from music collecting. When I shop for music I see people who really sink their teeth into a few favorites, and I sort of envy them. I rarely do that. Usually when I hear something I really like my tendency is to collect the whole genre of similar bands. But I think the time has come to shift my focus from collecting to listening. This will be hard for several reasons. A big one is that I personally don't think that the old music is necessarily better. New ideas have been added to the old ones, production values have improved, so I'll be missing a lot of good creative stuff. But the fact is that there are only so many hours in a day so I'm going to miss something; and given that choice I'd rather miss new music than forget the old. Despite the creativity of much new music, a lot of it is redundant for my purposes.
Of course I'll have to fight my addiction to little packages in the mail. And it'll be hard to admit that I'm not relevant to a lot of the discussions here, but I think that's already the case frankly. I've lost touch since 2000 despite my best efforts.
I'll still follow my favorite bands, and get new releases that really grab me (such as the new Serenity and Lynam discs); but I'm gonna try to stay off the collectors corner here and spend more time posting playlists instead. Collecting has at times become work, (fun work); but I think it's time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor.

it's always sad to see them go...


Just remember.....eBay will be there.....if you ever need it..

SAHB Healer wrote:

I'll be 50 next month, and I'm kind of leaning toward retiring from music collecting. When I shop for music I see people who really sink their teeth into a few favorites, and I sort of envy them. I rarely do that. Usually when I hear something I really like my tendency is to collect the whole genre of similar bands. But I think the time has come to shift my focus from collecting to listening. This will be hard for several reasons. A big one is that I personally don't think that the old music is necessarily better. New ideas have been added to the old ones, production values have improved, so I'll be missing a lot of good creative stuff. But the fact is that there are only so many hours in a day so I'm going to miss something; and given that choice I'd rather miss new music than forget the old. Despite the creativity of much new music, a lot of it is redundant for my purposes.
Of course I'll have to fight my addiction to little packages in the mail. And it'll be hard to admit that I'm not relevant to a lot of the discussions here, but I think that's already the case frankly. I've lost touch since 2000 despite my best efforts.
I'll still follow my favorite bands, and get new releases that really grab me (such as the new Serenity and Lynam discs); but I'm gonna try to stay off the collectors corner here and spend more time posting playlists instead. Collecting has at times become work, (fun work); but I think it's time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor.

this sentinment must be contagious because i have been feeling it too. while not quite as old as you I have been pondering the will i ever listen to all this stuff question. Its amazing that I keep coming back to the same bands and releases time after time while a lot of the other stuff sits in my cd shelves. I have been shifting a lot from power metal to prog metal/rock and psychedelic. I think a lot of my problem has to do the power metal genre as a whole being really really worn out. Sure there are new discoveries and some new stuff i really like but there is an awful lot of blah out there. i have all but abandoned my thrash stuff. Most of it has been traded and next comes the Christian metal stuff. I used to collect entire band discographies and now i have shelves full of the stuff that i dont even listen to anymore.

Alex

I feel ya.

It's even harder for me since I enjoy so many different types of music. I probably have about 3000 CDs (mostly jazz with some metal, rock and classical mixed in) plus so much music on hard drives it's mind boggling (I ripped my entire vinyl collection over the course of a few years). I've been re-buying some metal stuff on vinyl recently but I'm seriously suffering from "collector burnout"...not to mention my amount of debt is FRIGHTENING.

I rarely buy CDs anymore unless it's something really AMAZING or unless I find it really cheap. I've done the emusic thing on and off, but that's usually to explore stuff that I normally wouldn't listen to if I had to pay CD prices.

Anyway, my passion for collecting EVERYTHING has passed, now I'm just focusing on my core tastes. I'm not buying any more jazz because I feel like I've got more than enough of that style than I'll ever be able to listen to. I have most of the classic rock stuff I need and at this point I'm trying to fill some very specific holes in my metal collection...but aside from that I'm avoiding record stores like the plague.

I'm going to re-focus any disposable cash I have towards improving my music equipment and upgrading my home recording setup.

Enjoy your collection!

detuned wrote:

Enjoy your collection!

That is the question for me. I have been wondering how much I really enjoy the music vs how much I have for the sake of having xxxx number of cds. I have been focusing on the stuff i really like listening to and its amazing how much of the stuff doesnt get any play. Maybe its time for the dreaded P word that eventually comes to all collectors

Alex

Well, All I have to say is Exact/SAHB healer/Detuned if you go as far as not even being interested in listening as well as collecting music anymore you know where to dump your treasures.

I've already decided to take that plunge.

So far I've only purchased 19 cds and I've sold 7 so I'm only 12 net CDs into my personal allowance of 30 for 2008. I decided to slow down before things got out of hand. I like knowing my collection, and I can't when I'm getting a new cd every other day.

In fact, I was think of this when I was running errands today. Next year I think I'm going to drop my allowance to 2/month. 24 in 09.

Stender wrote:

Well, All I have to say is Exact/SAHB healer/Detuned if you go as far as not even being interested in listening as well as collecting music anymore you know where to dump your treasures.

Ebay?

exact33 wrote:

Stender wrote:

Well, All I have to say is Exact/SAHB healer/Detuned if you go as far as not even being interested in listening as well as collecting music anymore you know where to dump your treasures.

Ebay?

um.....or me? :geek:

exact33 wrote:

SAHB Healer wrote:

I'll be 50 next month, and I'm kind of leaning toward retiring from music collecting. When I shop for music I see people who really sink their teeth into a few favorites, and I sort of envy them. I rarely do that. Usually when I hear something I really like my tendency is to collect the whole genre of similar bands. But I think the time has come to shift my focus from collecting to listening. This will be hard for several reasons. A big one is that I personally don't think that the old music is necessarily better. New ideas have been added to the old ones, production values have improved, so I'll be missing a lot of good creative stuff. But the fact is that there are only so many hours in a day so I'm going to miss something; and given that choice I'd rather miss new music than forget the old. Despite the creativity of much new music, a lot of it is redundant for my purposes.
Of course I'll have to fight my addiction to little packages in the mail. And it'll be hard to admit that I'm not relevant to a lot of the discussions here, but I think that's already the case frankly. I've lost touch since 2000 despite my best efforts.
I'll still follow my favorite bands, and get new releases that really grab me (such as the new Serenity and Lynam discs); but I'm gonna try to stay off the collectors corner here and spend more time posting playlists instead. Collecting has at times become work, (fun work); but I think it's time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor.

this sentinment must be contagious because i have been feeling it too. while not quite as old as you I have been pondering the will i ever listen to all this stuff question. Its amazing that I keep coming back to the same bands and releases time after time while a lot of the other stuff sits in my cd shelves. I have been shifting a lot from power metal to prog metal/rock and psychedelic. I think a lot of my problem has to do the power metal genre as a whole being really really worn out. Sure there are new discoveries and some new stuff i really like but there is an awful lot of blah out there. i have all but abandoned my thrash stuff. Most of it has been traded and next comes the Christian metal stuff. I used to collect entire band discographies and now i have shelves full of the stuff that i dont even listen to anymore.

Alex

Ah yes, I've dealt with the same dilenma for awhile too. Well over a 1000 CD's to my collection. Many sat or stayed in my Disc Binders and on Shelves,only to be forgotten or passed over. Alot of the time I don't have anything to listen to and decide not to listen to anything. Over a 1000 CD's with nothing to listen to? yes it happens...lol!
I wonder if I spend too much time sampling after sample, an ask the final question if I want is worthy for the investment or am I changing my tastes or what. Metal isn't my only genre of music to listen to, it is still my main source of listening choices. I recently got all of the Dark Moor, an stilll haven't found the time to listen to them,repsectively. I DL alot, I buy a few, I look over Used Sections. I have many B4B trades too (burnforburn CD-R's).
Oh what a Hell it is to find where that "track" i liked IS on them playlists.lol!

I was thinking about passing some sections of my library on to worthy listeners (classic goth stuff, etc.) to help me focus on the good stuff actually.
But this is about finding time to listen to the music I love, not losing interest in music at all. Just focusing.

This thread hits so close to home. My problem is whenever I make a decision to listen more/collect less some great finds come along and then it's back to the same old thing. I do maintain a tight music budget per month but I should be more like Scott and limit the number. My biggest weakness is the cheap used stuff.

Funny thing is how longer ago I had lots of time for the actual listening and my collection was relatively small and concise. Now that I lack the time, I have this growing unruly endless pile of cds.

I too am addicted to the small packages in the mail.

tohostudios wrote:

I too am addicted to the small packages in the mail.

Yeah that is a weird feeling.

It totally sucks though when the entire time you are walking to the mailbox you are expecting something to come in and finally when you open it and nothings in there....aw man.

Stender wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I too am addicted to the small packages in the mail.

Yeah that is a weird feeling.

It totally sucks though when the entire time you are walking to the mailbox you are expecting something to come in and finally when you open it and nothings in there....aw man.

I'm waiting for a couple of CDs in the mail at this very moment and I'm like Bart Simpson waiting for his spy camera... every day I get home, check the mail, and throw a fit when they're not there.

tohostudios wrote:

I too am addicted to the small packages in the mail.

Same here, I can see where jstate and SAHB are coming from, usually it is when I see cheap used cds in a bin is when I buy to many, but I have cut back on spending and just sticking to cds that are my want list for now, plus economics have limited the number of cds I buy a month, but I do enjoy collecting cds and I enjoy listening to the music, this hobby and passion are meant to be fun, not all consuming which I admit has gotten that way for me time to time.

SAHB Healer wrote:

I was thinking about passing some sections of my library on to worthy listeners (classic goth stuff, etc.) to help me focus on the good stuff actually.
But this is about finding time to listen to the music I love, not losing interest in music at all. Just focusing.

ummmm....I like classic goth...

I've been thinking aboy this very thing for a long time myself. It's just that now my website is so close to being finished (yeah, right!) after 7 or 8 years of building it. It would be a shame to let it go now!

Very soon I am ceasing getting anything new (probably after Death Magnetic's release). I'd like to take at least 6 months off from collecting, if not a year.

spectrefate wrote:

Very soon I am ceasing getting anything new (probably after Death Magnetic's release). I'd like to take at least 6 months off from collecting, if not a year.

I can't even make a commitment like that cause I will tell myself I will not buy any music for x number of months, than all these albums get released or I will find something I have been searching for, I am just going slow down and not buy cds in bulks like I have from time to time, take the time to enjoy listening to the music that I do buy, not just something else to add to my collection.

manny wrote:

spectrefate wrote:

Very soon I am ceasing getting anything new (probably after Death Magnetic's release). I'd like to take at least 6 months off from collecting, if not a year.

I can't even make a commitment like that cause I will tell myself I will not buy any music for x number of months, than all these albums get released or I will find something I have been searching for, I am just going slow down and not buy cds in bulks like I have from time to time, take the time to enjoy listening to the music that I do buy, not just something else to add to my collection.

Same here. I tell people my CD collecting is a hobby like stamp collecting. People who collect stamps don't dig out their stamp albums every day and look at every single stamp in it. Same with my CDs. It's as much about the discovery of new bands and acquiring hard to find CDs as it is listening to the music.

My problem like many of you here is the addiction to the little packages in the mail. The feeling as I am walking up to my front door after work knowing that something will be waiting for me inside is such an irresistable pull. It's getting to the point that I literally have a package in the mail every day and becuase I order so much stuff it's like a lucky dip as to what will turn up today.

When I think of the money i've spent I do wonder should I have done something more productive. I'm not really in debt as such but at 31 I rent and don't own a property. Have my priorities been bent out of shape by metal?

UltraMagnus007 wrote:

My problem like many of you here is the addiction to the little packages in the mail. The feeling as I am walking up to my front door after work knowing that something will be waiting for me inside is such an irresistable pull. It's getting to the point that I literally have a package in the mail every day and becuase I order so much stuff it's like a lucky dip as to what will turn up today.

When I think of the money i've spent I do wonder should I have done something more productive. I'm not really in debt as such but at 31 I rent and don't own a property. Have my priorities been bent out of shape by metal?

Nope. I bought my first house just 3 years ago. I order more stuff now than I did when I was renting.

tohostudios wrote:

UltraMagnus007 wrote:

My problem like many of you here is the addiction to the little packages in the mail. The feeling as I am walking up to my front door after work knowing that something will be waiting for me inside is such an irresistable pull. It's getting to the point that I literally have a package in the mail every day and becuase I order so much stuff it's like a lucky dip as to what will turn up today.

When I think of the money i've spent I do wonder should I have done something more productive. I'm not really in debt as such but at 31 I rent and don't own a property. Have my priorities been bent out of shape by metal?

Nope. I bought my first house just 3 years ago. I order more stuff now than I did when I was renting.

Do you live in the UK or US? I only ask as it is practically impossible to buy a house in the UK unless you have thousands of pounds. I earn a good salary but always seem to find things to spend money on, especially CD's, gigs/concerts etc.

spectrefate wrote:

Very soon I am ceasing getting anything new (probably after Death Magnetic's release). I'd like to take at least 6 months off from collecting, if not a year.

I'm sure if Debbie Gibson released a new CD during that time period you would break from your self-imposed exile, wouldn't you?