Miscellaneous - October/November 2004

  by Dixie Ernill

published: 20 / 11 / 2004

intro

In a new occasional column vinyl junkie Dixie Ernill explains, why having bought records for the best part of 20 years, record shopping continues to excite him

October 2004 I have been buying records for the best part of 20 years and while it’s mainly new releases I purchase now, a rush of excitement still grips me. Like that first stolen teenage kiss, it’s captivated me. It’s in the blood and it ain’t letting go! Granted, things aren’t the same as when I first began; tracking down obscure Smith’s singles in the late 1980’s or early Brilliant Corners records in the1990’s, but a buzz all the same.    My rules of engagement have changed over the years too. Originally, I was strictly vinyl; the 7” single, of course, being the format of choice, but as the popularity of CDs grew over the last decade, I have reluctantly allowed them to invade my collection and in recent years to completely dominate it. The 7” love affair, however, still continues and in the last month alone I’ve snapped up a good dozen of the little monkeys, ranging from the Cure to the Futureheads and the Libertines to The Departure. Surprisingly, the best being “Freakin’ Out” by Graham Coxon. Surprising because:- 1. I’ve never really been a fan of Blur (although they have certainly had one or two moments – 'To The End' and the recent 'Out of Time' have made it into my collection) and accordingly not followed Coxon’s solo career with any interest. 2.  It’s the first single I’ve bought for a while having actually heard it first! I normally buy for two reasons; either I’ve read a good review or, because I suffer from being a completist, I will buy records by particular artists, just because it’s them. These tactics, deemed stupid by many, can be both rewarding and frustrating. The best record I picked up in October was the new Trash Can Sinatras long player, 'Weightlifting'. Under normal circumstances it would stand up as a fine LP, but the “Trash Cans” and I go back along way. In 1989, I was a student at Newcastle Poly (now called something grand like the University of Northumbria), in my first (and thankfully only) year of a dull as dishwater accountancy degree and I stumbled across an indoor market stall selling new release singles cheap. For some reason I bought 'Obscurity Knocks', their debut single. At the time I was enjoying the fruits of living away from parental gaze for the first time and unearthing the rich tapestry of womankind, so 'Weightlifting' kind of transported me back to those heady days. Music gets me like that. Indeed music and love(life) seem to be intertwined. When and only when I lose the ability to fall in love, feel emotional pain or just long for someone, will I lose the desire to buy music.   November 2004 As I hinted at in October the music I listen to has become a soundtrack to my life. In a way, like a diary, allowing me to pinpoint records with specific times, places or people and vice versa. Be it The Hollowmen’s 'Drowning Man'single taking me back to an old girlfriend’s bedroom at 4am or St Christopher’s early Sarah singles reminding me of that final goodbye at Manchester’s Piccadilly Station. November has been a pretty good month for singles. The Bravery’s debut, 'Unconditional', is worth tracking down as it provides the missing link between the Strokes, the Killers and Interpol, while the Dears excellent 'Lost The Plot' 45 is a rare highlight on their rather stop/start and over long current LP, 'No Cities Left.' Other singles that have joined the massed ranks of my neatly filed collection include the Delays wonderful 'Lost In A Melody' and releases by Soho Girls, Keane, the Cranebuilders, the Polyphonic Spree and the Lost Prophets.  The last single I snapped up in November was Baby Shambles 'Killamangiro', mainly to keep my Libertines collection up to date, but it’s a decent enough record with an even better B-side, so worth the £2 spend. As a collector, I’ve always enjoyed flicking through “bargain bins” in search of, well, a bargain. Most of the stuff piled in the “bargain bins” or more realistically in racks, are there for of reason – they’re crap and no-one wants them, but occasionally you can unearth some little gem. Last Sunday was a case in point. I’d searched through about 3-400 cd singles, found nothing and was losing a bit of interest, when, out of the blue, I found a promo cd single by my favourite group, the Experimental Pop Band, that I didn’t even know existed! Granted, I already have the two tracks on their current LP, but the single had never been released commercially, had exclusive artwork and best of all was only 50p. Within 5 minutes of finding it the surge of excitement had led me to part with about £20 for other CDs I was only half interested in. The power of music astounds me even now. Re-discovering old albums can also astound me. Occasionally, albums I had dismissed as being ordinary when I last listened to them years ago, suddenly become vital and fresh. I recently decided to play Lodger’s debut and only LP, 'A Walk In The Park', because I liked the 3 singles on it and suddenly found myself stunned by the brilliance of the rest of the album tracks to the extend that I now skip past the singles! It just seemed to capture my mood now, more than it did nearly 10 years ago. Buy it, it’s bound to be in a “bargain bin” somewhere!             

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