Collections

 

The challenge of coming up with another blog hits again.  Let’s see how this works.

 Maryland band Clutch recently reissued – yet again – its album Blast Tyrant on vinyl.  It was a limited release including a t-shirt, which caused muito problemos and much anger and frustration.  Mind you, it’s one of their more popular albums and has been out for awhile – originally on CD in 2004, with a two disc reissue in 2011 - including this newly resurgent vinyl format. 

 Having only one of something varies.  Can you collect spouses?  Maybe in a Muslim country, and only if you’re male.  Polyandry (husband equivalent of polygamy, having multiple wives) doesn’t seem to be common anywhere.  And the Mormons have dropped their own polygamy.   Some people collect real estate.  I see some on Facebook bragging about having 10+ vinyl copies of Machine Head (Deep Purple).   I’d just as soon find the best version and stick with that.  I thought my 1998 CD version was optimal, until I discovered that they reissued it yet again in 2012 with not just two songs in quad but the whole album.  D’oh!

 Stamps.   When we were kids in Paris, we’d collect this, even going to the stamp market, which – to the best of my recollection – was somewhere close to the US Embassy.  That collection has fallen by the wayside for decades, but I still have my blue book of stamps.

 Compact Discs.   By now I’ve lost count, having started with Van Halen OU812 and Judas Priest, Ram It Down, both in 1988.  My brother’s first were KISS Double Platinum and Poison, Look What The Cat Dragged in, back in 1987.  It’s still my preferred format.

 Vinyl.   Until 1987-88 we were collecting music on vinyl.  One thing we were NOT doing was buying as many different versions of the SAME album as possible, and I still find picture discs somewhat nonsensical.  The vinyl experts complain that the sound quality is inferior and they wear out quicker.  Anyhow.  Now that 180 grain has come by, I periodically purchase records in that format, even if I have it on CD.  Unless the band – for whatever reason – insists on ONLY releasing the album on vinyl, I’ll buy the CD.  Sleep and SunnO))) have been the only ones to do so.  I am NOT collecting vinyl of albums released once CDs became the standard, I’ll stick with material originally released on vinyl. 

 Soccer jerseys.   In 1999 I started dating a Brazilian woman, Leila, from Rio de Janeiro.  In summer 2000, when we visited her home town, I bought my first jerseys:  Flamengo and Botafogo, followed by Fluminense and Vasco da Gama, the four teams from that city.  Bayern Munich, with Giovanni Elber’s name and number on the back, I bought from the team’s own website.  The premiere soccer jersey websites will sell personalized jerseys with star players, though the team’s own website will sell you a jersey with any current player’s name and number.  I’ve lost count of how many I have, but continued even after the relationship with Leila ended in February 2005.  These include other Brazilian teams, Bundesliga teams (several Bayern Munich), Premier League (Arsenal being my favorite), a few from Real Madrid and Serie A, but none from MLS.  Fortunately, despite putting on weight over the years, my 1999 Flamengo jersey still fits.

 Concert T-shirts.  When we first started going to shows (1984) we’d get a shirt from each concert.  Nowadays I’m more selective.  Dead Meadow didn’t have any nice ones, so I got a poster instead.  It’s reached the point where I have to separate them out into black A-K, black L-Z, and non-black.  It’s also nice when the band puts tour dates on the back and doesn’t simply default to the current album cover for the front design.  Iron Maiden are probably the most imaginative when it comes to this.

 Pint glasses.  These are taking up space in my freezer now.  That being the case, I’ve cut down on seeking out more pint glasses and only get one if it catches my eye.  I can’t stand drinking beer or cider out of the can or bottle, and prefer drinking from a pint glass.   From King Crimson I have Red and Discipline, and a nice FARM one from the dispensary in Boulder, Colorado.

 Guitars & Amps.  Although I’m not, and never have been, a professional guitarist, I do have multiple guitars: a Fender Stratocaster, a Gibson SG Standard, a Gibson Explorer, a Gibson Les Paul, and a Gibson Firebird (reverse).   With the exception of the Black Cherry Pearl LP, the others are all black.  I see people bragging about having 10 sunburst Les Pauls – again, I don’t see any reason to collect more than one of each model, let alone several in the same color.  I pick the version I like the most and personalize or customize it as I see fit.  The Stratocaster is a Fat Strat made in Mexico, with locking tuners (large, 70s style headstock), a DiMarzio ToneZone zebra coil humbucker in the bridge position, and V-Runner tremolo.  The Les Paul is a Studio Pro with a Gibson 500T in the bridge position.  The Firebird is stock except for a black pickguard – it has the Firebird-specific pickups (which are NOT mini-humbuckers) and Steinberger locking tuners.  The Explorer, a ’90/’76 Reissue, has EMG81 pickups and a mirror pickguard.  And until recently, the Gibson SG Standard was stock, I added in locking tuners. 

 Electric guitars are useless without amplifiers, but I can’t say I’m really “collecting” amps per se.  I have a Marshall 2554 1x12” combo, a Marshall 4100 Dual Reverb head with 1960AV slant cabinet (a half stack), and a Laney L20T-112 combo.  Were I to start collecting, I would get a Fender Twin Reverb and a Mesa Boogie Mark II.  Not anytime soon. 

 Guns.  Hardly an arsenal, but here it is:  Beretta 92FS, Springfield Armory Saint (AR15), AK47, and three bolt-actions:  Russian 91/30 Mosin-Nagant, 1917 Enfield (US WWI), and WWII German Mauser 98K.  Those went from plentiful to rare.  About the only addition I’d prefer – absent winning the lottery and going Class III crazy – would be an FN FAL. 

Cars.  I’ve never been rich enough to accumulate a collection.  Again, if money were no object, I’d purchase a ’89-92 Firebird Formula and put my rebuilt, car-less L98 in it, and restore my ’76 Firebird, then add a ’67-68 Firebird 400 and a 1974 Trans Am SD455 in dark blue.  That begs the question of where I’d park them all. 

Hmm.  I've identified seven different types of items I collect.  It looks like I have a collection collection.   

Other stuff.  I was at Third Eye Comics in Annapolis recently and saw they had a huge selection of Pop Vinyl dolls - those pop culture dolls with the oversized heads - and late model action figures (same size as the Star Wars ones we had back in the day).  What I can't figure out is what these are for, since they're clearly marketed for adults.  How are adults supposed to play with dolls - sorry, "action figures"?  Maybe my imagination is defective here.  The only other reason I can see is to collect them.  But to me, collecting things for the sake of collecting, something which doesn't have any use in itself, is a bit strange.  I can drink beer out of my pint glasses, wear my t-shirts or soccer jerseys, shoot my guns or play my guitars, and listen to my CDs and vinyl.   What can you do with dolls if you're an adult?  Anyhow.