Clarify what you mean by "junk".Those of us,who are true collectors,have the common, the rare,and the unknown.The common stuff,in my case,being things like more common pre-stereo RCA,and Columbia classical,and more conmmon Mercurys, etc.,as I am trying for nonoperatic completeness.(I also own unissued lacquers.)And as for rock/R&B,I own more common commercially successful records,from the 60s,and 70s,as well,as unknown records,that were never comped/reissued,or have only been in the past couple of years.And yes,everything IS great condition,and at least of cultural/historic importance.
Roger Kulp
Tom Fine <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
There's definitely a difference between an archivist and a collector. And there's also a big
difference between a true collector and an accumulator. As any fan of jazz knows, true collectors
are gold because they'll have a great-condition version of a record -- be it 78RPM or 45 single or
even LP -- for which the master tape is lost or deteriorated. You see transfers of 45 and 78
versions end up on Mosaic sets all the time, for instance. On the other hand, the accumulator is not
as useful because has just, well, accumulated. He probably doesn't even know what he has because he
doesn't stop to take measure -- he just keeps filling his space with boxes and boxes and boxes of
records. Most of them are junk, not even worth the sweat equity of hauling in. The junk clutters the
whole scene, making it nearly impossible to find the gems. There's a psychological problem related
to blind acquisition of things, I forgot what it's called. Collectors (and archivists) have our own
psycho problems, so I certainly shouldn't throw stones! An archivist is one step beyond a
collector. He's usually a funded professional, who has learned the standard methods of preserving
and cataloging his material. He is focused on preserving and accumulating excellent samples of
whatever genre his archive is all about. The achivist is a natural friend and sometimes student of
the collector, whose passion may have led to arcane knowledge way beyond the scope of the
archivist's formal education. The accumulator is kind of a pilot-fish to the whole process. He might
well have some very deep and arcane knowledge, and is thus worth knowing, but usually he doesn't
even really know what he has and is too busy accumulating to take the time to dig deep and see.
Sometimes, though, he's generous enough to let the archivist or collector sift thru the mountains of
junk (hopefully wearing masks and gloves to avoid mouse contamination) and there may be gold in them
thar stacks -- not likely but it does happen. As time goes on and the genre or artist or subject of
interest becomes more and more out of date and obscure, the accumulator becomes more valuable to the
archivist because history has a tendency to become more and more completist over time. You get 50
years out and the only "new" shine you can put on something is to release every rejected take or
amateur live recording you can find. You get a thoroughly mined artist -- and legend -- like Charlie
Parker, and all you're left to do is release amateur wire recordings of solos only (not even
complete tunes). And lo and behold, there will be at least a few buyers for all of it! Meanwhile,
out in the real world, the vast majority will have long forgotten the whole thing and the archivist
will have to fight for every penny every year. Guys, we live in a strange universe.
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message ----- From: "Lou Judson"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 11:16 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Podcasting--explained a bit...
Steven, I wonder if there is a idfference between and archivist and a record collector? You definitely seem to be the latter. I wonder if someone can get a grant to come and actually archive and digitize your collection?!?
A true archivist does not want to "modernize" the sound of your 78s - merely to preserve and protect them, and make them available to more people I truly hope that your collection will outlive us both but how likely is it that they will end up in landfill after we go?
Perhaps you are the perfect person to recieve the several older Macs I am pondering what to do with as they take up space in my storage that I pay for monthly... Maybe we could take up a collection to pay for shipping them up there so you can play to your heart's content with preserving and spreading your collection!?!
Lou Judson . Intuitive Audio 415-883-2689
On Aug 23, 2006, at 7:20 PM, steven c wrote:
3) Finally, keep in mind that I have been listening to 78's since they were actually state-of-the-art records...and particularly since about 1973, which was well before the invention of either digital applications to modernize the sound of 78's and such...as well as digital sound itself. =
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