Does Vinylitis Make You Superior ???

[Rootsman]

I have just looked at the original post by Sean on the "Vinyl Fixation" thread and I for one can appreciate the point he is trying to make as I have felt for along time that their appears to be this mentality within the hardcore Vinylist fraternity that they are somewhat above the rest of us collectors of other formats.

I used to own a substantial amount of vinyl many years ago but have long since sold them on. My music collection now consists entirely of that little silver disc. About 40% of my collection is shop bought legitimate CD releases and about 60% are CDRs of rare or long out of circulation LP`s that has been supplied to me in almost its entirity by one extraordinarily generous private collector who has made his collection available for me to choose.

I work long hours and dont get an awful lot of time to be with my family. I could quite easily spend the spare time that I do have looking on ebay and following auctions. I CHOOSE NOT TOO. I have a wife and eight year old daughter, an only child. Its is much more important to me to spend my spare time doing family based activites and being a father to her whilst she is still of an age to want to be with me.

I earn reasonably good money and could quite easily afford to bid £50-£100 a time for albums that I am interested in owning. I CHOOSE NOT TOO. Any spare money that I have I would rather spend putting towards holidays and family based activities. The look of happiness and joy on my little girls face when I bring her in a present is, to me, something to treasure far more so than having a peice of rare plastic sitting on a turntable.

These are MY CHOICES. I dont knock the vinyl or think that I am any better or worse than you who collect it. Isn`t it about time you show us non vinylists the same courtesy.

Is a person who drives a car a better person than the one who rides a bike ? The form of transport doesnt determine the person.

I have been using this site for in excess of 3 years. Lately it seems to have become a vehicle for people to boast and disregard. It does not create a nice vibe. I am pretty sure those using the site back then know and appreciate what I am saying.

To me this site is a place to learn and gain knowledge about the Artists, the Musicians, the Producers, the Engineers and the Studios that all came to make the music we love, REGGAE.

I read these words on an album cover "REGGAE MUSIC KEEPS US TOGETHER". Is it not time to show more of that togetherness.

Dave

[leggo rocker]

No, it just means the sufferer is likely to be broke.

How can owning *anything* let alone records make anyone superior to another?

I don't think anyone has knocked CD owners, although admittedly many vinyl lovers have expressed their dislike or relative disinterest in the format.

So calm down Dave, even the vinyl owners here love you despite all those CDs on your shelf!

[Jah Glu]

This is one of the best posts i have ever seen on RA. Spot on, Rootsman, spot on...

[_Easy_]

Correct me if i am mistaken, but i dont think there have been any personal attacks on cd collectors, i mean we all collect the same thing here right? Reggae music? i think what your trying to justify Dave, is that one needs to set his priorities strait, and man you have to. cause you can sink a lot of money into vinyl, and i think it would be unwise and possibly foolish to spend that kind of money on records rather than on your family, becuase obviously your responsibility of being a husband and a father supersedes your role as a collector, but i just hope that you dont take offence to vinyl collectors, as leggo states, expressing their dislike or relative disinterest in the format, and not the collector of the format. Like i said, we all collect the same thing here right?

[MightyZ]

I too have never seen a vinyl junkie knocking those who collect CD's, but people ask what format you prefer and you tell them. It seems to me more common on here for people to be criticised for hanging on to vinyl, so they then defend their position.
There have been a few vibes on here lately that have not really been in the spirit of the RA that we know and love - I don't think a Vinyl/CD or any other Analogue/Digital split is to blame though? Some topics such as the Is Marley Reggae thread and the Clash thread recently have seemed to stir some vibes. I think that most of this is because music is close to our hearts. You start a thread that questions the validity of someone's favourite artist in some way and they will often get emotionally charged, similarly there will be those who agree with the poster and get a bit charged when they get these emotional replies.
I'm not sure what the answer is, because certain topics will always split the RA contributors and will also be close to people's hearts.
I think it is up to the Moderators to recognise when things are getting charged and give out a general cool down message if things are getting silly. If two or three people have got into a bit of a slanging match then perhaps a couple of gentle reminders to be courteous via PM would be good.

Let us not forget that, even though a couple of popular threads have become a little charged at times, the vast majority are still full of people chatting amiable, or looking for and receiving the help of other forum members etc.

One further thing Dave - total respect for the fact you want to spend time with you kids etc. You don't want to waste the precious years you have with them whilst they are young. But some of us have older teenage children who are away from college or live upstairs in their room, only coming down when they want feeding. So we have time to collect vinyl or CD's (I personally don't have the money unfortunately!). I wouldn't be too surprised if some of the people on here were buying the vinyl back they had sold when they needed money when their kids were young anyway.

MightyZ

[greg]

this is a good thread, i collect both vinyl and cd because its good to have both. there are pros and cons to both sides of formats. vinyls offer originality and alot of times better sound quality, but cds can preserve those sounds for many years to come. cds also offer more selection on rare cuts and unreleased material that hasnt been played to death by the masses. all in all its about the love of reggae music no matter how you listen to it.

[_Easy_]

hey greg (my apologise about getting off topic) you should register with RA so i can PM you, id like to ask you a couple of things about SD

[greg]

why do you want to know? and how did you know i am from sd?

[leggo rocker]

I have only seen vinyl collectors getting knocked.

I do hope you don't smoke cigarettes Dave otherwise that good parenting thing about not spending money on vinyl and wanting to do the best for you family etc will take a bit of a knock. I don't mean that personally, just as an example of how there are very many ways to be a good and bad parent.

Parents have to look after their kids, true. But they also have to look after themselves, because kids don't stay for ever (hopefully)

I'll declare my interest here, I have six kids from mid 20's to 11 years old. I also have two grandchildren and the youngest, at one and a half, is already showing a keen interest in my vinyl - dancing to it and wanting to touch it!

[_Easy_]

why do you want to know? and how did you know i am from sd?

haha you posted it in the 'how old are you' thread, im just going to be moving there in the end of summer and was wondering about some good spots to get a place and where to go for reggae vinyl/shows?