Polley show: record collecting

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Polley Music Library radio program on KZUM. For those
unfamiliar, the Polley Music Library is a public music library located on the 2 nd floor of the Bennett
Martin library downtown at 14th and N streets. The Polley Music Library is a service of Lincoln City
Libraries funded by the Lillian Helms Polley Trust. We have books about classical music, jazz, rock, pop,
blues, musicals, folk, hip hop, sacred music, and musical traditions from around the world. And we have
books about music education, music therapy, environmental sound and field recordings, music
production, recording, mixing and mastering, record collecting, music theory, the ins and outs of the
music business—you name it! Stop by any time Bennett Martin Public Library is open, and you can check
out materials with your library card!

I thought we’d try something a little different on this week’s episode. Typically, we talk about books that
focus on particular musicians or musical styles, but the fact is there are lots of books in the Polley Music
Library that approach music from different kinds of angles, too. I was reminded of one of those angles
this last weekend, which was Record Store Day in the US and the UK. You don’t necessarily have to be a
musician yourself to be really into recordings, and Record Store Day is a fun way to commemorate both
the fun to be had listening to records, and the way that local record stores help to support the overall
musical ecosystem. In a lot of ways, brick and mortar record stores remind me of libraries—they’re both
places where people can be together and exchange ideas on topics they’re passionate about. And
there’s something different about listening to records (or CDs or cassette or other physical formats) than
streaming music. There is of course some kind of singular focus at play even before listening—the
listener has chosen a particular piece of music and brought it home. Even if it’s an impulse buy of sorts,
or an impulse selection at the library, there’s still more planning and involvement than there would be
half-consciously scrolling through streaming music options. Then the act of actually playing it, often
while looking at the album art or reading through liner notes, creates a multi-faceted experience. And
upon your return to the record store, you’ll maybe get a chance to chat with staff or other patrons who
have similar interests, and learn about more music you might be into. You might make some friends this
way. If you are a musician, you might find some other musicians to work with this way. These sorts of
places seem like a total win-win to me: more music and more friends is always a good thing!

Here at Polley, we of course have lots of books about all kinds of musicians and different music scenes,
and I’ve often talked about those on the program. But there are some other really great books that I
don’t think I’ve mentioned yet, which focus on recordings themselves from a variety of perspectives.
Some of them are about the history of particular record labels. Some are about the joys of being a
record collector, tracking down lesser-known rarities. A few focus on album art, which may not be music
but it’s sure a big part of appreciating lots of iconic recordings. And there are even a few that document
the history and curation of particular record labels, whose efforts helped to share some of our favorite
artists with the world.

Here are a few of those books to consider if you’re interested in various aspects of recordings more as a
listener or as a collector:

Vinyl Junkies: Adventures in Record Collecting by Brett Milano MUSIC 78.266 MIL

This is a great overview book that documents the whole history and subculture of record collecting over
time. Author Brett Milano travels across the country to interview collectors, and also to visit the kinds of
places that collectors frequent to find their hidden treasures. There are stops to chat with celebrity
musician-collectors like Peter Buck of REM renown, and with mega collectors like illustrator Robert
Crumb, and other areas of the book read more like a travelogue, finding cool record stores tucked away
in unlikely places. Even if you’re not into records yourself, I think most music nerds will love and relate
to many of the people who pass through the pages of this book.

Do Not Sell at Any Price: The Wild, Obsessive Hunt for the World’s Rarest 78 RPM Records by Amanda
Petrusich MUSIC 780.266 PET

This book digs into the even more extreme side of record collecting than Vinyl Junkies: as the title says,
the most serious of serious collectors in the subculture of records are hunting for rare 78 RPM records.
Only one or two copies of some of these records might even exist, and collectors sometimes find records
that were previously unknown to exist at all. In the world of 78 RPM records, there’s a musicology or
cultural preservation element to the joy of collecting, as these folks might find music that was otherwise
lost to history. There are blues, country, jazz, and gospel recordings, and even what would now be
considered early attempts at world music, like early Carnatic violin recordings from India. This book
takes you into the secret world of 78 collectors, where we surprisingly find some universal musical
values at play.

Why Vinyl Matters by Jennifer Otter Bickerdike MUSIC 780.266 BIC

This book gets to the heart of record collecting through a series of interviews with celebrity musicians
and folks that work in the record industry. I was especially happy to see how many DJs are represented
here, including folks like Fab 5 Freddy, Cut Chemist, and Fatboy Slim, as of course finding the coolest
rare beats on obscure records was a huge part of the development of hip hop and electronic music. We
also hear from folks like hardcore singer and novelist Henry Rollins, author Nick Hornby, graphic
designer Alison Fielding, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, and many more. You’ll leave this book with a
real sense of how much records helped all of these people in their own musical and professional
development, not to mention simply being music lovers.

Vinyl: the Art of Making Records by Mike Evans MUSIC 780.266 EVA

This is an historical overview of records and the record industry that’s packed with great historical
photos and album art. The book tracks the history of vinyl in chronological order, starting with the
earliest attempts at making recordings, how records are made from the recording studio to the
manufacturing plant, and how different styles of music were born and marketed. Album art played a
huge role in making lots of iconic records so memorable, and there are tons of great artwork examples
throughout the book. Unusual turntable designs over time are also featured, and there sure were some
fun-looking pieces of furniture in the 50s and 60s! Many important record labels are featured in their
own sections, showing how their curatorial interests helped to promote new kinds of music and new
artists. This is a great overview of not just records, but how the who music industry evolved.

Cassette Cultures: Past and present of a Musical Icon by John Z. Komurki and Luca Bendandi MUSIC
780.266 KOM

While we’re talking about records, it would only be fair to mention the humble cassette, too. Cassettes
took music to places where records couldn’t go. They allowed independent artists who could never
afford to self-press records to release their own music on tape. They allowed all of us to make mix tapes
for our friends and lovers. And they allowed us to take the music of our choice with us wherever we go,
in cars and on mass transit with portable cassette players like the classic Walkman. And even in this
modern age of streaming music, there has been a bit of a cassette resurgence. This book talks about that
rise, fall, and rebirth of the cassette as a means of sharing music, including a good history of the
medium, and coverage of modern cassette labels that are using the format once again.

We have tons more books along these lines, but there’s just a few to whet your appetite. Now, let’s
check out some music. I think we’ll start with a classic tune by the underground artist R. Stevie Moore
that can tie together records and cassettes: Moore himself has self-released much of his work on
cassette, but this song is all about how much he likes records. This song is simply called “Records,” and
here’s it’s being performed by the amazing songwriter and one time Pitchfork music critic Dominique
Leone:

Dominique Leone – Records – summer EP – 2010, self-released 1:43 starts at

Next, since we started all of this off talking about Record Store Day, I thought we might hear a few bits
of music released on Record Store Day. I’ll start with a piece from a sort of “lost album” that was made
in June of 1982. This is a collaboration between the New York City no-wave band the Raybeats, known
for their instrumental and vaguely surfy sound but with a punk and no-wave edge, working with
renowned composer Phillip Glass. This was just released for the first time on vinyl, and it’s one of those
things that actually sounds remarkable, even though on paper it sounds like it would be a pretty bad
mismatch. But at that time in the NYC scene, there were new styles of music arising practically every
day, and why shouldn’t it work? Here’s a piece from the album called “Pack of Camels.”

The Raybeats – Pack of Camels – the Lost Phillip Glass Sessions – 2021, Ramp Local

Another record that was just released on the most recent Record Store Day is the vinyl debut of “Long
time coming (Live in Vienna 2018) by the British duo Renaldo and the Loaf. In case you’re not familiar
with this band, they were (and now they are again) fairly unusual experimental songwriters whose work
was first championed by the even weirder band The Residents. Although they formed in 1979, they had
never played a live show, other than one short 20-minute improvised set early on. In 2018, just shy of 40
years after their formation, they played their first formal live set, which is documented on this release.
The opening track, which is called B.P.M., features the perfect lyrics for the occasion, and also served to
help name this album. And here it is:

Renaldo and the Loaf – B.P.M. – Long Time Coming (Live in Vienna 2018) – 2021, BlocGlobal

And we’ll go out with an excerpt from my favorite Record Store Day special release, which was “Cities of
Glass,” the debut of House of Hayduk back in 2012. This project was an underground supergroup of
sorts, featuring members of Faith No More, This Heat, HEALTH, Estradasphere, Duresforsog and more
playing some very cinematic instrumental music that’s hard to place in terms of genre. There are four
pieces on the album, North, South, East, and West, and we’re going to hear a bit of “North.”

House of Hayduk – North – cities of Glass – 2012, Koolarrow Records

I hope you enjoyed this overview of books about record collecting and related topics! And remember:
we have lots of other music books, histories, biographies, and much more for a huge variety of musical
styles. And it’s all free with your library card! Any questions? I’m always glad to help. You can reach me
at polley@lincolnlibraries.org, or call the Polley Music Library at 402-441-8520. Thanks for tuning in, and
I hope to see you at the library soon!