In November 2019 we got a new car. We needed to get rid of the old one quickly, because it was suffering from electrical issues. The final straw came when we were hit with engine issues. As we had to get to Leeds the very next day (and a train was out of the question) so we went down to Available Car and got the most suitable option for us on that day.
We’re happy with what we got. It does the job, but we’ve always seen it as a temporary solution. It’s a filler until we get whatever next – whenever that time is.
But we made a big mistake. A giant one.
We didn’t even notice that it doesn’t have a CD player.
Now I know that this should be a given for modern cars that a CD player wouldn’t even be a consideration, but being able to play music from my physical music collection is a massive part of my lifestyle. It has a direct impact upon my daily dopamine dosage and I obviously wouldn’t want to reduce that any further.
A direct impact of this change was that I immediately put a pause on my music buying.
It was a lot easier than I thought, but the experience proved that my collecting isn’t an addiction.
With Christmas on the day, I decided to treat myself. It’s been a while and the opportunity was sat there. Every weekday one of my wholesale suppliers sends me a list of media I can purchase. For the longest time I’ve completely ignored the CD section, because I know what I’m like. This time – I embraced it and was absolutely treated for taking that step.
I’m on a never-ending mission to fill the gaps of albums and mixtapes that I need to own. In my teens and early 20s, I listened to a LOT of music spanning the late 1960s to present day. Through all of that, I reaffirmed what I’m into and helped me uncover so much greatness that I would have taken years to discover otherwise.
I crammed to gather masses of music knowledge in a short period of time and came out of it knowing how many great albums happened but not having the means to own them until I was a little older.
I know how expensive collecting can be, which is why I’ve been sensible from the start. Unless they are extra special albums, I’ve tried to be as casual about my music collecting as possible. I’m passively collecting what comes my way, so if I find it in a shop or a casual ebay browse, I’ll get it at a sensible price. I’m not doing a madness on Discogs for 99% of what I now own.
That’s kept things manageable and rational so far. The same is true of this haul, where I was able to get 165 full length projects for just £167.
Among the many new highlights, I’m happy to now own:
- Coko – “Hot Coko”
- Nivea – “Nivea”
- BlackGirl – “Treat U Right”
- I. – “F**k Da City Up”
- Sway – “This is My Promo” (Vol 1 and 2)
- Joe – “Ain’t Nothin’ Like Me”
- k-Os – “Joyful Rebellion”
- Wreckz n Effect – “Hard or Smooth”
- Sizzla – “Royal Sons of Ethiopia”
- Syd – “Fin”
- Gucci Mane – “Back Against the Wall”
- Dwele – “Sketches of a Man”
- Omar – “Music”
- Avant – “Ecstacy”
- P Money – “Live and Direct”
- Lil Kim – “Hard Core”
- Daz Dillinger – “Revenge, Retalliation and Get Back”
And so much more.