Me, Myself, Music
Welcome to my journey of justifying my obsessive tendencies and a continuation of my previous endeavour to explore music.
“Well, now what?” The same phrase I once said as I finished my final class at high school, was said once again when I completed my university degree, this past October. History repeated itself, and without any plans to celebrate these endeavours, I travelled home, placed plastic on a platter and relaxed.
As I sat there, in front of my record player, I thought to myself “Why?” Why after all these years did I continue to collect these overpriced and oversized ‘CDs’? It's been a question that has popped up online; the urge for a nostalgic feeling, supporting artists rather than simply streaming, there are many theories. Especially considering how many people are now collecting records, this hobby/fascination is continuing to grow, with the vinyl market increasing 11.9% in 2023 - that's almost 6 million additional units sold.
Personally, when I thought about collecting vinyl records I was hoping to spark the nostalgia I had for CDs when I was younger - organising them in my own particular way, keeping them in pristine order, reading the lyrics and credit notes. Then with an abundance of my dad’s old records from the 80’s, and the presence of a record player and Lana Del Rey’s Born To Die LP, I began collecting my records in 2017.
From the age of 17 to 21, I somehow accumulated (checks Discogs account) over 300 records in my collection. Throughout High School, COVID-19 and my rocky tertiary schooling journey, the turntable has become a shrine, a mini temple for everything I love. It has been a delight between my studies and personal life. Now that I’ve finished this long period of studying, soon to be holding my beloved Bachelor of Communications majoring in Journalism, I’m committed to pursuing the endeavour of blending both my passions.
Music-based artists have always inspired my being, my thought process and my movements within the world. A musician's production, song-writing and perspectives, within a record, discography or their entire career, is something I love to explore. Having physical copies of their art represents the various parts of myself, present, past and potential. Each of these records is important to me in a particular way, from providing a life-altering listening experience to something I’ve added to my casual-life soundtrack.
Whilst I still have plenty of life and time to live, at least I hope, and I want to continue to explore new music to add to this collection. Furthermore, share the music that makes up my life and being. Whilst there is no set agenda with this blog, I aim to update this Substack at least once a week. Each post could contain a music review, discussions of something about culture and music, or whatever is on my mind. This is my page and I intend to cultivate it the way I want to, and potentially collaborate with others where I can.
I’ll be posting content directly on TikTok, as well as some content here a there on my personal Instagram account (linked in my profile). However, all the information will be here, a part of this publication. Support this trying writer and music fanatic by joining my newsletter. I promise it won’t be a spam account, only some words of escapism and music exploration for you to enjoy.