Stato
Well-known member
- Dec 21, 2011
- 7,555
This started out as the question: 'Do you own too many albums by a particular artist?' Okay, so the obvious answer might be 'Yes, I've got Queen's Greatest Hits', but what I meant was: Do you have a musical artist, who you like and who you keep buying the back catalogue of, despite being consistently disappointed by your previous purchases of their stuff?
For me, step forward: 'The Beach Boys'. Yes 'Pet Sounds' is a contender for the Greatest Album ever made. Yes everyone's life would be made better by a compilation of their Greatest Hits. Yes, Brian Wilson's erratic genius means that there is something valuable in 'Smiley Smile', 'Surf's Up', 'Wild Honey' etc. but why do I keep buying copies of their early albums? They were churning out two a year, they all have a couple of singles on that I already have and the rest of the album is filler. Not counting compilations and live albums, I now own eleven of their 29 studio albums. I know it's too many. I also know that if I spot another of the handily packaged 2 albums on one CD sets that I don't own, I'll probably find myself buying it.
I've just driven home listening to their fourth album: 'Little Deuce Coupe'. It has 14 songs. 11 are about cars. One is about a plane, one is about someone dying in a car and the other is Mike Love's appallingly naff 'Be True to Your School'. The title track and 'I Get Around' are the only two songs of note and I already have them on compilations. It's not on vinyl, so won't be collectible. I have Spotify and didn't even need to buy it. Still did and don't even really regret it.
I started this thread asking about music, because that's my weakness, but I realised whilst rambling, that the question is wider. It's about the inability to say no to adding to any type of collection, even when you're completely aware of the diminishing returns. I have a problem. Completism? Obsession? Charlie Brown and the football levels of not learning from my mistakes? I don't know. I'm just looking for some assurance that others are sometimes just as weird.
For me, step forward: 'The Beach Boys'. Yes 'Pet Sounds' is a contender for the Greatest Album ever made. Yes everyone's life would be made better by a compilation of their Greatest Hits. Yes, Brian Wilson's erratic genius means that there is something valuable in 'Smiley Smile', 'Surf's Up', 'Wild Honey' etc. but why do I keep buying copies of their early albums? They were churning out two a year, they all have a couple of singles on that I already have and the rest of the album is filler. Not counting compilations and live albums, I now own eleven of their 29 studio albums. I know it's too many. I also know that if I spot another of the handily packaged 2 albums on one CD sets that I don't own, I'll probably find myself buying it.
I've just driven home listening to their fourth album: 'Little Deuce Coupe'. It has 14 songs. 11 are about cars. One is about a plane, one is about someone dying in a car and the other is Mike Love's appallingly naff 'Be True to Your School'. The title track and 'I Get Around' are the only two songs of note and I already have them on compilations. It's not on vinyl, so won't be collectible. I have Spotify and didn't even need to buy it. Still did and don't even really regret it.
I started this thread asking about music, because that's my weakness, but I realised whilst rambling, that the question is wider. It's about the inability to say no to adding to any type of collection, even when you're completely aware of the diminishing returns. I have a problem. Completism? Obsession? Charlie Brown and the football levels of not learning from my mistakes? I don't know. I'm just looking for some assurance that others are sometimes just as weird.
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