The Aesthetics of Record Collecting

[yesno]

An interesting recent piece on Momus' blog takes the position that record collections are ugly.

http://imomus.livejournal.com/345642.html

I've got to disagree-- but I have to say that CD collections *are* really, really ugly.  Half shiny, half scratched.  My entire apartment used to be filled with CDs.  At the time, I thought it was great.

But big old record collections still have the weird mystique of a gentleman's library.

[Sarah]

The fact is, a library of books one has picked up over time and actually read is pretty ugly, too.  Pretty vs. ugly seems irrelevant here.

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

I don't collect records but I think they're beautiful, in the same way that I think books are beautiful.  I have all of my music on iTunes and I think that's pretty ugly.

[yesno]

The fact is, a library of books one has picked up over time and actually read is pretty ugly, too.  Pretty vs. ugly seems irrelevant here.

I recently reorganized as many of my books by shape and color as I could.  A big row of Penguins or some other series looks pretty cool.  Even ratty old genre paperbacks can look at least interesting if you have them in a nice shelf.

(It's a very "queer eye" thing to do, but it's not like whatever insane system I try to impose on them-- sorting chronologically, or by genre-- ever lasts anyway.)

And I think that playing my music through Front Row, with nice high-res artwork, is more aesthetically pleasing than listening to a CD or a record ever was.

[Sarah]

My point is simply that a wall of books or a wall of records (or CDs, for that matter) exists for purposes other than decorative.  Or should do.  Me, I love the way they look--well, not CDs so much--but I don't admire the overall effect of a passel of 'em as attractive in and of itself.

[yesno]

My point is simply that a wall of books or a wall of records (or CDs, for that matter) exists for purposes other than decorative. 

Oh, I agree.  But all else being equal, I think it's a fun thing to think about.  I love it when I see people that have managed to have a house full of books and records not look totally awful.

[Forrest]

I am willing to bet that I hold the FOT record for smallest living space, and I still could not live any other way than this.

[Omar]

The Jewel Sleeve 3-Drawer Chest!

[nick s]

The Jewel Sleeve 3-Drawer Chest!

I am waiting for the ultra-modern IKEA version.

[dave from knoxville]

The Jewel Sleeve 3-Drawer Chest!

Is this a picture of the small living space Forrest lives in?

[Beth]

I have a small record collection. It takes up a bookshelf in my house. I have my books on the other side of the room, parallel to the records, and I never tire of the musty charm of both of them.

[Forrest]

The Jewel Sleeve 3-Drawer Chest!

Is this a picture of the small living space Forrest lives in?

Top drawer is apt. #7. That's me.

[Sarah]

Show-off.