An Introduction

I first became interested in 4AD, a UK independent record label founded in 1980, towards the end of the '80's. I was falling in love with the music of Dead Can Dance, Clan of Xymox, Pixies, Bauhaus and The Birthday Party and was surprised when the 4AD label sampler "Lonely Is An Eyesore" came out in 1987 that all these bands were from the same label.

After visiting a Pre-Raphaelite exhibition of some American's collection of art, I came to thinking of all this musical art that 4AD have released that may one day drift into obscurity unless someone shows it as art. So now I'm on a crusade, to collect the first ten years of 4AD's releases and exhibit the collection on 4AD's 50th anniversary in 2030. This is a big task which will have some interesting twists and turns along the way.

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Carpe Diem (Seize the fish)


Someone asked me last week how far through I am with my collection.  That’s a very hard thing to measure. When I first compiled a list of what had been released in the first decade, I had about 350 items listed, of which I had less than 100.  Over the next year or so the number of items on the list grew bigger and bigger and the amount of items I acquired did not keep up.

Before transferring my Excel spreadsheet list to Discogs, I had gathered a list of over 750 items to collect and still growing.  Of these I had about 350 items.  But the list was still growing faster than I was accruing items.

Things have changed a little now.  Because my collection is on Discogs, the wish list has been neglected.  I plan to expand my wish list on Discogs, but this only covers confirmed releases.  My list included items that were only rumours and I had never seen any proof of existence.  Discogs doesn’t allow additions for rumoured releases, they have to be proven releases, preferably by ownership.

My collection has more than 450 items now and, at a guess, I’m about halfway through what I know is out there.  The list of potentials is still growing even now though.  But then in a way, wouldn’t the day when I have everything be the saddest day of my life?  Probably.

I will make sure I enjoy the journey……………..

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