TowerRecords LosAngeles 1976 1500

are the avid collector and the avid record collector the same person?

THE AVID COLLECTOR was the title of my column in Pulse! magazine. Pulse! (with the annoying exclamation mark) was the in-house magazine for Tower Records that was free to every customer in every Tower store in the world! The Avid Collector was about collectible records and ran for almost two years in the early ’90s. [Read more] “are the avid collector and the avid record collector the same person?”

are there albums where the covers are worth more than the records?

HERE’S ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT VINYL on Quora that distracted me from various writing projects! The question is, “What vinyl album cover empty is worth more than a mint vinyl album without the cover?” Or, as I have worded it in this article’s title: Are there albums with covers that are worth more than the records? [Read more] “are there albums where the covers are worth more than the records?”

JohnYates PunkNote BlackFlag Damaged 1500 crop

an introduction to the punk note ideations of john yates

I WAS NOT A FAN OF PUNK ROCK in the 1970s and ’80s. I admired the political aspect of the punk movement in the UK and the anybody-can-be-in-a-band spirit, but I didn’t connect with most of the music. (I still don’t care for most of it but have loosened up a bit with age.) [Read more] “an introduction to the punk note ideations of john yates”

Donovan SunshineSuperman Taiwan record 600

the cheesiest semi-legal records in the world!

I MOVED TO CALIFORNIA from Pennsylvania in June 1978. I naively believed I would find some semblance of “the sixties” hidden away in San Francisco. But in only a few years, most of it had been blotted out. There were still a lot of hand-painted Victorian houses and a few hip coffee shops and bookstores.

[Read more] “the cheesiest semi-legal records in the world!”
MilesDavis FillmoreEast 1970 1500

why are non-rock artists in the rock & roll hall of fame?

A SERIES OF ARTICLES about Elvis Presley’s Gold Standard records has been taking up most of my time (along with redesigning the look of all my blogs). Because of that, I have been ignoring both the readers of this blog and those who salivate waiting for me to answer a question on Quora. [Read more] “why are non-rock artists in the rock & roll hall of fame?”