I am going to give it a go, no records in the month of February. Just writing the words is causing some sweats and shaking, however it is a good idea to detox and let’s face it, it is the shortest month. I am also ashamed to say that there are a couple of hundred unplayed records on the bottom shelf waiting to be played and put away.
I have no idea how this is going to go. I am a fairly impulsive person when it comes to buying records, late night shopping on the internet, I drive by or rather don’t drive by a Goodwill on the way home and downtown the junk shop has just turned into a used record store.
I am going to use this time to consider what I am doing with this impulsive hobby. It is fun to search out lost titles and new treasures and even new music. However lets be honest I spent most of my teen years and early twenties with about 200 records and never felt cheated. What happened that I now feel the need to own entire discographies of musicians that were of marginal interest to me in the past.
Last year I toyed with the idea of having a year when all I was allowed to buy was new releases, I then got caught in my own web of trying to decide what “new” meant. Did reissues count? Was it just new albums by new artists? This way was madness. Eventually I just went with just buying on some random magical need to buy, this may explain the lack of structure to my current collection and let’s be honest past collection. Woody Guthrie sits next to Black Sabbath on the to be played stack and they seem tone getting along.
I have already failed on the no records in February plan and it is only the 5th. Of course who could turn down the Kate Bush collection sitting there, not to mention the Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal? In my defense today I strolled into Goodwill, realized what was going on and left today. Things are looking up.
So now the attempted project only to play the newly bought stuff and not to buy any new to me records until I am done. Of course this type of resolution has cause insanity and mayhem in other bloggers. I am however strong of will and will not crumble under the temptation of the purchasing gods, and if I do I shall confess and seek forgiveness here.

So here is my first neglected purchase, Canned Heat from 1969, boogie with a slightly blurred hazy feel. I may have said before, Canned Heat just make me happy, they are no frills good time music by fans for fans and Bob the Bear Hite has a sweet voice. What’s not to love apart from that strange cover image, some sort of back to the country domestic kitchen scene from the prairies. This has almost nothing to do with the stoner LA boogie band playing the music. Perhaps it is more of an ideal that the band felt they had left behind, or it just felt like a good idea at the time.
No new records?! How are you going to make it? There’s no way I’d last…
My guess is I am not going to make it, evidence is strong for this supposition.
I wish you much fortitude. Introspection and purposefulness add to life, and there’s something to be said for enjoying what you enjoy as well.
Maybe that is the point to enjoy what I have and not increase until I have, acquisition is fun but can itself become overwhelming
Wishing you the best of luck with this task, Neil. That’s tough going.
Good luck – you’re already a week into February, good month to have the challenge too with only 28 days!
I am thinking I may have to extend this to meet my new goal of working my way through all the records I have bought but not listened to, also I want to buy a tractor so need to save many…