Greenhorn

My VHS collection continues to grow, as do my inroads into the world of record collecting. I have in recent days picked up seven tapes, and more records. I remain green where the latter are concerned. There are a number of things that leave me ill at ease, and i do hope to feel better with experience. I enjoy records, so I don't want to give any impression to the contrary, but there are some little things that presently mar the general experience.

Honestly, it's a bother that some many people are into it. I don't need to be super cool with my interests. It's not a problem to me that other people are into records. I don't need them all to myself, but there are some practical considerations. For one thing, one must spend more money to obtain decent records. Good VHS tapes can be had for very little, but one must enter the midrange to get decent records, and the high end to get really good ones. That has been my experience so far. It may sound logical economically, and maybe it is, but I don't like it.

I also don't like the physical imposition of having lots of people shopping for records when I am doing so. I am used to shopping for VHS tapes, which nobody but me typically is browsing. You have to work around what those people are looking at, and if you're me, having lots of people around is prone to provoke a freak-out. I wish I could be a big shot and shop for records when the store is closed. I imagine that could happen.

I find that I am not sharp about making sure that the records are in good shape, at least not yet. It's not easy to tell if a VHS tape is in bad shape, but to the extent that you can, I do fine with that. It's easier to tell if a record is in rough condition, but I somehow have a harder time with them. The thing is that I have to become more diligent and thorough in scrutinizing them before I buy them. Scratches and warping are a real problem, but there is no problem with detection if I have the will power.

Something that is not about to get better is the smell. I cannot be alone in thinking that records reek badly. It's not the vinyl itself, I don't think. I think it's the packaging. There's a lot of old, moldering paper where there are boxes of records. I would not be surprised if there are pests getting after the paper in some cases. I wish there were something to do about it. I wonder if perfume or baking soda could be the answer. Maybe it's incense. People who buy records are be slightly more likely than average to but that, right?