Enoch's Interview Thread

moving from genres, Are there any bands/artists you automatically buy on vinyl regardless? (Do you buy multiples copies - all the different variants?)

Right now I'll order anything the women of boygenius put out, but I won't like, track down the RSD 7"s or anything like that. In theory I'll pick up anything Erika Wennerstrom does--Heartless Bastards is one of my favorite bands--but I don't have their first album, and I haven't gotten around to picking up her solo album yet, though it's absolutely terrific.

I don't collect all the variants. If I end up with a second copy I'll pass one along.

So... kind of?

I try to avoid multiples unless two clubs do the same release or apparently FJM releases

There are a lot of artists I'll buy the next album of. I can't commit beyond that.

Heh--you can't get enough FJM vinyl?

I just happen to have two of each of his albums

Ah. Well, you know where to find the PIF thread...

just teasing

I really like him so I don't mind
I definitely PIF other multiples

Yeah, I ended up with 2 boygenius EPs. I would have kept both, but @mcherry mentioned not having it, and I just knew I had to send it to her. She's sent me so many duplicates over the years.

It's rare I get to return the favor

glad you could, since we are sort of on the topic

What is your favorite record in your collection?

I have a favorite child because there is only one. A favorite record is impossible.

I've been spinning the latest Julia Jacklin a lot. And Blossom Dearie and The Beths. Those are current favorites. I love my Anthology of American Folk Music. But yeah no, I don't have A Favorite.

any older albums (decade wise or collection wise) that get a lot of play

I spin The Limousines - Get Sharp a lot, which I picked up in 2010. Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer was picked up early on. Exile on Main Street and Rubber Soul get played, which came from my parents' collection.

along those lines what record means the most to you? (if different from any you mentioned above)

And of course, tons of Christmas albums, haha

Probably the copy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band that I have from my parents' collection. I've been listening to it my entire life. The songs have been meaningful in different ways to me as I've aged. It's obviously a great album, but it's just been there for me all along.

is there a particular song on Sgt Pepper that sticks out more

She's Leaving Home

it's just a brilliant, devastating song

When I was little I was kind of horrified but fascinated by it. Why would a girl leave home?!

I probably identify with the girl in the song more as an adult than I did as a child. Or maybe I should say understand her. I was a very straight-and-narrow kind of goody two shoes kid.

so no thoughts of running away from home as a child

No way.

I was also very fearful

I mean, we'd play pretend that we were orphans roughing it and things like that, but I never felt a desire to be away from my family as a kid.

is there a song/album that means a lot to you and your kid

Honestly, she begs me to play the Bob's Burgers album all the time, because she wants to hear "Butts, Butts, Butts" and "The Diarrhea Song"

That's our main bonding vinyl wise at this point

but musically in general, we have a "Mommy and Baby Glitter Dance Party" playlist. we sing and dance to those songs--mostly pop songs and some tracks from movie soundtracks.

We love to sing "I Am Not A Robot" by Marina and the Diamonds together

and anything by Carly Rae Jepsen

sounds good, better than all her favorites being the "gross" songs

Right. I mean, she's 5. Gross songs are a right of passage. But she's also a pure little soul and just loves music.

She's a crack up. When I have to tell her no for something, or if she's in a little bit of trouble she'll throw herself on the couch and tell our Google home puck thing "Okay Google, play me sad songs!" and it will

that's too funny, what songs does it play for her

Apparently someone made a Spotify playlist called "Sad Songs"

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX7qK8ma5wgG1

Right now the first song on the list is by an artist who shares my daughter's first name, and actually resembles her, and I find that too funny.

at least it doesn't also include Dirty Lovers songs too (yes @benmal I went there)

Because parents are amused and delighted by everything related to our precious angels when they're being adorable.

haha

She's usually over it within 1-2 songs, she just likes to demonstrate for all of us how Very Sad she is

But also she sincerely loves music

before getting into my typical closing questions, I wanted to ask about your forum name, is there a story behind it?

It was a blog idea I had--to write about raising a daughter. I find it kind of evocative of what being a girl is all about. The blog never happened, but I like the handle

what were your dreams for the blog

I don't know about dreams, but I wanted to talk about the challenges of bringing up a girl in a patriarchal world, and also just parenting with a mind towards the fact that we're raising people--future adults--and how our choices, disciplinary techniques, etc. should always be geared towards our goals for our relationship with them and the types of people we want to empower them to be.

Which is super hard sometimes when you just want them to DO WHAT YOU SAY

AND PUT ON THEIR SHOES

AND OMG STOP WHINING

I have a funny story about putting on shoes

I worked at a summer camp, it was the last day and the youngest kid didn't want to put on his shoes to go to breakfast

I told him he had because if her didn't go to breakfast he couldn't come back to the cabin for his mom to pick him up

(Why do they hate shoes so much?!)

ENOCH

MEAN

circle logic at its best
circular

Did it work?

it sure did

poor dumb kid 😉

funny thing is he ate more than all the other kids at breakfast

of course. It's not that he wasn't hungry. Shoes are just child repellent

but he said he wasn't hungry and just wanted to go home
but yes shoes were a problem

kids, man

poor little guy

related in a loss sense to your blog, many people have applauded/appreciated your posts on the forum and in several instances stated you said what they were trying to say but in a more succinct way

do you feel pressure when posting because of that

Which is kind of funny given how long-winded I am

oh no, not at all

I like to be appreciated, it's flattering. But I just like to communicate

I'm not thinking "oh, is everyone going to like this" when I post about a thing

I don't check the "likes" on my posts usually, though I won't say never, haha. Because I do like affirmation as much as the next person.

if you did check likes you would notice I am not included, not because I don't like your posts I just don't hit like on any post

We are opposites

I'm a mega-liker

not everyone cares about them, but some people do, so I like to give 'em a little love, just in case

I have noticed (both that you like and that others comment about getting them), do write for a living helping your posts sounds so wise

(I'm sorry--is there a word missing in that last sentence? I'm not sure what you're saying)

do you write... (I really like to leave out "you" when asking a question)

Oh, I'm currently unemployed. I guess I kind of did--I provided commission support for the worldwide salesforce of a major tech company for years, and we used a case system. Most communication was written. But not cool writing.

I always planned to be a writer, but I'm not imaginative enough for fiction, and I'm honestly pretty self-conscious about feeling like I don't have much important or interesting to say.

I majored in poetry writing, because I have always embraced poverty and depression, I guess.

As I eluded to earlier, I think many on the forum think you have a lot to say

Yeah, if I could write for a living with prompts...

You could star GritnGlitter's poetry thread

It's definitely a struggle I've had my whole life

start

maybe because I read so much, I feel like everything is old news or a retread or something

hahaha

probably not gonna do that

I did moderate the poetry threads in an old forum I was part of though. <laughcry.gif>

I have poetry on an old LiveJournal somewhere. Terrible.
 
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since we are hearing a little about your self thoughts, What song/album would describe your personality?

Heartless Bastards - All This Time. I feel like the songs capture the way I love, my kind of outlook, and how I try to move forward. Just the sound itself even, maybe? I feel like a person could learn about me, or at least how I see myself, by listening to it.

My personal anthem is on that album, "Into the Open" for anyone curious.

Yes, I am totally that dramatic dork who has a personal anthem

my daughter comes by her theatrics honestly

once you become a famous athlete you have your walk up/out music!

What song/album best describe your beliefs? (Spiritual, Emotional, Existential, Whatever)

This is the hardest question in the world for me. Maybe a mix of Julien Baker's albums. She seems to wrestle with depression and God in ways I find really true.

in what ways do you feel you struggle with God

I was raised Evangelical, and it really messed me up. Purity culture and all that shit. You know when you think you understand a thing and how it impacted you, then a little later you realize there's a whole slew of other issues tied to it? That's me and my relationship with Evangelicalism. I don't know if I believe in God, but I also just do, innately. I'm the super genius going "God, I'm so sorry, but I think maybe you don't exist. Sorry if that makes you mad." Completely nuts.

I definitely identify as Exvangelical

So I identify as evangelical but not publicly because that term in public has morphed into something it never was, I believe in sharing my faith but I don't need to shove in peoples' faces. I like the St Francis attributed quote "Preach Jesus and if necessary use words."

Yeah, there's evangelism, and then Evangelicalism. I actually grew up in a Baptist and then a "non-denominational" church, which I didn't realize was basically code for Evangelical. The patriarchy of that type of Christianity is practically blasphemy. I do not like the thread of exvangelical talk that is disdainful of believers, but the culture enables and perpetuates and protects abuse and abusers. My grandparents are Evangelical and are the kindest, most generous, most loving, most lovely people in the world. Truly their very lives are a witness. But the churches and community I grew up in was deeply damaging.

*was should probably be 'were"

Yeah, I totally agree there is much about current American religion and historical Christian religion that leaves a lot to be desired and in a lot ways turns people away. Regardless I hope you are able to find peace in your faith/non-faith journey.

❤ Thanks. Yeah, America has gotten a lot wrong. I'm looking forward to trying actual therapy once our health coverage change is complete. Take some of the load from my very lovely friends.

Very *patient* friends

I want to add about my own faith, while I identify as Christian I am also essentially a universalist in terms of the/an afterlife (I could go into great depth about this but I will save everyone from that)

getting back to the questions, If you met someone who has never heard music ever, what album would you play for them first?

Sam Cooke - Portrait of A Legend

do you want to expand on that or leave us to wonder/explore/reflect on why

I feel like it speaks for itself. As soon as I sat down to think about that I just heard Sam singing "whoa whoaoah little girl..." and I knew. His voice was just perfect. The music is delightful. Hearing Sam Cooke for the first time was like hearing music for the first time.

good enough

@Bennnnn asks: What album, that you own and do actually like, gives you the feeling of existential dread?

Oh man

hmm

I always have a low level of existential dread

I don't think there is one

I was thinking about this myself, I also have a low level of existential dread, I also am drawn to music with downer lyrics but somewhat upbeat melody

Yeah, music soothes that dread.

maybe sometimes it confirms it--I listen to a lot of what I call "sad lady music"

but as Andrew W.K. says, "music is worth living for"

I can only think of a song that the lyrics and music gives that mood that I really love, Moment of Surrender - U2

okay, I'm listening to it now

My U2 knowledge starts and ends with Joshua Tree

for the most part

I personally rank that in the middle of their discography

While ben's question haunts us, What is one thing you'd like the forum to know, that didn't come up in the interview?

You can make real friends on the Internet. @Corycm, @mcherry, @Kris, @Matt M, @nolady, and @teee are some of the sweetest, kindest, most generous people on earth. People can be terrible, but try to remember that people are also the source of really wonderful kindness as well.

Oh! And if you haven't yet, you should totally read and post in the 5-10-15-20 thread (https://forum.vinylmeplease.com/index.php?threads/5-10-15-20-your-music-through-the-years.1294/) it's my favorite. I'm about to turn 41 so I need to add my 40 song this week (but I'll be 41 by the time this posts)

drum roll please, the final question: What question would you like to ask the next person interviewed?

(we skipped 2 questions)

(set up and I think record I could freely receive?)

But my question for the next person is "Do you have a personal theme song or anthem? If so, what is it?"

oops, my ability to follow a list is not on point tonight

It's late, baby!

It is
do you want to share your answers to the two questions that I spaced on

sure

What is your set up?

What is your current listening setup? What equipment do you have? Do you listen alone, only with others, or some combo?

I was able to buy the Fluance RT85 this year, so that's my turntable, and I'm loving it. I am far from an audiophile or gear person though--I use an Onkyo TX-8020 receiver and just a pair of Dayton Audio bookshelf speakers. Works for me.

My stuff is set up in the living room, so I listen with my husband and kid and cats a fair amount, but also alone/with cats late at night. I've also started hanging out with @Matt M--we found out we live in the same neighborhood--so we listen to records sometimes, and I think we're going to try to get the other Portland forumers together to listen hopefully soonish. So a combo, haha.

that is pretty neat, forum buddies irl

Right? We saw Strand of Oaks together last night

yeah, I am super jealous, was it a big venue?

No. Kind of perfect
255

Not tiny, just a good, comfortable size

great pic, did you try and hang out afterward or head out once it ended

We basically headed out. I'm not particularly into meeting bands.

(anyone who says they separate the art from the artist but hangs around for an autograph... I don't get you)

now drum roll please for the way out of order the last question, If you were allowed to freely receive any record you currently don’t have, what would it be?

Haha, kind of anticlimactic, but Stranger In The Alps needs a remaster and then I want that. And I want the Erika Wennerstrom album I mentioned previously. I don't really have "white whale" albums.

which is fair since you aren't a "collector"

Right

this concludes our interview unless you want to share anything else or point out anything else I forgot (I am spacey in general)

hahaha, you are not. You are pretty amazing. These interviews are so fun and such a great idea. Thanks so much for doing them

I don't really have anything else to add.

I enjoy them and am amazed people want to participate (maybe after this one everyone will see I am human and ditch, I kid except the being human part)

(being human is all any of us can be)

true, thanks again for the time and thoughtful answers (and keeping me accountable 😉)

It has been my absolute pleasure. Get some sleep! Good night. xo

[pass out immediately onto his computer]
 
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Interview 23

Unknownly this was to be the last interview on the defunct VMP forum. @Selaws joined us and we rushed posting it as it was scheduled to post a week and a half after the closing.

How did you find this VMP forum? (Were you already a VMP member? Did you find the forum first and join VMP? Do you even subscribe to VMP?)

I’ve been a VMP member since April 2017, when I signed up for the Gorillaz – Demon Days ROTM. I had been debating whether to join for a good 6 months before that but, being an international member, I wasn’t sure if the benefits outweighed the costs. I also had limited storage space at the time so was quite selective in what I would buy.

I wasn’t active in the forum until recently, maybe late last year. I used to spend a bit of time on the Reddit Vinyl and Vinyl Me Please subreddits but began to find that it was always full of the same records being posted over and over again (the standard “New Crosley starter pack”). I wanted to dig deeper into different types of music that I wouldn’t otherwise seek out and realised that I’m already part of a club that provides that service, so the forum was the next logical step. Have to say, I’m glad I did as just chatting to you guys has broadened my record collection considerably, so cheers.

When did you first start collecting vinyl? (Do you remember what the first one(s) was?)

I do remember when, it was September 2011 and I was in my second year of my Undergraduate Studies. There was a new charity shop opening in the town and through the window I saw shelves stacked with high-fi equipment, and a record player caught my eye. I had already tried picking one up at a local market a few weeks earlier, but an older eccentric guy swooped in and bought it. Apparently, this guy would go to all the markets and charity shops buying every second-hand record player he could get his hands on. I turned up on the charity shop on its opening day and waited for them to open before swooping in myself and buying it.

I picked up my first record a few weeks later at a local car boot sale (similar to a flea market in the US I think). I can’t remember exactly what it was but it’s likely to have been a Queen record, A Kind Of Magic comes to mind as being one of the early pick-ups. Around that time a local record shop was closing down and I picked up a load of classics (original Bowie, Beatles, and Queen records) for a few pounds each, so I had quite a good start.

What is your current listening setup? What equipment do you have? Do you listen alone, only with others, or some combo?

I recently bought a place in London with my girlfriend and it’s the first time I have had a significant amount of space for a decent set up (prior to this I rented an attic room which was so small I couldn’t stand up in it – think Harry Potters cupboard).

Im currently using a Pro-Ject Classic in Walnut with a Ortofon 2M silver cartridge (incredibly I was able to pick the system up unopened on eBay for less than half its RRP). I’ve also added a few extra upgrades (better legs for dampening, etc). Last year I made the most of the free international shipping from VMP and purchased a pair of Kanto YU6 speakers in matte black (hard to find that colour in the UK), and I can’t recommend them enough. In the past I used a vintage pre-amp (with my dads old Bang & Olufsen Beogram 1001 turntable) but have found that the phono pre-amp built into the Kanto’s are superb (although a new pre-amp would be my next big upgrade). In fact, I also use them as my TV speakers and have the Bluetooth hooked up to the Amazon Echo, so it’s a super diverse product.

I tend to listen alone or with my girlfriend. I usually have to curate records to keep her interested (certain free jazz records are a no-go) but luckily our musical tastes overlap so we can always find something we both enjoy listening to, usually whilst playing card games or doing chores around the flat, etc.

What is your current goal in buying/receiving/collecting vinyl? (Do you focus on collectibles? Do you only buy what you like? Do you buy what you think you might like?)

I’m more interested in the music itself over the colour of the vinyl its pressed on, although I will always aim for an original pressing over a repress. I’m always open to buying records blind as well, especially if they have been recommended by people that share my musical tastes (the recommendations that pop up on the Jazz thread are a prime example). I also have a list of big ticket items which I will pick up on rarer occasions or if I’m able to get a good deal, but these tend to be older or small pressings over more modern sold-out records or exclusives.

Are there any bands/artists you automatically buy on vinyl regardless? (Do you buy multiples copies - all the different variants?)

Oh man, there’s a ton. Anything by Tom Waits - I have first pressings of most of his albums, plus a ton of bootlegs. Anything by Queen – again, I have first pressings of almost all their albums, plus some really rare bootlegs/unofficial releases and a couple of records signed by the whole band. The Roots – I have most of their albums but am still missing a handful, I tend to aim for the first pressings here and they tend to be hard to find at a reasonable price. I’m relatively new to The National and Daniel Norgren but would happily pick up anything they release before hearing it as I enjoy all their music.

There’s also releases by specific labels that I would pick up automatically. Jazz Re-Freshed is a London Jazz label that puts out some fantastic stuff, I’ve seen first-hand how much they look out for their acts as well which is great. Ill Considered is a London jazz group that put out music on their own label (albeit with a few quality control issues) and I tend to pick all them up. Fellow forumite @Skalap has opened my eyes to several fantastic Jazz labels and I pick up any releases I find by them without question, specifically the Studio Mule label (reissues of rare Japanese jazz) and Superfly Records (reissues of rare jazz, reggae, funk in limited editions of 1000).

What is your favorite record in your collection?


Tough question as it always changes depending on my current musical mood. I picked up a ‘white whale’ of mine late last year which is a 7”, The Third Wave - Questions 67+68 / Love Train. They are a group of Filipino sisters that released this single and an album (which I also have) back in 1970 before disappearing off the face of the earth. It’s a fantastic funk record produced by George Duke (he collaborated with Frank Zappa) and I never thought I would find a copy I could afford. I have an original copy of Miles Davis – Sketches of Spain, and an early copy of John Coltrane - A Love Supreme which I love and play quite a bit as well.

A cool novelty I found is an original Roentgenizdat or ‘Bone Record’. A lot of music was banned in Soviet Russia so bootleggers would illegally produce ‘records’ cut into x-rays. The one I picked up is an x-ray of a forearm/hand and plays T-Rex - Children of the Revolution (which is quite relevant to the story).

Although, like I said, ask me again in a week and my answers might change.
 
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What record means the most to you? (if different from the above)

Great question. My dad has never expressed an interest in music but I do have a number of his records he had when he was young. One of which is an original copy of David Bowie – Aladdin Sane. The record/music isn’t really what makes it special though, it’s a record index card I found tucked away in the gatefold. It was written by my dad (presumably in 1973) and is basically a playlist of his favourite records at the time, plus ones he was after. Its nice to have this snapshot from when he was younger.

In addition, I also have a number of signed records that act as a souvenir or novelty. I tend to go to a lot of live gigs with my girlfriend and I will always pick up a tour t-shirt and record (unless I already have a copy) which we will try to get signed. In some cases, this isn’t possible, but we always put the ticket stub in the record sleeve when I get home as an additional keep sake. Some of the signed records I have include Ata Kak (a nigeran funk artist), Open Mike Eagle and Queen. I also have a handful or rarer signed records which I have found online or at my local shop (I never pay more than the price of a standard record, and always make sure there is a strong provenance to them, so I have got some fantastic deals) including Fleetwood Mac, Queen (with Freddie mercury’s signature), Bruce Springsteen, and the Beach Boys.

If you were allowed to freely receive any record you currently don’t have, what would it be?

Hmmm. I tend to gravitate towards artists/albums that have an interesting or unusual story to them. Tim Maia – Racional Volume 1 & 2 are a couple of records I would love to have for this reason. They are really rare and represent some of his best work. There story behind them is fantastic, he was part of a cult that believed in aliens and Tim and his band would only wear white clothes and play white instruments during this phase of his life. I recommend the recently released book 33 1/3 Brazil – Tim Maia Rational Volumes 1 & 2 by Allen Thayer for anyone that wants to learn a bit more about them.

Oh and im also missing the VMP Classics John Lee Hooker -It Serves You Right To Suffer, so I would love that to complete the collections (its also an amazing album which I have listened to so many times!).

@GritNGlitter asks: Do you have a personal theme song or anthem? If so, what is it?

Super fun question. I don’t specifically but me and my girlfriend have several songs that we sing at random times. For example, Friday morning always start with a chant of ‘Its Friday, Friday, Gotta Get Down On Friday’ taken from the super annoying song by Rebecca Black. It started off ironically but it’s now ingrained into our weekly routine.
 
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This second half was only up on the previous forum for about a day. Thank @Selaws for getting these to me prior to the shutdown. Despite the circumstances, this is worth the read.

Not a question but I would love to have one of those Bone Records, I read an article about them a few years ago and thought it would be cool to own one.

They are a great piece of history and fascinating to research if you have the time. I actually went to a lecture by Stephen Coates of the ‘X-Ray Audio project https://www.x-rayaudio.com/x-rayaudiorecords/ (He also has a TED Talks lecture and a mini film which can be found on Youtube). It was a super interesting lecture and at the end there was a live performance where they actually cut direct to an x-ray on an old bootlegging machine. Here’s a photo of mine if you are interested, I managed to find a free-standing picture frame with glass on both sides to display it which was a great find.

259

Those jazz labels sound pretty cool [avoids looking into them to save money], is there a particular style/era of jazz you prefer?

Wow, what a question. Im going to be very specific and say that I think 1959 is the greatest year for jazz. Its frankly eerie how many fantastic, career making ‘classic’ albums were released that year. You have:

Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
Dave Brubeck – Time Out
John Coltrane – Giant Steps
Charles Mingus – Ah Um!
Ornette Coleman – The Shape of Jazz To Come
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers – Moanin’

Funnily enough I remember listening to John Coltrane – Giant Steps and being blown away by it (from a technical point of view it’s a work of genius and arguably changed the way musicians approached jazz). I decided to see what else was released that year and couldn’t quite believe the list. There’s a great BBC documentary called The Year That Changed Jazz which I recommend watching, it gives a detailed look at 3 of the albums on my list -
1959, the Year that Changed Jazz


With all that being said, I really think the current London Jazz scene is on fire at the moment. I could go on for days talking (I mean that literally, come join us over on the Jazz Thread) about the amazing artist that are making killer music at the moment:

Nubya Garcia (Maisha, Nerija)
Shabaka Hutchins (Sons of Kemet, The Comet is Coming)
Cassie Kinoshi (SEED Ensemble, Nerija)
Sheila Maurice-Grey (Kokoroko, SEED Ensemble, Nerija)
Ed Cawthorne (as Tenderlonious, Ruby Rushton)
Leon Brichard (Ill Considered, Wildflower, MADMADMAD)

I would also like to point out how musically diverse the London Jazz scene is as well, Kokoroko has strong afrobeat influences, Sarathy Korwar merges western jazz with Indian influences, The Comet is Coming has heavy electro/funk vibes, there really is something for everyone.

Sorry for the essay, I hope it’s useful though!

What album do you and your girlfriend share/like the most as a couple? What is one album she enjoys that you can’t stand?

There’s a handful ‘go to’ albums. Darwin Deez – S/T and Jack Johnson –

In Between Dreams are pretty standard picks. We recently bought Bloc Party – Silent Alarm which I imagine will get played quite a bit. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours is one of her favourites so that gets played a lot.

Im very much the driving force behind our record buying and I would never suggest a record to her that I can’t stand, so all the records we (I) own are albums that I enjoy. However, I did buy her a record for Christmas which I actively avoid and that record is…… Spice Girls – Spice. My girlfriend and her friends grew up listening to that record and when the Spice Girls released tickets for their reunion all 9 of the girls, plus us boyfriends stormed the Ticketmaster website (they are scam artists as far as I am concerned) to get tickets. I was the only one that was able to grab them before they sold out, a fact which I will continue to use as an argument winner until they attend the gig and my leverage disappears.

What is your best story of getting a band/artist to sign a record?

The best moments tend to be when you can tell how much the artist appreciates their fans. A prime example would be Open Mike Eagle. After performing for hours in a hot, crammed Jazz Café he took the time to make his way over to the merch stand and took photos, chatted, and signed goodies for every person that waited. When he signed my record, I chatted about how great the gig had been and shook his hand. As I turned to go he put his arm around my shoulder and beckoned my girlfriend to take a photo of us. Really nice dude!

Another favourite was Ata Kak. He’s a Ghanaian funk artist that recorded a crazy album 25 years ago. A music fan picked up his cassette (1 of 50) at a market in Ghana and travelled the world looking for him before reissuing it. Hes retirement age now but still kills it and you could just tell he was loving the fact that people are finally seeing him for the musical genius he is. After the show I asked him and his band to sign my record and took a group photo, he just couldn’t believe that anyone would want his autograph, I think he was just as excited as I was!

That’s not to say I haven’t had some really memorable experiences that lasted seconds. I recently saw Childish Gambino at his London 02 gig and he went off stage and appeared next to where me and my girlfriend’s seats and fist bumped me on his way past. A minor thing but still pretty cool.

What song/album would describe your personality?

I found this and the next question the most tricky to answer and I haven’t been able to come up with an answer unfortunately. I’m quite inquisitive as a person and this shows through the music I listen to, which is anything and everything. My favourite pass time is checking out new artists or albums that I haven’t heard before. I asked my girlfriend to answer on my behalf and, while she didn’t actually choose a specific album, she suggested something that would be upbeat but calming. I’m quite relaxed and can hold my nerve in a panicked situation (which is the opposite of my girlfriend). So, it would have to be something relaxing but upbeat I think.

What song/album best describe your beliefs? (Spiritual, Emotional, Existential, Whatever)

Another tricky one I’m afraid. I’m not too spiritual to be honest but do think we should all live by the idea of ‘treat others like you would like to be treated yourself’. A song I have always enjoyed which encompasses this is Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure. We all live in stressful times but it’s important we all treat each other well, a small gesture on your end could be greatly received by someone on hard times.

If you met someone who has never heard music ever, what album would you play for them first?

Hmmm I was originally going to say John Coltrane – Giant Steps as it really changed the way Jazz was viewed and is technically superb, but then I started thinking that some lyrics are needed and crowd interaction to show the power of good music. So maybe a really great live album, like Queen - Live at Wembley '86, Tom -Waits – Nighthawks At The Diner or Townes Van Zandt – Live at the Old Quarter.

What is one thing you'd like the forum to know, that didn't come up in the interview?

Well seeing as we have had the horrible news yesterday, I just wanted to thank you all for a fantastic time on the forum. Its honestly been a pleasure, I have enjoyed every minute, chatting to all, hearing your recommendations, and spending way too much money on fantastic music. Add me on Instagram (will.swales) if you want to keep in touch and I hope to see you all on the new and improved forum soon!

What question would you like to ask the next person interviewed?

If you could be transported back in time to see one musical performance live, which would it be?
 
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Enoch said:
Interview 22

@GritNGlitter conducted live on April 26, 2019

VMP Interview

Hey you

Hello, thanks for joining tonight
ready to get started

Okay, now I am.

great

How are you doing? Thanks for getting on kind of late

Little tired but that is true all the time, glad we could find a time that worked

so let's jump right inHow did you find this VMP forum? (Were you already a VMP member? Did you find the forum first and join VMP? Do you even subscribe to VMP?)

I joined VMP and the forum on the same day--June 15, 2015. I saw the forum link as I signed up, and jumped over, because I am a long-time message board nerd. I was a member for over 2 years, but I've mostly not been a member for the last year--I did join up for Classics in January, but I just can't justify the expense this year.

any releases you missed out on during your hiatus

that you wanted/would have liked to have

Like that I regret ah, um...

Mavis Staples
Eddie Floyd
Feist

There are lots of records I would enjoy owning, but I'm comfortable with the fact that I can't have everything

that makes one of us

Hahaha

I've been meaning to talk to you about that 😉

I have been meaning to talk to myself about it too

It's easy to get caught up, that's for sure

I definitely had a little of the FOMO thing early on, but I just can't let that be a thing.

with that said do plan to try and get any of the ones you missed out on?

No, not really. If someone PIFs one, maybe? Okay, maybe the Mavis.

yeah, I wonder for things I joined later to if I should go for back catalog or be content with what I will be getting

I did swap something... Moby I think? For Moses Sumney, because I was on a break when that one was a pick

Makes sense Sumney is definitely a good pick up

When did you first start collecting vinyl? (Do you remember what the first one(s) was?)

I'm old enough to have grown up with vinyl, so I had a bunch of kid records and free rein over my parents' collection. But I've been working and paying my way since I was about 11, so I didn't buy music as a teenager--I basically relied on taping songs off the radio or having my friends make tapes of whatever they had for me. So by the time I had money for music, vinyl was mostly overlooked. The first record I bought for myself was a used copy of James Taylor's Sweet Baby James in college. I don't really consider myself a collector, but I started buying records more consistently around 2010, when I realized how much I missed the event and experience of playing a record--especially at Christmas.

Sorry to hear you had to figure stuff out at such a young age. Do you mind sharing a bit about that?

I wasn't alone or anything, money was just really tight. I cleaned the offices of our family business--which was basically in a truck yard--starting in middle school. Once you've cleaned a men's restroom in a truck yard you really can handle most work, haha. As I got older I'd do more clerical work for the family and babysitting. I bought most of my own clothes and stuff from about 11 years old on. I lucked out though--change of fortune by the end of high school, so my folks were able to pay for college (I went to a state school to keep it affordable though, haha).

Nice you got to learn the importance of how to live and work even if it was under tough circumstances

I don't want to oversell it though--it wasn't that tough. I was loved. I was fed. It was the 90s so thrift store clothes were in.

either way, I grew up in an upper middle-class family so I didn't even work until I graduated college outside of small jobs at my church

Ah, yeah. There is definitely a value to paying your own way and having to do without too many extras. I did a lot of church work too, though none of that paid.

Oh, I didn't get paid much as I was an intern

Yeah, not a lot of money in churching

unless you get into that sweet prosperity Gospel

yep

Going back a bit, are there any albums you picked up in the early 10's that surprised you in the value increase

No, not at all, haha

I don't have a high value collection

and I really picked up the pace closer to 2015--it's why I was open to a record club at the time

I say this as if I buy lots of records

I still only have maybe 300? It's a lot for me, but not by some of the standards around here

yeah, I picked up a few random vinyl in the '00s as cool things to have, but I really picked up when I joined VMP

I remember in 2012 I was trying to decide if I should open the vinyl I bought

Hahaha, that is so foreign to me.

I am just so not a collector type

I was strictly buying to collect in the '00s, I have always liked collecting things

I couldn't even collect stuff as a kid. I tried to, because it seemed like an interesting thing people did. My brother collected baseball cards and bottle caps. Closest I ever came was stickers.

It's not that I'm beatifically unmaterialistic, I just don't have a collecting mindset

At times I wish I didn't have that, I have the mentality that I should keep things as I never know when I will need it again (though I am not a hoarder)

That scarcity mindset is tough--do you know where it comes from in you? You mentioned that your childhood was relatively affluent

I really don't, my dad collects vinyl but outside of that I can't think of where it would come from

It's good to not be wasteful, but there's also a line where it can hinder more than help.

I was fortunate to have two great-grandmothers in my life until my 20s. They suffered real privation through wars and the great depression and all that. Our families are somewhat influenced by that. I definitely have a "what if I need this" impulse. But I believe really strongly that the only rent our stuff pays is in its usefulness to us. For me, it must be beautiful, actively useful, or sentimental to stay in my life. Unless it's like, arts and crafts supplies, hahaha

That one I can't quite iron out yet. Because I'm not ALWAYS in a creative mindset, and I probably WILL make a thing with that.

Still, as long as it fits in its assigned space/box/whatever it doesn't feel like a terrible hypocrisy.

how about your family now, anyone like to keep stuff or do they follow your model

I think we're pretty similar. One brother is military and his wife is super duper organized. Plus they've moved across the country a few times, which tends to thin out the STUFF. My parents sold their house a few years ago and likewise let a lot go. My other brother's house is pretty small, so they are more vigilant than the rest of us about letting stuff accumulate. I can't really speak about my extended family--I don't see any evidence of hoarding tendencies though.

while we are on the subject it seems a good time to ask the next question

What is your current goal in buying/receiving/collecting vinyl? (Do you focus on collectibles? Do you only buy what you like? Do you buy what you think you might like?)

I consider my vinyl part of my overall library, more than a stand alone collection, if that distinction makes any sense? In this era of digital licensing, I think it's important to maintain a physical library of media one actually owns. So I first started with an eye towards building a well-rounded vinyl library similar to our approach to books, but I've shifted my focus to just the kind of music I want to listen to when I'm hanging out in the living room. So there are whole genres that are virtually unrepresented on vinyl. I do have CDs though. I definitely only buy what I like and want to listen to. I don't care about exclusivity or fancy colorways or whatever for the most part--I truly adore black vinyl. Not to say I never ever like or buy the deluxe package of an album, but it isn't typical. I can't afford to use vinyl for music discovery--financially or space-wise.

space and affordability are definitely a challenge in collecting vinyl

For real

if you could expand your library to be more inclusive where would you start

Honestly, I probably wouldn't. But if money and space were no object, and considering stuff my kid might be into down the road, I would add more hip hop. I have like 2 records from VMP and that's it.

do you listen to a lot of hip-hop in general or would it be an exploratory genre

Exploratory. It's not a genre I've connected with much. I'll listen to albums on Spotify if everyone is raving about them, but I think of it as more car music than anything I'd relax with in the living room. Though I'm sure there are albums that would change my mind if I found them.

the RHH genre is the one that really challenges my commitment to collecting all the VMP releases as I haven't really found much I have connected with

it wasn't a huge concern until the RHH track became a thing

It's an important genre, I really should give it more effort and attention.

And Enoch, it is not a failure to stop collecting every VMP release.

lalalalalalalala I can't hear you

Your heart hears me

or something like that
Click to expand...
Because this community is the sweetest and kindest on the internet, I now have a copy of the Mavis record. (Thank you, @Kris!)
 
The first post has been edited to reflect the way this thread will work going forward, a change from before (old forum).

The first interview on this new thread will post this [US] evening as I will be very busy tomorrow.

Welcome to Enoch's Interviews 2.0
 
Interview 24: Something has gone wrong

So I had several ideas on how the below would happen and what it would look like and when, but then the VMP forum closed and I developed a new-ish plan that isn't exactly new. So this seemed like a natural time for it to happen.

So tables turned, everyone I have interviewed has asked me a question. The questions and answers are posted in the same order that I interviewed the participant if they chose to participate. None of them knew what the others asked or the answers until now.

@Mather asks: What do you think it will take, for you to skip on purchasing a upcoming VMP release? And if you skip one do you think that will allow you to skip others or will you go immediately back to purchasing everything they release?

VMP pissing me off enough will be when I skip/cut back/cancel. They really need to work on righting the ship. See my answer to the next question for another scenario as well.

@NathanRicaud asks: Since you’ve become a serious VMP collector, have you been away from your postal address for more than one week, particularly within the last 12 months (where the number of VMP pressings have increased)? In other words, are you uninterested in travelling right now/travelling during the period where you will receive your VMP box; because you collect every VMP exclusive and as a result, you want to make sure that all faulty vinyl you received is replaced?

I imagine that you would want to be in your state/near your postal address everytime you receive your VMP box. Nowadays, you will always be receiving approximately 15-25 VMP exclusives in your monthly VMP box......and you are bound to get some vinyl which has defects. If you travel and are unable to reach your VMP box within a week, wouldn’t that stress you out as you may miss out on a replacement for a faulty vinyl? Particularly for VMP exclusives that have sold out before they ship! (E.g - De La Soul is Dead replacements went very quickly. If you were on holidays and came back to a De La Soul Is Dead copy that had very bad sound distortion, and missed out on a replacement, wouldn’t that make you very upset?).

I am upset anytime I get a bad record from VMP, it is less an issue of me traveling than it is of me being BotS consistently. Even if I am home and checked everything right away there is still a good chance on sold out items I won’t be able to get a replacement. I have been pretty fortunate to not have gotten a lot of bad records from VMP, I get the occasion minor warp (usually a dish one) and the occasional scratch but that is pretty rare.

As far as traveling in general concerning ordering, when we had the VMP forum and I was given a heads up about exclusive drops particularly non-standard days so I worried less. With that source gone, there is more anxiety and related to Mather’s question the minute that affects me getting an exclusive will probably spell the end of my completists ways. There are four times I had great concern, the first (I think) was the Nina Simone Cyber Monday site lock up, I emailed CS and was shaking because I couldn’t get through. The second was the well-documented Stranger Things fiasco (I was fortunate to have randomly/accidentally requested that day off so I had 45 minutes to sit there shaking and frustrated). The third time was I had traveled to see the last solar eclipse, while I was there RHH track dropped, I happened to check my email before the eclipse started, I can’t remember if it sold out that day or not. Leaving to get to the hotel after the eclipse was a 13-hour nightmare. Traffic was so terrible it was way to big a risk to pull off for any reason so my wife and I were literally in the car the entire time. The fourth time was recent. I was at a therapy appointment when the De La exclusive went up, I got out a few minutes late and was going up to my Psychiatry appointment immediately after, the site of course crashed but I was lucky to get in my order before they shut it down even though it took some time. Typing that out makes me think there was another time after that as I seem to remember trying to order something while in my appointment but it may not have been a VMP thing.

@jaycee asks: How has vinyl collecting and the relationships you've built around it affected your mental well-being, positively, negatively, etc.?

Now, close your eyes, imagine a day in the early summer it's hot but not too hot and you're in a field lying down on rock. Your shirt is off and your back is being warmed by the rock and your chest by the sun. There's a light breeze. You can smell some pine in the air. You're mind is quiet. You're content in this place, in this time and you have no regrets. Now can you ask yourself what is it that you value most about your relationship with music? Describe what you're feeling and thinking?

To the first part, it is a mixed bag, music really helps to soothe me, but as you can see from my answer to Nathan it can stress me out due to my obsessiveness. Probably the most dangerous time related to my OCD on ordering things was I was driving to a U2 concert last year and Soul Step dropped a release (they now always have a wax mage variant limited to around 20 so you have to order immediately), so I ordered it while driving as there wasn’t a place to stop. So again a mixed bag.

To the second part, You described a nightmare for me, I would get sunburned and my allergies would be set off by the pine. My mind is almost never quiet hence my need for mental health visits. So music would be the last thing on my mind, I would be trying to undo the entire scenario. I get you were going for an ideal situation (you just picked one of the worst ways to describe it for me). So in an actual ideal situation, I would be calmer more than usual and if it was something that I really get into so No Line on the Horizon or Carrie and Lowell most recently, Matchbox Twenty or New Radicals back in the day, I would actually be able to focus solely on the music. It has become harder for me to do that now. As I said I have a very hard time quieting my mind. The only time I can think of that something non-music did so was the above mentioned solar eclipse (the next one will pass over where my in-laws live, traveling a few miles north and west of their home would put us in the max time spot so there shouldn’t be the nightmare situation following one of the most spectacular things that can be witnessed because of how close it is to their home but also Texas has millions of minor roads that connect all over the place, something that didn’t exist in the area of OR I was in).

@JonnyH asks: What are some of your earliest memories that revolve around music?

I have shared a little bit about this in the old forum and past interviews. My dad is an avid music listener. We had a 45 jukebox, even though I couldn’t see the buttons to select a song, I had memorized where to reach up and play Tequila and You're Not My Stepping Stone. I don’t remember how often I played them but I remember doing so. I like Tequila because it was in the Ninja Turtles movie. I also grew up listening to “Classic Oldies” so I know a ton of sixties songs but have no idea who the artist was or song name (and in quite a few cases still don’t).

@Chucktshoes asks: I’m curious about your name. While the different books of Enoch are not canon in most mainstream Christian faiths, they are widely studied. Enoch stands out to me as one of the select few who have been transported directly to heaven without experiencing mortal death. What is it about Enoch that draws you in in such a way that you use it as your name online?

It is exactly the reason you brought up about him being directly taken to heaven. I didn’t go to church until I was 16. So that was also my first real exposure to the Bible. When I read that I thought it was really cool. I am not sure how I decided to use it as my online alias. But the first place I did so was on u2.com when I created an account. I have used it since for any time I didn’t want to use my real name. Prior to doing so, I used my nickname which was just a play on my last name because of how it is spelled, so really it was my last name with an addition to the end. If you have figured out my name or you have it from PIFing or me buying something from you, you should be able to figure out the nickname.
 
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@ModernCyrus asks: What is your core philosophy on life and is there an album that exemplifies it?

Hmm, I believe in doing what is best for everyone and everyone working toward that goal. My Christian faith leads me to believe that the righting of the world has been shown and it is my duty to continue to show that and work toward it. I don’t believe in hardcore evangelizing though. It is more through my works (taken from the book of James). I also don’t necessarily believe others need to share the same faith as me as long as they are working toward a similar goal. If you have read the Chronicles of Narnia (sorry this is a spoiler), but in the last book The Last Battle, there are essentially two groups an allegorical Xn group and Muslim group. There is a character in the Muslim group that goes to Heaven, the new Earth at the end of the book and the main characters are confused by his inclusion, Aslan (the Jesus figure) says that he was trying to truly worship and anyone who is doing so gets to be included. I believe this as well. We all can approach God in different ways as long as we are doing so sincerely and for the greater good. As far as an album that exemplifies that another hmm, not sure I can think of one, the song Magnificent by U2 gets at it.

@Melancholy_Melody asks: Out of curiosity, how did it come to be that you are able to directly interact with VMP staff? Is it because you have been such a loyal customer? Have any of your ideas/feedback been used by them?

My interaction with Matt began on the old forum when I started a thread looking for the Hue album. He commented that there were two copies in the office that weren’t going to be needed so we connected by email so he could send it to me (he sent the other one to @Vebberim), it didn’t have the art print or cocktail recipe (this pre-dated the J-card). That connected us, I promised to buy him a drink if we ever met up which we haven’t. I was hoping he was going to be at the Denver Spins that occurred just prior to the staff holiday party so all the staff was in town (how I met Storf, Paul, A-B, Clay, and a few others) but he had to stay home and watch is kids.

Going back to getting Hue from him, he sent it FedEx, regular, and the tracking showed it was delivered but I didn’t get it. I emailed him in a panic and called FedEx. They delivered it to the wrong apartment. They told me which apartment it was delivered to. I went over and knocked on their door. The lady was surprised but I told her FedEx had informed me of their screw up. She said she was going to take it to the office the next day and maybe she was but the weird thing was she had opened it. Maybe I am in the minority but I check the name on things I get before opening them. I had a suspicion had she wanted what is in the box she would have kept it. Since then I have randomly emailed Matt. [A side note I just bought another copy of Hue that has the extras so I will probably give away one of the copies but the “original” is packed up so the gifting will have to wait until I can compare the two.]

As far as the rest of your question, I am not sure how or when Matt responses to others that have his email address and I haven’t seen any particular implementation of my suggestions but I haven’t been trying to keep score either.

I would say overall the interaction is overblown in the amount, it really has been randomly except recently which is probably obvious as to why.

@roger asks: Something I've been curious about with you actually:

So I know that you're a VMP exclusives completionist, do you feel satisfied with this?

To take an example from my life, I go back and forth between an extremely restrictive diet and an extremely unrestrictive diet and I find that when I dont place any restrictions on myself and just consume and eat whatever the hell I want, treats start to constantly weigh on and I feel like I'm doing the wrong thing. I guess thats a very long winded way of saying that for me personally, withholding from getting everything I want makes getting the things I actually pull the trigger on feel less like feeding an addiction and more like a reward for temperance.

Do you still enjoy pulling the trigger week after week on releases or do you feel like the pressure to have everything weighs on you? If you could go back to the start, would you still undertake this pursuit?

So my answer is going to be a little bit broader than just VMP. As I mentioned above I have mixed feelings about doing this. I have a few places I buy stuff without regard. I think only VMP and Soul Step are the ones that include the most stress in terms of the needing to be right on top of it (the occasional Mondo release too but I don’t buy all their stuff). I think like most anyone that has an obsession (addiction is probably more accurate) there are the ups and downs. The thoughts of why do I do this and then the joy of things coming together. If I could go back would I have made a different decision, maybe? It was a lot different back then. VMP had fewer releases and fewer RHH related stuff. I also wasn’t in other vinyl related things so it was very easy to jump on and I didn’t have to track down too many past things, The War on Drugs and Quasimoto (shout out to @col for selling it to me before we realized who each other was on the forum) were the toughest, had I realized about the store/exclusives when I had joined I probably wouldn’t have needed to track anything down or only a couple of the first RotM exclusives. If I could have seen the future it would be very questionable especially with the current things going on. Also joining the VMP forum is what started the whole thing so I blame all of you. I had joined VMP to be exposed to new music and I like to collect “special things” so it still meets those needs but it is also a little ridiculous because I just really don’t like RHH despite quite a bit of exposure yet I still have the RHH track and buy the exclusives but had I not been doing this I would have never discovered Jazz I like. I would have continued to discount it and probably not given it a chance, but getting Ghetto Music really changed my mind and also educated me that people who play music like Monk are Jazz. All of this to say it is extremely complicated if I could go back and be given a fresh opportunity to choose.

@Joe Mac asks: So @Enoch I had a think about it and this is the question(s) I’d like to ask you.

In my interview one of the things that came up that we had in common is that we both gained out love of music from our Dads and the music that we heard from them growing up. As such I’d like to turn the question back on you. What music that you listened to with your Dad do you still love? Are your tastes similar now too? Do you still share music and recommendations now? And have you ever managed to convince him to like something that you’re into?

We do still have very overlapping tastes in music. My dad goes to see a lot of bands in concert that would make any rock fan jealous. He sends an end of the year letter every year. A recent one had to have 50+ concerts he went to (or at least bands he saw). The list was impressive in terms of new and old acts he saw many of whom I would love to see. A big divergence for us nowadays is I have really gotten into music that the Classics track puts out, he is not as into them as much. He doesn’t really like jazz at all and is so-so on Blues and Soul, Motown is up his alley but other soul releases aren’t. He is a VMP member and is probably unaware of everything going on now. He had no interest in joining the forum.

Recommendation wise I don’t think we do much of that. My family doesn’t really have constant communication, it was never our thing, I don’t think my parents grew with the emphasis of maintaining regular contact so that carried on. I did recommend King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard to him but I don’t think it was accepted, the most surprising thing to me was he hadn’t heard of them as I mentioned above about his concert-going, the reason he does so is because he keeps up with new acts and I am sure he knows way more new acts than I do so his lack of knowledge about them was shocking. He does occasional email about a band. He did get me onto Case/Lang/Veirs, he got a digital version of it for buying a concert ticket but already had the album. So in a minor way, there are minor recommendations that occur.

My dad also would transfer his vinyl to cassette and then got a way to do so to his computer. (He has two TTs, one upstairs for digitalizing and then his main TT/stereo setup). So I was doing that for a while but I found it was taking away from my listening to the music instead of listening for the change in tracks.
 
@AndySlash asks: if you could surprise your wife by performing one song for her, what song would you choose and why?

She likes a lot of pop, pop rock so it would have to be in that realm. I would also need to be given musical talent which I have almost zero of. I can’t carry a tune and I have a very poor sense of rhythm (I usually clap on the wrong beat, if I am singing along to something and clapping breaks out I can only really do one or the other). So I would probably if she were to enjoy the song, would need to be an Of Monsters and Men or (newer) T Swift type song. As for what song, I really have no idea. I haven’t listened to it but if the Hamilton soundtrack (if soundtrack the right word here) has a love type song that would be the way to go [I haven’t listened to it because I am waiting to actually see it before listening to it, another weird quirk I have, even though I bought the vinyl set].

@ThePakoBuelna asks: What is a song that never fails to make you cry or feel a sense of dread?

Moment of Surrender gives me the feels and pretty much any song on Carrie & Lowell.

@Count_Vader asks: Is there a particular album that changed your life? Made you really sink into music?

Matchbox Twenty’s Yourself or Someone Like You and New Radicals were probably the first CDs I listened to non-stop. That I would say was the turning point. My dad bought both of them (I took [read stole] them from him to listen too). I bought an mp3 player super early. I could only hold eight songs or if you really cut the quality maybe 15. That helped as well [A little later I got a clunky player/hard drive that could hold a lot of songs but it was the size of a hard drive]. I didn’t have cable TV but I was able to see MTV when visiting people so I remember Black Hole Sun. I will answer later another transformative period. But after that, my friends introduced me to more music and we would drive down to Houston to see bands (we lived in East Texas). My dad was our chaperone prior to use being able to drive, we all crowed into the van my parents had, the advantage was we could go crazy at the concerts because none of us had to drive back, I remember being soaked in sweat after one concert, we also did a lot of stage diving. Bands we saw, Mest, Sugarcult, Good Charlotte, and the like at a great small club.

@ranbalam asks: If you started a curated record club, what would the first three boxes you sent out contain?
Bonus question - What would you name your club?

Man, such a hard question. I would probably pick an early blues album, I would want to find a more obscure artist like Willie Brown (if there are enough songs to make an album). Second I would probably pick an old Negro Spirituals, would look to pick an artist off of When I Reach That Heavenly Shore (Unearthly Black Gospel 1926-1936). The third pick would be some Hawaiian Music, maybe by Frank Ferera.

The club would be called, Enoch’s Short-Lived Pre-50’s Music Club, but it would be fun exploring more of that era.

@David A. asks: Which interviewee was the most surprising in terms of your expectations for the interview?

To be honest I went into these with no expectations on what was going to happen. I will say I wish there were more non-serious interviews, not because I don’t like the serious ones the variety might be nice (props to @Mather for starting it that way)

@AnthonyI asks: If you had a listening room and unlimited funds how would you decorate it? Not equipment, but furniture, storage and decor?

I would for sure have a nice comfy recliner, I would have some posters or record sleeves on the walls cover the types of music I most enjoy, maybe some art prints that also fit in that theme. I would have a well-paid record flipper so I could stay seated (I am lazy, what can I say). Otherwise, I am pretty simple, bare walls are fine with me which drives my wife crazy.

@Teeeee asks: Please tell us how U2 came into your life and how they mean so much to you and your favorite lyric by them.

So U2 is my dad’s favorite band. He took the whole family to PopMart. I don’t remember much from it as I wasn’t very familiar with them (I wasn’t really into music on my own yet). We were in the nosebleeds at the Astrodome, we were so high up that the screen (the largest ever constructed at the time) was mostly obscured by one of the arches. I remember not being able to see the screen and the Lemon Car. (Getting back to @count question) Fast forward to the Beautiful day single. I really liked it so I got a hold of the CD, it was great. So from there my dad helped fill in the rest. I bought the U2 iPod and the second generation of it. With the first one I also got the Complete U2 that iTunes was selling (it wasn’t truly a complete but was really close). I have been to every tour from PopMart on. I have twice been in the Red Zone which was a special section on the side of the general admission section so you are really close to the stage and it wasn’t crowded by design. Despite Songs of Innocence being one of my least favorite albums I went to six stops and had a ticket to a seventh. I saw both shows in San Jose, one in LA, one in New York, one in London, one in Glasgow, and had a ticket to the last Paris too but terrorists got that one canceled (and sort of ruined a vacation there). I will say that tour was great because of the story it told. The album is a sort of perspective of the band’s history, this three-song transition is super moving () if you can, read the words on the screen between the second and third song. I could go on and on about different things.

As far as lyric this is a super difficult to choose. I have a bunch of lines from their lines that I really like so I am going to pick a few

From Tomorrow:
Outside, somebody's outside
Somebody's knocking at the door
There's a black car parked at the side of the road
Don't go to the door
Don't go to the door
I'm going out
I'm going outside, mother
I'm going out there

From Refugee:
War, war
She's a pretty face
Born at the wrong time in the wrong place
War, war
She's a pretty face
Her mama say one days she's gonna live in America
Yeah, America

From Pride (In the Name of Love):
One man caught on a barbed wire fence
One man he resist
One man washed up on an empty beach
One man betrayed with a kiss …
Early morning, April four
A shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

From Love Is Blindness:
Love is drowning in a deep well
All the secrets and no one to tell
Take the money, honey
Blindness

From Beautiful Day:
See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by clouds
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light and
See the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out

From White As Snow:
Once I knew there was a love divine
Then came a time I thought it knew me not
Who can forgive forgiveness where forgiveness is not
Only the lamb as white as snow

Did I say a few, oops. Really just listen to all of No Line on the Horizon the album is full of moving lyrics, the entirety of Moment of Surrender is beyond words, it is an eight-minute jam of sorrow and hope - they recorded it in one take. Read about it coming together here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moment_of_Surrender

 
@Jake! asks: Okay so I know you're a big fan of U2. They're a band that has fallen under a lot of praise, and like any huge act, a probably equal amount of criticism. Is there any criticism of U2 that you see often that you absolutely can't stand? Anything that makes you want to rant for way too long about?

I really hate the crap Bono gets about his social activism. He is right, he has a major platform so why not use it to point out major issues. It can be frustrating if you are wanting a new album and he is off talking to world leaders, but let’s be honest him doing that is more important than the great music the band creates. What I would rant about is all the “conservative” people that love their music but hate their politics. It is nonlogical, they must not be paying any attention to the lyrics at all. You can see some of that in the lyrics I mentioned above and the video I linked. I could post an endless number of lyrics that are all about the band’s politics, but I will stop sort of a continuing rant.

@HiFi Guy asks: I know you collect 78s. How did that come about? Do you concentrate on a specific genre?

I am not sure how it came about probably was helped along by Third Man Records’ Paramount boxes. I focus on two things when looking through. One, I look for labels I don’t have. Two, I try to focus on blues, country, and Hawaiian music though I do end up buying anything that looks interesting as well including early country. I really like that I have https://www.discogs.com/Mac-The-Bum-Song-No-2The-Big-Rock-Candy-Mountains/release/8520501

@Bennnnn asks: Imagine throwing a dinner party (or just having a nice meal with you and one other person). What food and drink would you pair together and what album would you choose to listen to throughout the meal? Essentially, create an album + food and drink pairing.

Wow, this is very not me to do. I really like Texas BBQ so that seems like an easy place to start. While I avoid drinking it now (due to added sugar) the drink would be lemonade or an Arnold Palmer. So now to the music. I think something on the country-is side or blues. I don’t really listen to or a lot in the country genre, so… maybe some Son House or Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats (which I don't think fits neatly in a genre but seems appropriate), or the O Brother, Were Art Though? soundtrack.

Another direction I could go to is Mediterranean food, anything from Greece wrapping around to Morocco. If more on the greek side I would go with wine for my guest and grape juice for me (I do not like wine) and as for music I would go with Why The Mountains Are Black: Primeval Greek Village Music 1907-1960 (a compilation), if more Moroccan I would select Moroccan tea (it is so good especially the real stuff in Morocco, pine nuts is the secret) and would select No Line on the Horizon as a lot of it was recorded in Morocco and includes a bit of the Islamic call to pray.

@GritNGlitter asks: I want to know who, if anyone, you listen with, and if you have any special "shared albums" with anyone, that are special to both of you because of your connection through it.

I wouldn’t say there is any super special connection wise besides my dad and I seeing U2 together quite a bit, he flew out to California for the last few concerts (which is nice because he bought the tickets and nice ones at that, see above). My wife and I share in some pop-rock albums, Vampire Weekend, Of Monsters and Men, Kishi Bashi, Nathaniel Rateliff… we saw VW and OMaM at Red Rocks, it rained during OMaM so we were cold when VW came on but we dance (well she did and I did awkward movements) to keep warm and because we liked the music. It was a great concert.

@Selaws asks: If you could have your dream job, and money isn't a worry, what job would that be?

I would do something fun. I work at Home Depot right now part-time in the paint department and it is quite fun. So something along those lines. I could see working/volunteering at an animal shelter too. I would want set hours and interacting with others to be a major component. I know this is somewhat vague but you caught me in a weird point in life where I have really been questioning this and haven’t found a right-ish answer (I realize this is a struggle many go through all throughout life but this is the least sure I have been about direction).
 
@Enoch you are one of my favorite people here! Doesn't hurt that i love U2 and that album is one of there best and most underrated.
 
There will be an interview posted on July 1st. I am not sure about the future of this thread after that. I feel bad about that as I do want to hear from the others on the list. No hard decisions yet, but wanted people to be aware.
 
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