This is my simple commitment:
1. I will listen to all the records I own, in alphabetical order
2. I will post a review of each of these records, averaging no fewer than one post a week
That's it. Almost.
What alphabetical means to me:
The world of vinyl collecting is a strange place, and no stranger than when it comes to categorisation. Grown men may come to blows over this topic (and by that I mean fighting).
I've always avoided grouping records by style or label, but alphabetisation has it's own pitfalls. People will work in collaboration, work pseudonymously, or appear on compilations. The following is an attempt to explain my version of 'alphabetical'.
Records are filed by artist surname or band title, or 'stage name'.
Where an artist works under several monikers (e.g. Wishmountain/Radio Boy/Dr. Rockit) they are listed under the project I am most familiar with (in this case, H for Herbert).
'Blind' Lemon Jefferson does not go under J, but B, as this was his stage name. Will Oldham, however, is under B for Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, being the most-used moniker, and therefore the most obvious letter to look under.
Dr. John is filed under D, because he's not a real doctor, it's a stage name. If he we're a real doctor, then it would be treated as 'Mr.' and ignored, but he isn't. "The" in a band title is similarly ignored.
All compilations are at the end of the collection, then they are filed alphabetically by title.
Bands that start their names with numbers will be treated as if they hadn't. 808 State would be under E, between The Ecstasy of St. Theresa and Duke Ellington, were I to own any of their records.
Where more than one record by a particular artist exists, they will be reviewed chronologically.
Split-singles and side projects tend to be filed under the band (or project name) that I am most familiar with. To makes things easier to find though, they will be listed in the record collection twice (e.g. Panda Bear is under both A and P).
What constitutes a review:
Basic information will be posted, along the lines of artist, title, date of issue, tracklisting, that kind of thing. The rest of the post might include reminiscences, anecdotes, bits of trivia, an attempted description of the music, and other stuff you might like to listen to if you already have this record.
A few other points:
Any new purchases will be reviewed when their time comes in the alphabet. If that moment has passed, then they may get reviewed before we come full circle, they may not. I used to have system, but it became constricting, so I've ditched it. As a rule of thumb, if it's excellent and short, it'll get reviewed quicker than something not so good spread over several 33rpm sides.
Both sides of any record will be listened to at least once, however painful this may be. In the case of any locked grooves, they will be listened to for as long as is deemed necessary to get the gist.
I may decide to review more than one record a week, and group some records together, as at the rate of one a week the project will only be completed somewhere around 2021.
This is a work in progress, and was last amended: 21st August 2009
