The Farr Side: Vinyl not just for the ears, but for the eyes
So what happens when your love for music meets your love for home improvement? It sounds like it would make for a great new show on HGTV, but it became my own reality recently.
My love for music is no secret. I often share my vinyl-hunting escapades with you here. But, let’s be honest here for a moment — it’s got to be a bit out of hand. I’m not one for chaos, so I had to make some clever moves to house these vinyl beauties as they deserve.
Vinyl hunting is like a major adrenaline rush for me. My heart starts pounding harder when I stumble across a find I’ve been searching for several months, sometimes years even. That immediate sensation is unlike … well, almost anything else.
I was fortunate enough to cross off several wish-list vinyl albums recently including “The Innocents” Erasure, “Joyride” (Roxette), “Funky Divas” (EnVogue), “Open Up And Say Ahh” (Poison), “Out Of Time” (REM) and “Listen Like Thieves” (INXS).
These were all in pristine condition and just ready to be adopted. As were “Dr. Feelgood” (Motley Crue), “”Hunting High & Low” (A-ha), “Mirage” (Fleetwood Mac), “Bella Donna” (Stevie Nicks), “A Night To Remember” (Cyndi Lauper), “Seeds Of Love” (Tears For Fears) and “Broadcast” (Cutting Crew).
I’m learning real quick that vinyl lovers are a special breed. It’s like you’re amongst friends when at a record show or store. Well, that is, until you discover a rare find. That was me when I found “World Machine” (Level 42) and “Spellbound” (Paula Abdul). You can stop laughing … Paula Abdul once touched my face at a concert.
As you can tell, my tastes are across the spectrum, which makes life more fun. It’s also pretty cool when friends are out and about and they come across albums they think I’d like. It always warms my heart.
My basement has become my haven for my music collection and all things music. I have some cool stuff I’ve collected over the years, too. My CD collection is nicely displayed in matching bookcases. All 5,000-plus are alphabetized, too. My vinyl excursions have evolved into more than 500 albums.
The albums are a bit more cumbersome to properly display. I have a beautiful built-in cabinet for my turn table and some of my collected memorabilia, but I ran out of space for my albums quickly. The only option I could think of was to repurpose a walk-in closet directly beside my built-in cabinet.
All of my nights spent watching HGTV would soon pay off. What was a vision turned into a mission and a fun weekend project. I repainted the walls and ceiling in the closet and repurposed shelving to match my décor in the rest of the basement. I installed lighting and may have acquired some more memorabilia like a replica BSA Rocker jacket like the one worn by George Michael, KISS pez dispensers and a Rhythm Nation 1814 hat like Janet Jackson wore in her iconic video for the song.
The end result turned out nicely and now my records have a place of their own. Does that mean I can go vinyl hunting again? Duh!
— David T. Farr is a Journal Correspondent. Email him at farrboy@hotmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: The Farr Side: Vinyl not just for the ears, but for the eyes
