With the boom in streaming through the likes of Spotify and Soundcloud, there’s no longer a need to ‘own’ music in a tangible way. Online selling sites such as musicMagpie give us the opportunity to trade our music back catalogues for cash in a few clicks, decluttering our homes and giving us the opportunity to get rid of anything embarrassing. But what’s the real nostalgic ‘value’ of your music collection?
Spring’s here bringing with it the chance to make a fresh start and clear out the old. But will this apply to your records and CDs too? It won’t for me, and here’s why…
In an old grey record box in my loft is a vinyl edition of Vanilla Ice’s album. It’s been there for years, lonely, dust covered, and last played around 1991.
In the cupboard under my stairs The Vengaboys’ Greatest Hits CD is buried in a storage crate along with battered folders of A-Level English notes and old photographs. Equally neglected.
Neither of the above are ever going to win me much respect from anyone with an ounce of good taste in music, and neither have been given an airing since well before the advent of iPods. Despite this, I’ve got no intention of binning them anytime soon.
It’s partly due to nostalgia and because it’s good to actually own some music in the age of streaming and mp3s. But it’s mostly because, along with some equally poor fashion and hairstyle choices – these musical relics represent a part of who I once was. So even though Vanilla and The Vengas haven’t made it onto my most played list since the last century, getting rid of them because their music isn’t considered ‘a classic’ or ‘cool’ somehow doesn’t seem quite right.
What musical monstrosities are you proud to own?
Shuffle 