Vinyl Collector of the Day, Anthony Elliott

Today, I bring you our Vinyl Collector of the Day, Anthony Elliott. Anthony proudly claims to have been born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana (hope to both Murder by Death and Austin Lucas). Anthony answered our questions about why he collects vinyl, his first vinyl purchase, records he would like to see pressed, his thoughts on colored vinyl, recent purchases, and more. While answering why he collects vinyl, he mentions the analogy of vinyl vs mp3 as wanting to own the silk-screened poster as opposed to a picture of it on your computer. I have always liked that analogy. Thanks Anthony for taking the time to answer our questions.

You, too, can answer our questions and submit your Vinyl Collector of the Day feature. What are you waiting for? You can find the questions here.

Click the link to read more about Anthony.

VC: Your name and the city you live in.
My name is Anthony Elliott and I live in Bloomington, IN. Born and raised, poseurs!

VC: Do you catalog your records online? Where are they? Are you on the VC Message board? What is your username? Do you use Limited Pressing? What is your username?
I don’t catalog my records online, but I do keep a spreadsheet on my computer. Kind of nerdy. I never really found a need to do it online, and I don’t really like any of the sites I’ve tried to use.

VC: How many records do you own?
About seventy-five 7”s, a hundred or so 12”s, and a few 10”s. I kind of suck at “collecting”, because I am broke and extremely lazy.

VC: How do you sort your records? How do you store your records?
I sort them by size, then alphabetically by band, then chronologically. I turned an old media stand into a stand for my record player and my LPs, and everything else is just on a bookshelf. Everything is in a protective plastic cover, except for stuff that won’t fit… obviously. And it’s all high up so my dog can’t pee on any of it.

VC: Why do you collect vinyl?
Music is an enormous part of my life and it always has been. My parents have hundreds of classical and early music records, but as a kid I was really interested in my mom’s Beatles collection, which she’s had since she was a teenager. I’ve always sort of been a collector of things. I have a lot of posters, DVDs, comic books, band t-shirts, vinyl toys… I even think of my tattoos as a collection. Why wouldn’t I collect vinyl?

I love that when you put a needle to a record, it isn’t just a digital signal. It makes a vibration. It makes REAL SOUND. Vinyl vs. MP3 is like the difference between having a silk-screened poster on your wall vs. having a picture of it on your computer. Wouldn’t you rather have the real thing, not just a fake image of it? (good analogy)

VC: What was the first record you remember purchasing with your own money?
I’m pretty sure it was American Idiot by Green Day. It’s not even close to being my favorite album by them. That record came out at the height of my Green Day fandom, after my friends had become too cool to listen to them, but before they made their huge comeback with that Boulevard song. I was a true fan! I had an illegally downloaded copy of American Idiot the week before it came out, but once it was released I tried to get as many versions of it as I could. I have three different American Idiot CDs! When I found out that it was available on LP, I needed it. When I discovered how good a brand new vinyl record sounded, I needed more.

VC: What is your most prized record in your collection?
I have an “Italian” import of Elvis Costello’s My Aim Is True. Turns out it was actually made in Portugal, but whatever! It’s an original, it’s in awesome shape, it’s one of my favorite records of all time, and it was given to me by one of my oldest friends.

VC: What release would you like to see come out on vinyl that hasn’t yet been released?
I wish Gasoline Heart would put out Nostalgia Ain’t What It Used To Be on vinyl. That’s a pretty good record and seems to be deserving of the wax treatment. That, or Madcap’s East to West. To be honest, I don’t really care. There are thousands of records I want that HAVE been released on vinyl that I don’t own yet, so I’ll worry about those first.

VC: What is the most you have spent for a record?
I pre-ordered the limited-edition-triple-ten-inch-with-exclusive-artwork version of a record, before I had even heard a single moment of music from it, for a hundred dollars. I didn’t even end up liking the songs on the album that much, and I have no idea how “limited” it really is. I’m deliberately not saying what record it was… Fine, it was 21st Century Breakdown! Did I mention I spent a hundred dollars on it?? Sheesh…

VC: What has been your greatest vinyl score (least amount of money spent for a valued record)?
I have a copy of the Blackout 10″ picture disc, signed by the Dropkick Murphys. They made 6000 copies of the record, but they “officially” signed only 250 of them. I bought it from Mark Unseen, of all people, for something like eight bucks.

VC: What record(s) have you regretted not buying? (Not one you should have ordered – but actually had in your hand at a record fair, seen in a shop, had in your shopping cart, but did not buy.)
A friend of mine offered to sell me The Falcon’s Unicornography on orange vinyl, and for some reason I didn’t take it. He ended up trading it to somebody else. I’m not that bent out of shape about it.

VC: What out of print record would you kill to own?
Maybe Dookie on marbled vinyl?

VC: What are your thoughts on color variants? Do you collect any artists in particular?
I like colored vinyl in general. I specifically bought a white record player because I knew records of all colors would look good on it. I have a few different versions of some of the Under The Influence splits, and some Broadway Calls, Bouncing Souls, and Strike Anywhere 7”s, but for the most part, I just try to hook up one copy of whatever record. Obviously, I try to get whatever is rarest but if I can’t, no biggie.

VC: Do you sell or trade records?
There are a few records in my collection I don’t much care for, but I have never sold or traded any of my records, mostly because I want my collection to grow. But if someone offered me a trade for, say, Flashy by Electric Six, I’d probably take whatever they were offering. I have never listened to that LP and I doubt I ever will.

VC: Do you have any good record stores in your home town? Which ones do you frequent?
TD’s CDs and LPs is a Bloomington tradition and I’ve hooked up a few very solid finds there. It’s tiny and it’s in the basement of Kirkwood Manor, a veritable hipster fortress featuring a vintage clothing store, a locally-owned coffee shop, and a vegan-friendly burrito place. One time I was in there when Henry Rollins (THE Henry Rollins) was buying a Black Keys record. My best friend and I were practically bumping elbows with him. Did I mention this store is pretty tiny? Now there’s a shopping experience I will never forget.

Landlocked Music opened up a few years ago, and they take vinyl pretty seriously. That’s honestly where I shop the most. It’s my go-to store for used classics, like The Cars or Armed Forces, and the dudes who work there are really awesome. Then there’s Tracks, which has been around a while but is sort of languishing and extremely unorganized. Bummer.

VC: Your last 5 records that you purchased?
Glass Houses by Billy Joel
An Innocent Man by Billy Joel
A Legendary Performer – Vol. 1 by Elvis Presley
The Longest EP by NOFX
Rebels, Rogues, and Sworn Brothers by Lucero