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| Vintage Vinyl Has Made A Strong Come Back With A New, Young Audience |
GRAVENHURST; A LAST BIT OF POLITICS, ABOUT AN EXPANSION PLAN FOR THE BIA
AND THEN A CHAT ABOUT THOSE GLORIOUS DAYS OF SPINNING VINYL
MOST OF THE EXISTING MEMBERS, OF THE PRESENT GRAVENHURST MAINSTREET BUSINESS COMMUNITY, OR AT LEAST ONES WHO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN BIA MEETINGS, OR ARE PRESENT DIRECTORS OF THE BOARD, KNOW US, AND OUR BUSINESS, AS A KIND OF NO-FLY ZONE. WE LIKE THAT, AND HAVE NO INTEREST IN CHANGING, AT THE PRESENT TIME. OF COURSE, WE ARE ALWAYS OPEN TO POSSIBILITY, AND HOPE FOR BETTER TIMES AHEAD. WE'RE ALWAYS EAGER TO NEGOTIATE. JUST NOT CAPITULATE.
AS I HAVE PERSONALLY BEEN HARD ON THE BIA IN THE PAST, I HAVE, THIS YEAR, MADE IT CLEAR, I'M A REALIST ABOUT THIS STUFF. OF COURSE THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO BE AGGRESSIVE, ON BEHALF OF MEMBER BUSINESSES; JUST AS WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO OUR OWN THING, INDEPENDENT OF THE IMPOSITION OF ACTIONS AND STRATEGIES, WHICH WE DON'T HAPPEN TO AGREE. THE LATEST WINTER CARNIVAL DEBACLE COMES TO MIND. BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT WE CAN'T OPT OUT OF THE BIA PROGRAM EITHER, OR INSIST THAT OUR STORE-BLOCK BE DEEMED AN ISLAND NATION. THE BIA IS A REALITY WE CAN'T ESCAPE. END OF THAT CHAPTER.
THERE IS QUICKLY COMING A TIME, HOWEVER, WHEN MANY OTHER FOLKS, PROPERTY OWNERS AND BUSINESS PROPRIETORS, WILL HAVE TO WEIGH THE ADVANTAGES OF JOINING THE BIA, AS IT IS IN THE WORKS, TO EXPAND THE AREA, CLOSE TO THREE TIMES ITS PRESENT SIZE. I'VE WRITTEN A NUMBER OF PIECES ON THIS (WHICH YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK), AND I FEEL, FROM AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, THIS IS A GIANT MOVE FOR A STRUGGLING BIA, THAT WILL REPRESENT A FINANCIAL TITHE, SOME PROPERTY OWNERS AND BUSINESSES WILL FIND DISTRESSING. THIS IS YET TO BE DISCUSSED, AND I'M NOT IN THE LOOP ABOUT THE FINITE DETAILS OF THE TERRITORY EXPANSION. I'LL LEAVE THIS TO THOSE WHO WILL BE MOST IMPACTED.
IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO THIS; THE PEOPLE IN THE PROPOSED EXPANSION AREA, NEED TO GET AS MUCH INFORMATION NOW AS POSSIBLE, AND FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THERE IS A CURRENT MOVEMENT OCCURRING, ON THE PART OF SOME PROPERTY OWNERS, TO, AS THEY SAY, GET AHEAD OF THE CURVE. THIS IS EXCELLENT. LEAVING IT TO THE TOWN, TO MAKE SURE THIS INFORMATION SHARING, IS AS PERFECT AS IT CAN BE, ON SUCH AN IMPORTANT ISSUE, WOULD, IN MY OPINION, BE A HUGE MISTAKE. THOSE IN THE AFFECTED AREA, NEED TO RUSTLE UP INFORMATION ON THEIR OWN, OR WITH THE HELP OF PARTNER ARRANGEMENTS. SOME WILL FIND THE BIA PROPOSAL A GOOD THING, AND OTHERS WILL BE VEHEMENTLY OPPOSED. FOR QUITE SOME TIME NOW, I HAVE BEEN WARNING OF THIS PENDING CHANGE, OF THE BIA ZONE, FOR ONE REASON ONLY. IT HAS TO BE DONE PROPERLY, AND THAT INCLUDES THE WORK OF ALL PARTIES, SO THAT NO ONE IN THE EXPANSION AREA, CAN SAY, "I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS," WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO THE WIRE.
LATE LAST YEAR, WHEN THERE WAS A GREAT CHEER FROM TOWN COUNCIL, ABOUT THE PASSING OF THE DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION AREA GRANT PROGRAM, I HAD THIS SUSPICION IT WOULD BECOME, IN ACCEPTED THEORY, THE TEMPLATE OR UNDER-PADDING, FOR THE BIA EXPANSION, WHICH HAS BEEN TALKED ABOUT FOR MANY YEARS. WHILE THERE WERE, I BELIEVE, AMPLE MEETINGS TO REVIEW THESE PLANS, THIS WAS THE LESS BURDENSOME ASPECT OF THE NEW DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT INITIATIVES. ONE WOULD REQUIRE ADDED TAXATION, IN ORDER TO BELONG TO THE BIA. I CHECKED WITH A TOWN COUNCILLOR TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS A CLEAR SEPARATION BETWEEN THE INITIATIVES, AND I GOT WHAT I NEEDED, TO PASS ON TO FOLKS CONCERNED ABOUT THE BIA SIDE OF THINGS. IT HAS NOW BECOME CLEAR, THIS IS THE SPRING THE BIA EXPANSION ISSUE WILL POKE ITS HEAD UP, AND IT WILL BE, ACCORDING TO TWITTER, PART OF THE DISCUSSION, AT THE COMING BIA GENERAL MEETING. YOU CAN CHECK THIS OUT FOR YOURSELF, BY SEARCHING ONLINE.
LET ME BE CLEAR. DESPITE WHAT THE TOWN MIGHT SUGGEST, TO THE CONTRARY, OR WHAT THE MEDIA MIGHT MISS OF THE BIGGER PICTURE, THIS IS A DRAMATIC BUSINESS INITIATIVE. IF YOU DON'T READ IT IN THE COMMUNITY PRESS, OR THE TOWN DOESN'T MENTION, JUST HOW BIG A DEAL THIS IS, IN TERMS OF OUR TOWN BUSINESS CHRONICLE, TAKE IT FROM THE HISTORIAN.....IT IS MOST DEFINITELY, A BIG DEAL. SO IN MY OPINION, THIS ISSUE NEEDS LOTS OF EXPOSURE AND DEBATE, ABOUT THE PRO AND CON, AND CAN'T BE RUSHED THROUGH THE SYSTEM. I TRUST THE BIA EXECUTIVE FEELS THE SAME. WOULD THEY REALLY WANT TO WIN THIS THING, BY ANY KIND OF UNDEMOCRATIC MANIPULATION? IF THEY ARE GOING TO WIN OVER THE PROPERTY OWNERS, AND BUSINESSES, IN THE EXPANSION AREA, THEY HAVE TO ACCEPT THE RIGHTS OF THESE PEOPLE TO DISAGREE....AND ARGUABLY, ON PAST RECORD, THAT HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN APPRECIATED. THIS IS THE PRESENT, AND THE ISSUE WILL BE A HOT ONE, AND NOT JUST BECAUSE I'VE TRIED TO ALERT PEOPLE, ABOUT THE COMING PRICKLY IMPLICATIONS. IF OBJECTIONS MOUNT, THIS ISN'T TO BE CONSIDERED THE HANDIWORK OF A POLITICAL ACTIVIST. IT'S BECAUSE THE WEIGHT OF THE PROGRAM IS BEING ACCURATELY ASSESSED. I'M ONLY A MEDDLING, PESKY CONSTITUENT, WITH A SHARP PEN, WHO HAS HAD SOME HISTORY IN THESE MATTERS.....OF A TOWN DOING WHAT IT DARN WELL PLEASES.....WHEN IT SO WISHES. APATHY AND FEAR OF GETTING INVOLVED, HAVE HURT US IN THE PAST. IT COULD HURT US AGAIN.
I'LL POSE THIS QUESTION....SIMPLE AND TO THE POINT. HYPOTHETICALLY, IF WE HAD THE EXPANDED AREA OF THE BIA THIS WINTER, WOULD THE WINTER CARNIVAL HAVE BEEN WELCOME ON THE MAIN STREET....INCLUDING THE CUSTOMARY CLOSING OF MUSKOKA ROAD, AS HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST.....OR WOULD THE EXECUTIVE ETC., HAVE DECIDED ON THEIR OWN, TO ADMINISTER "OUR WILL" FOR US. AS WE WOULD NOT HAVE WISHED TO LOSE THE WINTER CARNIVAL AND ITS ACTIVITIES FROM THE MAIN BUSINESS CORRIDOR, APPARENTLY, SOME THOUGHT DIFFERENTLY....IMPOSING THEIR VALUES ON THOSE OF US, WHO WERE "THE WILLING PARTICIPANTS." WE HAPPENED TO APPRECIATE WINTER CARNIVAL EVENTS OUT FRONT, AND OUR FAMILY PARTICIPATED IN THE OPENING CEREMONIES FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS. THE BIA STUCK THEIR OAR IN, AND WELL, THE REST IS HISTORY. THE TOWN COULD HAVE RESPONDED TO THE CONTRARY, AND RULED AGAINST THE BIA DECISION. I'M SORRY THE WINTER CARNIVAL VOLUNTEERS GOT STUCK IN THE MIDDLE ON THIS ONE. HONESTLY, WE DIDN'T SEE THIS COMING, OR WE WOULD HAVE REACTED....TO KEEP THE WINTER CARNIVAL ACTIVITIES CENTERED ON OUR MAIN STREET. INSTEAD NOW, WE HAVE ACTIVITIES AT THE WHARF, AND GULL LAKE PARK. BUT GLORY-BE, THERE IS A BUS, I BELIEVE, TO TAKE PEOPLE FROM MUSKOKA ROAD TO THESE LOCATIONS. CONTRADICTIONS ABOUND IN THIS TOWN. ARE WE THE ONLY ONES TO SEE THIS AS ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK?
THIS IS THE ONLY TIME I WILL WRITE ABOUT THE BIA EXPANSION, UNTIL A DECISION HAS BEEN MADE, ON WHETHER TO ALLOW THE LAND GRAB OR DENY IT. IT ISN'T OUR FIGHT. WE CAN'T OPT OUT, SO THERE'S NO GAIN FOR US, BEING INVOLVED IN ANY FUTURE DEBATE ON THE SUBJECT. WE UNDERSTAND WHY THE BIA NEEDS TO EXPAND. IT'S EITHER THAT, OR BECOME A LESSER ENTITY OVER TIME. THEY NEED THE EXTRA FUNDING, AND THIS WILL COME WITH AN EXPANDED AREA. SO IT'S NOT THE CASE THAT I AM FIGHTING AGAINST BIA EXPANSION, BUT AS I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT, COUNTLESS TIMES BEFORE, I WOULD LIKE IT TO BE A TRANSPARENT AND OPEN PROCESS, WHERE NO PERSON WITH A VESTED INTEREST, IN THE ZONE, CAN SAY THEY WEREN'T THOROUGHLY INFORMED, AND GIVEN EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND. I EXPECT THERE WILL BE VIGOROUS EFFORTS TO PROMOTE THE EXPANSION, FOR THE GOOD OF THE COMMUNITY, AND I HOPE THE MEDIA WILL CONSIDER IT A VITAL ROLE, IN COMMUNICATIONS, TO PRESENT THE OTHER SIDE.....THOSE WHO WISH TO STOP THE EXPANSION FROM HAPPENING. JOURNALISM 101! SO FAR, FOLKS, IF YOU THINK I'M OVER-REACTING ON THIS MATTER, THE ISSUE OF EXPANSION HAS BEEN ADDRESSED BY THE MEDIA IN 2013, AND NOT ONCE WAS THERE A TRACE OF COUNTER-POINT, FROM THOSE IN THE TARGET AREA. MUCH AS IF TO AGREE WITH PROPONENTS, EVERYTHING IS GOOD....ALL IS HAPPY, AND CONTENT, FOR THIS EXPANSION INITIATIVE. EXPECTING A QUOTABLE COMMENT FROM TOWN HALL, BEYOND THE OBVIOUS SUPPORT, TO RUN THE IDEA THROUGH THE GAUNTLET, IS NOT LIKELY TO HAPPEN AT THIS POINT.....ALTHOUGH I'M WILLING TO BET, THEY ALL HAVE OPINIONS ON THE MATTER; BUT WILL, AS A MATTER OF A PROTOCOL I'M UNFAMILIAR WITH, WAIT TO SHARE THEM. I DON'T WANT TO USE THE WORD "MUZZLED," BECAUSE IT SUGGESTS OPINIONS ARE BEING SUPRESSED. I DON'T AGREE WITH THIS HOLDING-BACK THING, AND THE ONLY REASON IT EXISTS NOW, IS BECAUSE THERE IS NO PRYING MEDIA, LOOKING FOR A BIG SCOOP. GADS, I MISS THE HUSTLING FOR FRONT-PAGE STORIES, LIKE WE DID IN THE OLD DAYS. IF THERE WAS INVESTIGATION INTO THE MATTER, WE'D HAVE THIS STORY OUT IN THE OPEN RIGHT NOW. SURELY OUR DEMOCRATIC PRIVILEGE ALLOWS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL TO SPEAK OUT-OF-TURN, FROM TIME TO TIME....BEYOND THE MANTRA OF "EVERYTHING'S GOOD.....AND MOVING FORWARD." THERE ARE VERY FEW OF US LEFT, WHO BELIEVE THIS PROPAGANDA ANYWAY.
I AM SURPRISED THAT THE PRESENT TOWN COUNCIL, WOULD DECIDE TO MOVE AHEAD WITH THIS INITIATIVE.....BUT OF COURSE, I'M STILL WAITING FOR THE OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT, OF COMING PUBLIC MEETINGS. IN AN ELECTION YEAR, IT IS USUALLY CONSIDERED BEST, TO WAIT ON SUCH IMPORTANT AND HISTORIC DECISIONS, THAT WILL BURDEN AN INCOMING COUNCIL, LATER THIS YEAR. IT MAY ALSO HURT THE RE-ELECTION BIDS OF ANY PRESENT COUNCILLORS, IF THIS ISSUE GETS REALLY HOT. MAYBE THIS WILL BE THE CASE, AND NOT JUST BECAUSE I THINK IT WOULD BE THE RIGHT THING TO DO. THIS COUNCIL, SHOULD THEY GET BEHIND THE EXPANSION PLAN, WILL INDEED BE HANDCUFFING THE NEW COUNCIL, AND IF VERY FEW OF THE PRESENT COUNCIL ARE RE-ELECTED, IT COULD CREATE AN UNNECESSARY STRAIN IN THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BIA, LONG INTO THE FUTURE. THERE COULD BE A NUMBER OF CANDIDATES, WHO WILL RUN ON A PLATFORM OF KILLING THIS DEAL, SO IMPOSING IT ON THEM, MAY NOT BE THE BEST BET FOR GOOD FUTURE RELATIONS. AT LEAST IF IT COMES AT THE WISHES OF A NEW COUNCIL, IT WOULD HAVE FOUR YEARS TO GET USED TO THE IDEA.
ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, AND IF THE EXPANSION DOES GET APPROVAL, IT WILL HERALD-IN A NEW PARTICIPATION IN THE BIA EXECUTIVE, AND THE FIEFDOM OF ONCE, WILL BE CHANGED FOREVER. MAYBE IN THE FUTURE, SKOKIE MIGHT CATCH A BREAK, FROM A NEW DIRECTORSHIP THAT WELCOMES INCLUSION.....REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THAT INPUT IS FOR OR AGAINST.
THE BIA AND THE TOWN HAS NOTHING TO FEAR FROM A RADICAL, OUT-SPOKEN ANTIQUE DEALER LIKE ME. I WON'T BE ATTENDING THE BIA MEETING TO DISCUSS THE MATTER, AND I WON'T BE CARRYING A PLACARD AT ANY OF THE PUBLIC MEETINGS.....OR STREAKING THROUGH THE VENUE, WITH "STOP THE BIA" PAINTED ON MY BARE BACK. I HAVE NO AXE TO GRIND, OR GRUDGE TO UPHOLD. FROM A PERSONAL POINT OF VIEW, AND OUR FAMILY OF MAINSTREET STAKE-HOLDERS FEEL THE SAME.....WE WANT A FAIR AND OPEN PROCESS FROM THE BEGINNING. WHAT HAPPENS, WELL, "HAPPENS." IT'S THE CHANNELS TO GET TO THAT POINT, WHICH IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DETAIL, OF WHAT I CONSIDER THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS. REST ASSURED, THE POSITIONS OF TOWN COUNCILLORS ON THIS MATTER, WILL BE HEAVILY SCRUTINIZED, AND THAT MAKES ME FEEL GOOD. THEY SHOULD GEAR UP TO MEET SOME OF THEIR ADVERSARIES......IT JUST WON'T BE ME.
TOWN HALL LIKES IT KNOWN, THAT THEY WELCOME THE OPINIONS OF ALL CONSTITUENTS. SO THIS WILL BE THE ULTIMATE TEST OF THEIR FOUR YEAR REIGN. BECAUSE, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT'S COMING DOWN THE PIKE.
A PRELIMINARY CHAT ABOUT OLD VINYL, AND SPINNING IT FOR ALL THE WORLD TO HEAR
Every morning, here in the hollow of the old movie theatre, we have claimed for our vintage music and antique business, we have a coffee bull-session. Sometimes it gets a little ugly, when for whatever reason, it shifts to politics. We disagree a lot. But when we chat about specifics, like what we like to collect, and what we wish we could acquire, we're calm and collected. We talk about the coming day, the challenges, whether the town will drop by for a visit, or what shipments could, at any moment, come through the front door. Antiques, guitars, vintage records, quilts, speakers, chairs, or the occasional banjo.
We have at least twenty such visits each week, at this time of year, from people selling a wide variety of collectables.....which is certainly appropriate, considering it is our business afterall.....the buying and selling of old stuff. As we are pickers ourselves, but don't have our own television show, we don't buy as much over-the-counter as some shops, because we still have a lot of inventory in storage. In son Robert's case, however, he is in great need of used and vintage records, which he is now selling all over the country via online sales. So we've gone beyond the same-old, same old, of normal, day to day shop-sales. And while he's happy about this, the down-side is, he's running out of product to sell. His new vinyl sales are going strong, but vintage vinyl is still hot. It's been awhile now, since he's been able to buy an estate-lot, which before Christmas, turned up hundreds of exceptional country records that now.....are registered in the "sold" column of the accounting books. We all like to have good sale days, but if you can't match sales with more incoming inventory, the cycle gets its unfortunate flat side. So you can help us get our spin back, by dusting off the old collection, and bringing it in for a look-see.
What he's looking to buy now, are records from 1960's and 70's, classic rock, (Beatles, Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin), old time (traditional) country and bluegrass, blues, jazz, punk, new wave, avant-garde (new and unusual sounds, experimental), modern classical, "psych", "prog" (progressive), spoken-word recordings, limited pressings from unknown artists, and oddball "period" records. Robert is willing to buy lightly used new vinyl. Looking for European and Japanese pressings. He is fussy about the quality of the records he buys, so the finer the condition, the higher the price. He is not looking for easy listening records, including big bands, and children's, which for him, is a much more less active market at present. This may change. "I need more records in these areas, and we have lots of buyers waiting for our latest arrivals," he told me, just now. "It has been an incredible year for selling old vinyl, and especially remarkable, to find so many young people, turning on to records....old school and new." You can reach Robert through the website, or by sending him an email at theregentblue@yahoo.ca
As I've long been a fan of the work of Canadian poet, Gwendolyn MacEwan, Robert gave me her early 1970's record, "OPEN SECRET," featured as last evening's digital image. She was a bright-light of Canadian writing, and was known as one of the finest poets of the time, with an international following. "OPEN SECRET,' was broadcast in September, 1971, on CBC radio's literary series 'Anthology." "The mythic dimensions of Gwendolyn MacEwan's world include her fiction, novels and short stories, as well as her poetry. But she also celebrates what she herself describes as 'a sheer appetite for life.' She is fascinated by the history and the peoples of the Middle East, and has written fiction about ancient Egypt, and tried her hand at translations of modern Arabic poetry. As the title of her new book of poetry suggests, Gwendolyn MacEwan is not the kind of poet to turn her back on such contemporary phenomenon as technology and space exploration." "One would have to be mad, really, not to be profoundly impressed by man's conquest of the moon," she writes. "But she also knows that this new age is filled with mystery and perhaps with terror. These are the final three stanzas of the title of her new book, 'The Armies of the Moon."
As for "A Breakfast for Barbarians," the poet writes, "For me, experiences, dreams, thoughts, have a terrible and holy significance, and this was the book in which I first began to understand the real nature of myth, not as an historical curiosity, but as a shaping reality in my own life. I still feel that I'm living in myth, that the figures who inhabit my world have mythic dimensions."
Gwendolyn MacEwan, like many artists, had her moments of depression, and the misfortune was, that she found solace in alcohol, which gradually destroyed her body. Long before I received this record, from my son, I had read her biography, and it is weighted by the misfortune, of not being able to escape these increasing periods of depression. I enjoyed reading about her years, living with poet Milton Acorn, on Toronto Island, and her social - cultural encounters in and around Toronto's coffee-shop network, where poets read, and folk musicians regaled enthusiastic but small audiences; at around the same period as I was attending university. We studied her in class, and one of my professors was Canadian poet, Mariam Waddington, with lectures later from Aviva Layton, the former wife of well know poet Irving Layton, and my first writing instructor, Frank Davey, who was the editor of the magazine "Open Letter." He was the first writer to offer me the good advice - that "writing for yourself" is good for a diary, but crappy for the market-place. I had lots of opportunity to investigate Canadian poets, such as MacEwan, and it was one of the courses I most enjoyed, during my years at York University. So I have enjoyed listening to this "spoken word," record, of MacEwan's work, and it does take me back to the days, when I fancied myself an up and coming bard. Instead I morphed into a columnist-blogger.
I'm giving the record back to Robert, so he can offer it to one of his customers, who will also enjoy her poetic recitations - that made her the rising star of Canadian literature in the early 1970's.
So if you're attic is full of vintage vinyl from your youth, and you hate the idea of throwing them out.....then give some consideration to recycling them, to a new generation of vinyl-heads.....which is really quite remarkable. Supply, in Robert's case, is succumbing to demand. Isn't that great to hear? We can't get enough inventory! Of course, he sheds a little tear, each time a regular customer arrives, only to find out, our supply hasn't been replenished. He always has a stock of new vinyl re-issues of these bands, but a lot of vinyl-heads want the original pressings.....and who can blame them? So keep in mind, next time you trip over those milk crates full, to over-flowing, with the joys of youth. By the way, we also have, and refurbish record players from this golden era. If you have some vintage stereo-equipment, let Robert know about this as well......because we have a waiting list of buyers for good quality record players; including Thorens, Lenco, Pioneer, Marantz, Rega, Telefunken, to name a few of the best. Let us know what you have and we'll get back to you. Old instruments and sound gear.....please let us know when you decide to make some space at home, because we have lots of buyers waiting in the wings. Just because you think it's a beater-guitar, not worth fixing, we may surprise you with news, it's more valuable than you think. We had a customer, several weeks ago, who brought in a spectacular guitar, but felt it might have to be thrown out, because it no longer worked properly. After son Andrew's heart resumed its normal beat, and he caught his breath, we had the pleasure of informing the owner, about the gem she possessed......that was well worth repairing to playing-condition. So as the summer season approaches, thank goodness, we find ourselves in need of inventory to meet the demands of our collector-customers.
Thanks so much for visiting this blog today. I've got some more vintage vinyl stories to come. I just have to find a time when Robert will sit for a few moments, to tell me more about the wants and needs of contemporary vinyl-heads. I know about the nostalgia side, but very little, about the modern era collector and listener, who prefers vinyl to CD's.
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