Later that night we had a nice dinner of freshly scorched flatbread pizza (kalamata olives, carmelized onion, rosemary and goat cheese). The goat cheese pushed me (sure, blame it on the goat cheese) to order a second beer: a locally produced Scotch Ale. Mmmmm....so much flavor...so much alcohol! Yessir, I was not ready to drive back to the hotel with that major league buzz goin' on so the post-dinner plan was to check out a bookstore and then some coffee. Not five minutes in the bookstore and I've found Brett Milano's Vinyl Junkies. Now I'm psyched. We head out to the coffee shop for some French Roast and quietude.

Earlier that day I'd felt just a little strange as I held a copy of Gershon Kingsley's First Moog Quartet in my hands. I thought to myself "What does it say about me that I want this particular record?". Well, that little mental frown was definitely wasted energy as the collectors inhabiting Milano's book make me seem like the most normal person (record collector-wise) in the world.

I have never given a thought to:

• paying several thousand dollars for a rare 1960's garage rock single
• taking a trip/vacation for the sole purpose of seeking out used vinyl (I'm pretty sure that this story doesn't qualify...right?)
• owning 20,000 albums (though at 2,000, most folks would say that I'm already in 'the club')
• collecting prewar 78's (though I've always wanted a Victrola)

Milano's book doesn't just stick to the 'serious' and extreme collectors. His years of experience as a rock writer (Boston Phoenix, Boston Herald & others) allow him to apply a music-drenched slant to chapters on the phenomenon of collecting in general, the lure of rare records, where & how people track stuff down, 'famous' collectors (Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, REM's Peter Buck, R. Crumb, Peter Wolf), CD's vs. LP's, and the 'ultimate' find. Vinyl Junkies is a great read for any music lover, vinyl hound or not.

So, the question remains: Should I have bought that cool Art Ensemble of Chicago reissue? I mean, I put it back in the bin and it's been bugging me ever since. Should I stop worrying about it? What does this say about me?

(First posted on Mark Is Cranky)