Soundproof
Monday, 21 May 2007
In the early nineties I did a lot of effort to get to hear all the records that I read about in the two volumes of Incredibly strange music and in fanzines like Cool& strange music, Exotica etcetera, Cannot become obselete and others. Since most of the records were American, I could not easily find them here in Amsterdam. But after hearing many of these records on cassette tapes and on the many CD-compilations that were released, I learned that I did not find it all as exciting as I thought it would be. There are some great records, no doubt about that, but I can?t help thinking that much of the records, that are in the virtual Top500 of most collectors, are overrated. But maybe it is a matter of taste: I simply don’t like easy listening.
Among the records that I did like, is Soundproof by Ferrante & Teicher. I got it on a cassette tape and I loved it for the weird sound. I soon discovered that the other Ferrante & Teicher records and CD?s that I bought, were not half as good as Soundproof. And some were much worse than half as good.
Yesterday I was in a record shop where I saw an LP with a cover that I liked immediately. I didn?t realize that on this LP was the music that I knew from my cassette. Somehow I had mentally filed all Ferrante & Teicher records in a different category than the LP?s that have great covers. When I realized that songs like Man from Mars And African echoes were on the vinyl in this sleeve, I felt the rush of hormones in my bloodstream, usually called known as greed.
I really don?t understand why artists, who are able to create something like this, end up making up making so many uninspired records. And i also don’t understand why i bought all those records! It is time to sort out my collection and get rid of all that crappy vinyl.