Hi Joe:

Yes, absolutely! I'm the one who's posted several times (and received some hostility) about how an
accumulator is different from a collector and an unwieldy pile of accumulation is not a collection.

My own rule -- one man's rule for one man's collection -- is that I don't want more music than I can
reasonably enjoy within a reasonable lifetime. That said, tastes change and evolve over time and I
probably don't cull as mercilessly as I should. Also, I do like to have a certain (small) volume of
artifacts for their own sake -- examples of various recorded media, copies of very historic
recordings even if they're not my taste, more books and paper references than is probably prudent or
reasonable, etc. But the collection is music-centric and reflects my own tastes and interests. The
paper matter also skews toward the technical history of sound recording and broadcasting, ie the
production and delivery media for the music at the heart of the collection.

One thing I moved away from as I got more experienced and mature is completism. There was a time
when I'd get turned on to an artist and then want to have everything they did. Well, it turns out
that most artists put out a few great recordings and many not-as-great stuff in between. So I now
try to cull the not-so-great stuff as I figure out what's the gold and what's the coal for each
artist and music genre. The same goes for record labels and historical periods of interest -- there
are certain things to have that are shining examples of whatever they represent, and then there's
all the filler that just dillutes the best stuff. The art of collecting -- and it's a
lifetime-learning art that probably no one ever does perfectly -- is to keep the gold and cull
everything else. That's what separates a collector from an accumulator, in my opinion.

Finally, I recognize that this is only one way to look at all of this, and there are many other
valid viewpoints, including all those 180 degrees opposed to mine. That's a complex way of saying,
different strokes for different folks and variety makes the world go 'round.

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message -----
From: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 5:29 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Leah Biel's DVD


> Does size matter so much?
>
> I think the important thing about a collection is how it reflects your interests and tastes, and
> your love of music or whatever you collect.
>
> The same might be said, with some modifications, about a collection (of any size) in an
> institution.
>
> joe salerno (mostly on the cutting room floor in Leah's documentary)
>
>
>
> Tom Fine wrote:
>> One man's DVD review ...
>>
>> I highly recommend Leah Biel's "For the Record." Just the opportunity to see and hear so many
>> fellow ARSC members makes it worth the modest price, but what surprised me was how the folks
>> opened up and talked about the "affliction" of collecting, accumulating and the community of
>> collectors. I also realized, I'm a mere piker of a collector and, despite the askance glances I
>> get from some visitors to my "music lair", I'm a minor-league accumulator.
>>
>> Well done!
>>
>> -- Tom Fine
>