An interesting post made recently to the John Zorn list
quoted 21 lines From: "David J. Keffer" <keffer@planetc.com>
>From: "David J. Keffer" <keffer@planetc.com>
>Subject: dialectical materialism vs record collections
>Sender: owner-zorn-list@lists.xmission.com
>
>>From: Lang Thompson <wlt4@mindspring.com>
>>Subject: collections
>>
>>Umberto Eco had some kind of wiseguy answer to people who ask if he's read
>>all the books he has but of course I've forgotten it since it wasn't that
>>funny. His point, however, was that these books are his tools and that
>>nobody would ask a mechanic if he uses all those various sockets or
>>wrenches. Use the word "library" instead of "collection" and see if people
>>catch the difference in intention. (Personally I prefer "my stuff.")
>
>I think these two comparisons between record collections and libraries or
>tools
>are flawed arguments made in an effort to justify compulsive materialism.
>An attempt is made to transfer the value of libraries or tools to
>record collections, but the transfer is erroneous.
>
>Clearly a personal collection is not a library. If we look up thequoted 33 lines of the word library, we find that an intrinsic element of a library is the
>of the word library, we find that an intrinsic element of a library is the
>fact that material can be accessed or borrowed by some body of people.
>The public-service purpose of a library is lacking in a personal collection
>of books or music.
>
>Just as clearly, the tools of a mechanic are not a "collection"; tools
>are not a luxury item, the way a record collection most certainly is.
>The comparison would be legitimate if the record collector relied
>upon the listening of any element of his/her collection to maintain
>their livelihood, which I doubt anyone on this list would claim.
>
>Now for Eco, his books may be his tools. Very well. See the paragraph
>above on tools. But they are useless tools unless read. I maintain my
>original position that the acquisition of 4 or 5 cds per day for years
>and years necessarily results in an unlistenable amount of music, which
>is useless.
>
>My advice is to abandon all pretense of disguising the motivation for
>a record collection and embrace it for what it is: an unquestioning
>susceptibility to the brainwashing inherent in having been raised in a
>society of consumers for the dual purposes of comsumption and
>propagation of future generations of consumers.
>
>Yes! How about that for an alternative perspective to record collecting! :)
>
>David "Drone of a Materialistic Society" K.
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