This year it occurred to me that I will track the movies I watch in a year and the books I read in a year but not the music I listen to in a year. 2024 has seen me grow in my love and respect of physical media and throughout the year, I am regularly hitting the thrift stores and garage sales and buying records and CDs. The idea of being beholden to the behemoths of the entertainment industry to tell me what is available for me to watch at this time and what I may stream from their collection started to really grate on my nerves. Storage space is an issue sure but… Part of what I really enjoy about collecting physical media is the discovery; finding an album in the wild and not being sure of what it is exactly – who is this artist or when did this guy release this album? This will often send me off on one of the merry pursuits I love so much as particular finds will serve as portals to the wonderful tales of the music of the past, many I have completely missed.

Additionally, there is my Up Next section of records. When I buy LPs, I put them in this section intending to get to them when it is a good time to sit and “have a record”. Thing is the times I buy records greatly outnumbers the time I have to listen to them. Subsequently, the next record I have yet to listen to I purchased sometimes a year ago; I’m way behind. Pictured in the above image are some of the currently 130 records I have yet to enjoy. I will look at what is up next and remember oh, yeah, I bought that at such and such a store on that trip to Blah Blah, etc and that is fun memories. Often though I cannot recall a purchase and I’d like to remember when and where I found a record or CD. You may guess what this is leading to.

Going forward, then I am adding a Music Logs article to my Book and Movie Logs pieces. I plan to keep a diary of not only what I bought and where and when but also of what moved me in music; what artist or genre I explored. I am a little torn though between tracing purchases on an internet document or writing things down in a notebook. I am still old school enough to find an appeal in writing things down on paper but I can also see the advantages to a spread sheet I can access from anywhere. Think I’ll do both to start. I think it will be fun for me – and perhaps for you, the reader – to see exactly how many records and CDs I buy in a year, where I bought them and what they mean to me. Think of this as…I dunno…Dispatches from The Wild; Adventures in Second-Hand Music Procurement. Or something.

2024 started like every other year – with Elvis Week. I debuted the set A Boy from Tupelo that is every recorded moment of early, pre-stardom Elvis and I had 5 newly bought records to get to; I may have bought them months previous but I waited for Elvis Week to debut them. I listened again to the Raised on Rock album and Donnie Sumner’s composition “I Miss You” just about killed me. I guess I was susceptible and I felt a flood of emotion.

I love jazz/funk fusion albums from the Seventies but know little about this sub genre. I did discover some great recordings from Donald Byrd that I enjoyed. I was intrigued by the film Grace of My Heart and its soundtrack, one that attempts to channel the sounds of the Sixties which is always a tough job. The film is partly based on the life of Carole King and I dove into her legendary Tapestry album and talked about it here. Looks like I hung with the chicks through the winter. Up Next among my records was the debut from Cheryl Ladd, a record that surprised me so much I had to tell my readers about it. I’m happy the article – see it here – drew so many readers this year.

I also dove into the music of Jimmy Webb, Bruce Willis and Van Morrison this year and enjoyed a Johnny Adams CD I found in the wild. Johnny Adams Sings Doc Pomus: The Real Me was released in 1991 and was produced by Mac Rebbenack. This was a nice discovery for me as Johnny and I go way back. The N’Awlins born singer has been a part of my annual Mardi Gras celebrations since back in Apartment Zero Days.

Our annual trip to Florida in March always seems to me like the end of our “fiscal year”. We’ve survived the winter, gone to the sunshine for recharging and can begin to look forward to spring’s arrival. The night before the trip, then, is always significant for me though I can’t really explain why. This year, the night before I first-time listened to the Rolling Stones’ Tattoo You. 2024 was also the year these guys really emerged as one of my favourite bands – joining the Allmans and Rare Earth – and it’s records like this one that are the reason why. They have always made remarkable music – I mean, like, for decades – and the second side of this album in particular and that side’s first track, “Worried About You” just blew me away.

Speaking of the Allman Brothers Band, on April 18th we suffered the loss of Dickie Betts. This one hurt me as it is Betts who had provided me with much of what I love about the Allmans. I went a bit forward in the Up Next record section to listen to his debut Highway Call, and listened in memoriam. It was one of those times I was so glad I had found and bought a record as it was ready there waiting for me when the man from West Palm Beach went off to meet Houdini. I’ve spoken before of my Seasonal Interest Syndrome; listening to and watching certain things at certain times of year. I’ve come off this a bit in recent years but this spring I listened to a lot of music that I have always loved at that time of year. For me its the time of Hootie and the Blowfish, Huey Lewis and the News, the Bangles, Hall & Oates and others so that was fun.

Also this year I listened to a lot of classical music. It started as a form of therapy and soon I was listening to it as a background for reading or writing and I also found that starting the day with it was soothing. Every morning on the drive to work I was listening to a local classical music station and it was interesting to consider the idea of this being the only music some people listen to. It’s a fascinating world. Along the same lines was the elevator music I consumed. There are many great YouTube channels that contain full Seeburg records and vintage tapes of the music played in supermarkets back in the day. These are particularly transportive and comforting.

I recorded in these pages the garage sale miracle that occurred late in the season. For those who missed it, buried in a large cardboard box of CDs I found The RCA Albums Collection, a deluxe set of all 60 of Elvis Presley’s albums. This limited edition set retailed for hundreds of dollars when new and now that is has been discontinued any sets you can find – there ain’t many – go for north of $1000. The people at the sale played hardball with me and told me if I wanted it I must pay up for it – $10 they wanted. I threw the money at them and bolted for the car. Nice to officially own all of Presley’s albums and I’ve got a dozen or so more to listen to.

One of the two biggest music stories of the year for me, I guess, was my discovery of yacht rock. I fully explored this tongue-in-cheek sub genre of soft rock from the mid-70s to mid-80s this year and I found the music enjoyable but also oddly comforting. The music promotes leisure and relaxation and that came in handy through this year that had a couple personal challenges for me. I fully discoursed on this music in this piece. The other big story had to do with a colleague at work. As he approached retirement, he was seeking to divest himself of his physical media collection. I said I would be more than happy to help him with that. I bought from him two crates of CDs and a couple dozen LPs. The main story, though, is that he is a big Bruce Springsteen fan and so I really fleshed out my Bruce collection adding 10 CDs, 4 LPs and three box sets totalling 10 discs. Through the autumn, then, I consumed A LOT of Springsteen and I was reminded that it is a body of work like no other.

During the Christmas season, I was happy to actually get through all 67 of my Christmas LPs, many playing as I puttered and some required my attention and I would sit and listen on a weeknight by the glow of the tree and the Fireplace Channel. However, somehow I failed to get through my Christmas CDs and I never did get to a lot of the great albums I have only on MP3. In past years, I continued on with the music right up until New Year’s Day but in 2024 I just wasn’t feeling it. And so ended my Listening Year. As the new year approached, I was excited to dive into the Elvis music I had yet to listen to and the many records and CDs that are Up Next. The last month of the year is spent with All Christmas Media which is great but I always look forward to returning to the “regular” stuff even though the holidays ending is always a little sad.

So, to wrap up, I’m looking forward to charting my adventures in thrifting for music in 2025 and sharing my findings with you.