A big part of this is making sure everything is packed in a way so that it won’t get damaged. I have had to ensure the boxes are thick enough to protect the CD jewel cases and tall enough so I can store my vinyl correctly. It has been interesting finding some gems that I forgot I owned and enjoying seeing my complete collection of certain artists as I pack them securely in their boxes.
Once I move I will have to think of a way to store and display my collection in a suitable way. Over the years it has kind of grown out of the various shelves and became jumbled and now I need to impose some order upon it again. My father recently helped my brother build some bespoke shelves for his music collection and maybe that is something he’d be willing to do again.
Now the old question. Do I display everything alphabetically and risk having Mozart being bed fellows with Madonna (I‘m not sure how either would feel about this arrangement)? Or Seasick Steve and Sepultura next to each other vying for the dubious honour of most outlandish guitar sound. Or even Will Smith with his modern rap style nestled next to Winston Churchill and his traditional English language during his war time speeches, each mildly offended by the other. Or do I do it (as now) by genre and have my blues, jazz and metal collections all sitting in their own respective niches? Never the musical twain shall meet on the shelves, as is often the case in real life.
If I do it this way I get into another dilema. Is Gary Moore filed under blues or rock? He has done both styles in his career. Would you class a classical film soundtrack as classical or soundtrack? Is Aretha Franklin soul or gospel when both styles are covered, often on the same album? And so the questions go on.
A part of me relishes the idea of sitting on the floor in my new study over the coming months as the seasons move from autumn to winter. I’ll brew up a nice cup of tea, have a plate of biscuits and play various albums and songs as I organise my vast music collection. There is something comforting in this task, although I’m sure it may be frustrating at times.
The funny thing is, in time I hope to build an extension on the house I’ve just bought and have a proper study with built-in shelves and CD racking. And then I’ll have to do it all over again. I hope by that time Mozart and Madonna will have resolved their differences and will know if they’re willing to be shelf mates or not.
