divots in wax

somehow i always have money to afford new music. that may be the one steady economical trend that has existed over the past decade+ of my life. i have a formidable collection of Radio Kaos receipts to confirm that, as well as shine a light on my maturation in music. i have physical evidence of everything from coal chamber to slayer to elliott smith to eyedea and abilities (and then usually back to slayer). i also still have an odd practice of smelling new cd's when i open them. for some reason a familiar smell takes me back to the joy and stress of buying new music to hide from my parents. some cd's have THAT smell, others don't. even though i was older and didn't have to hide music anymore, when i bought Agoraphobic Nosebleed's "Frozen Corpse Stuffed with Dope" it had that smell. most likely because it's one of the sickest pieces of musical terrorism ever.
though i'm now over a hundred miles away from my beloved Radio Kaos, it's still hard NOT to make weekly trips to what is easily one of my favorite places in Madison, Ear Wax Records. i remember blood rushing to both my heart and groin when i first walked in some years ago, and nearly every trip to Madison involved a stop inside the store. i think Amoeba in LA has a pretty awesome metal section and all, but Ear Wax is top notch because it IS metal. so i do have to go elsewhere to get my indie fix, but i can live with that. happily.
since i've moved to Madison i think i've made 5 trips to Ear Wax, but walked away with only 2 cds. the rest of my purchases have been strictly vinyl, as it has become my preferred format lately. in fact my last 3 visits have been exclusively vinyl, and the online order i placed this afternoon was 3 more LP's. yes, i am totally taking part in the hip reemergence of vinyl. owning a cd isn't what it used to be. ever since i bought a computer, all cds have gone straight into digital form for my ipod and some are rarely played again. you can probably see where one might cut out a step in that process.
now it started out that i would only get really sludgy stoner stuff on vinyl, but i've been expanding on that ever since. im at the point to where i am now buying albums on vinyl that i already own on cd. that's not to say i have a huge vinyl collection because i certainly do not, but i have no qualms about repurchasing music that i like on a different format. i just bought 2 Daughters LP's that i already own, and i plan on buying Gaza's latest once the mighty slab of hardcore is finally delivered on wax. i certainly don't go out of my way to buy stuff i already have, but albums i really like and usually listen to all the way through are strong candidates.
artwork is another consideration that cannot be overlooked. there are some awesome possibilities that the gatefold holds that cd's just can't deliver, the most basic being size. take any album cover you like, now imagine it 6 times bigger. yeah.
to make a final point, buying vinyl is just more satisfying. maybe because it is bigger i feel i'm walking away with something with more meaning attached to it. in the end it's personal preference, and i'm not saying any format is better than the other. what i am saying is that i've found a new way to have fun collecting music.