The Difference Between A Hipster And A Record Collector
 

As a collector of records, I find that as soon as you mention you collect them to most people you automatically get labeled as a hipster. I'd like to discuss a few keys things I have noticed that are different between hipsters that buy vinyl and vinyl record collectors.

First off, the main difference I have noticed is numbers. For the record I take quality over quantity any day, but it is something I have noticed. Of the hipsters I have met, they tend to have very few albums, their individual collections rarely exceeding 40 albums and generally around 15-25 tops. Of the genuine record collectors I know, the collection is usually around 60-100. I personally had around 350 at one point, but due to needing some cash I had to sell quite a few. As it stands I am currently around 100-120.

Second, hipsters often state vinyl as their preferred listening method. I will agree with them that the quality is better, but it is not my preferred listening method. Lets face it, listening to mp3s on the computer or your portable mp3 player is a much more efficient method. After all, isn't that what technology is all about, advancing to make something easier and more efficient?

Lastly, the albums they do have tend to be either modern reprints of older artists that are popular among the high school/college crowd(For those of you that may have been out of school for a while these tend to be The Beatles, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Ramones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, Grateful Dead, among others.) or newer artists that release albums on vinyl. For me, when it comes to older artists, everything must be an original pressing. Yes, some reprints have collector value, but generally an original pressing has the most value to a collector.

So my questions for you guys

1.Do you disagree with any of these, if so, why?
2.Are there difference or similarities you have noticed?
3.Are you either a hipster or a record collector? Neither?

And finally,
discuss.

I only ever get original vinyls. Probably my earliest (and most valuable) is a first print of The Beatles' Please Please Me album. I generally hate hipsters and don't associate them with record collecting.

My testicles on their forehead?

whats a hipster?

and what kind of music does a hipster like?

Collector, and you know how I know this because my vinyl sits in a bookcase my honey built for it.. and the player is broken... but it doesn't stop me from purchasing more more and more...maybe that means hoarder....I am not sure...

A person who listens to music you haven't heard of and dresses differently than you do. In other words it means absolutely nothing.

^

Hipsters annoy the hell out of me, and I would normally agree with you about the records but vinyl is kind of "coming back" so to speak, I know a lot of friends of mine have purchased new records from modern bands, and even bought turntables from me to listen to them. Not everyone with a small collection is a hipster so I would tend to dissagree with the number of records owned having any factor there ( I have 38 records, and I listen to every one of them, I would have more if money wasnt tighter) Its the ones who buy older records, good music, hard to find records just to say that they own them, or hang them on the wall.

If you feel self-conscious about collecting vinyl then you're most likely a hipster, otherwise you're a collector/enthusiast.

It's hipster not to be hipster. Can't win.

a couple of months ago i decided to hunt down some information on what a hipster is because i'd been hearing the term a lot and its ambiguity was beginning to kind of stress me out. after spending all my free time over the course of three days searching for and reading articles and blogs, i learned that it basically boils down to being alive or dead. if you are alive, you are probably a hipster. if you're dead, not so much.

as far as the difference between them and record collectors, record collectors are probably the only people who are not hipsters while still managing to be alive (i hope it's obvious that this is, in part, in jest and not totally serious). they are a culture unto themselves.

my dad is a record collector. about ten years ago he had over 6000 albums. this number has likely dropped due to his relatively new penchant for partaking in record shows and conventions where he sells many and buys few. i've been with him behind his table at these things, and something i noticed that really defines a collector is that if they have zero information on a record they've just stumbled upon, they will buy it because there is that chance that it might be special. another thing about them is that it's an obsession. it's probably safe to call them hoarders. there's something about buying records that makes them feel like all is ok in the world.

as for me, i don't buy records. i do prefer the sound, but if you've ever moved 6000 of them out of an attic apartment into another attic apartment (my dad likes attic apartments) it's hard to remove the memory of weight from the process of spending money on them.

I don't see any hipsters around here but I don't understand the big deal about it. As long as you're not a dickhead I don't have a problem with you, trends change. Why the big fuss?
I admit I dislike pretentious people, and people who do things superficially, who think they are cooler than everyone else to make themselves feel elevated and better about themselves, but the majority of people that I have met that conform to this "hipster" thing at least aesthetically, are genuine and nice people. Maybe it is different in Dublin or in other countries, I dunno.

Guess I'm collector of music I like and usually on cds & lps (don't have an ipod or i-anything, don't need it).

I know collectors at record shows and most of them are completest of some artist, era, record label or whatever. Even the collectors that are not looking for anything specific are pretty well knowledgeable about whatever they buy, or if not, they find out what they need to know from the record dealers. Then again, I've seen people buy albums based only on the cover art.

A record collector buys and listens to music he wants to hear and appreciates the longevity of a particular album.

A hipster has too much money to know the difference.

This.




I'd probably be considered a hipster from time to time through the clothes I wear, I love clothes and fashion. I was actually called a hipster last night for wearing my bowler hat, I nearly cracked up. I ****ing love that hat.

Vinyl has been perpetually "coming back" ever since it went away.

Hipsterdom has become a paradox. It's mainstream, and the subculture is all about not being mainstream. So in order to be a REAL hipster, you'll have to NOT be a hipster.
I'm confused.