Daily Drops: Now with Related Picks
Hey fellow record dreamer,
The TL;DR: Daily Drops now come with related picks. Plus: a talk about vinyl at PechaKucha Night Kyoto, another Luggage Record, and if you’re in Kansai, let’s go crate digging.
🔁 Daily Drops now show related picks
Daily Drops are meant to bring one record from your collection to the front of your brain each day. But sometimes you want to keep the thread going, especially when the pick hits a particular vibe.
So, starting now, your Drop will also show:
- More from this artist (in your collection)
- Similar vibes (based on genre/style matches)
Here’s a recent example from my own drop featuring Leon Bridges:
This makes it easier to keep it going. And maybe even rediscover more corners of your collection.
🎤 Collxn at PechaKucha Night Kyoto
A few weeks ago I got the chance to give a short talk at PechaKucha Night Kyoto on the topic of record collecting in a digital world.
If you're not familiar, PechaKucha Night is a rapid-fire format (20 slides, 20 seconds each). There's probably one in your city, and it's a great way to hear from a local community on a variety of topics.
In my talk, I shared some of the many motivations that lead people to collect vinyl (hint: it's not always about being an audiophile for all collectors), how physical media can bring us together, and a little about why I'm building Collxn.
Big thanks to the PechaKucha Night Kyoto crew (which I am once again a part of) for the invite to speak, to Urbanguild for providing the venue, to my fellow speakers, and the packed house. 🙏 What a phenomenal night.
💼 Luggage Record #2: Gorillaz
- Artist: Gorillaz
- Album: Gorillaz (Super Deluxe Edition)
- Format: So... many... things... (see below)
- Acquired at: Gorillaz Online Store
Ok, I know: this box is huge and impractical. But I couldn’t leave it in storage.
This is the Super Deluxe Edition of Gorillaz’s 2001 debut album, which I pre-ordered direct from the UK on the 20th anniversary of the album's release. It’s a monster set that includes (quoting from Discogs):
- The original album (2 x LP; repress)
- G Sides (1 x LP; repress)
- Laika Come Home (2 x LP; repressed for the first time since its initial release)
- Live at the Forum, 2001 (2 x LP; pressed for the first time)
- Demoz (1 x LP; pressed for the first time; features etching of 2D on side two)
- Also includes 27 pages of "seized" original drawings, storyboards and internal DMC paperwork, housed in an A4 branded case folder.
This album is a forever favorite for me. I got into Gorillaz in college, and it was one of the gateways out of 90s alternative rock to a lot of other music I love now. The blend of hip-hop, dub reggae, rock, electronic, and pop was fresh and exciting.
Fast-forward almost 25 years later, and my 8-year-old daughter is a big fan of Gorillaz too. Her current favorite Gorillaz album is Cracker Island, and it's her most commonly requested needle drop. We even sang the title track at karaoke here in Kyoto. Last night, she dropped a new discovery on me: there's a bonus track on Cracker Island called "Captain Chicken". Nice timing as I write this: "Captain Chicken" is Del the Funky Homosapien's first appearance with Gorillaz since Gorillaz.
More luggage records soon... If you missed #1, it was Hiatus Kaiyote's Choose Your Weapon.
🛍️ Open invite: record shopping in Kyoto or Osaka?
If you’re visiting Kansai or live nearby: hit me up.
I’ve been bouncing around record shops in Kyoto and Osaka quite a bit since I moved here. I've had the pleasure of making recommendations for and/or doing shop crawls with folks from Austin to Bordeaux to, uh, Juso (you know who you are).
I'd love to link up with more fellow collectors, browse some bins, and maybe even feature a couple of your finds. You can message me via Instagram anytime.
Thanks as always for reading.
- Ash