Remember the movie High Fidelity? I watched it again recently and have been thinking about a particular scene where Rob (John Cusack) is explaining to Dick (Todd Louiso) how he is re-organizing his vinyl record collection.
Dick: "Is this chronological?"
Rob: "No."
Dick: "It's not alphabetical."
Rob: "Nope."
Dick: "What..."
Rob: "Autobiographical."
I've been thinking about that ever since, and wondering if it might actually be possible. I have well over one thousand albums in my collection so it would be a major undertaking. I'm not sure it's a task I want to take on. But if I did, the piles of records might look something like this.
The First Records I Bought With My Own Money pile might include:
Blood Sweat and Tears - Child Is The Father To Man
Donovan - Sunshine Superman
Why Must I Be A Teenager In Love pile might include:
John Denver - Poems, Prayers and Promises
David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
Praise The Lord pile might include:
Jesus Christ Superstar - Original Soundtrack
Jesus Sound Explosion - Recorded Live At Explo '72
Leaving Home pile might include:
Jackson Browne -Late For The Sky
Eagles - Desperado
Radio Days pile might include:
The Doors - Greatest Hits
KKLS - Compilation Album
Friends pile might include:
Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Barn
Dianna Krall and Tony Bennett - Love Is Here To Stay
Best Friends pile might include:
My Morning Jacket - The Waterfall
America - Live From the Hollywood Bowl
Former Friends pile might include:
She & Him - Classics
John Cougar Mellencamp - Scarecrow
I'm now realizing there are probably at least sixty more record piles I would have to make, then move back onto the shelves. If I start now I might be finished by Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving of 2027. As Sweet Brown said in that viral 2012 local news interview, "Ain't nobody got time for that."
Yeah. I agree with Sweet. So I'll stick with my current system. Alphabetical...Abba through Warren Zevon. And the one-thousand-three-hundred-eighty-three in between.
Roger O'Dea 8/21/2026
