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But
difficulty obtaining permits linked to zoning issues means the
Archive of Contemporary Music is looking for a new home.
The non-profit archive was founded in 1985 by B. George, who
seeded it with his own collection of 47,000 records and
originally housed it in New York City.
With the intention of storing two copies of everything - one to
be used for listening, and a second as an archival copy - it has
since grown to more than 3 million sound recordings.
The archive consists of LPs and 45s, 8 tracks and cylinder
disks, along with books, posters, and vintage memorabilia. Music
from across the globe is represented, and the genres range from
rock and roll and blues to African, punk, country, hip hop and
experimental.
"Some people say we're like the dumpster of pop music," George
said. "I always like to say, no, we're more like Molly Bloom at
the end of "Ulysses," where we just say yes, yes, yes to
everything."
Rare items include a mint copy white label of an early Rolling
Stones record signed by the whole band, a copy of David Bowie's
"Hunky Dory" that the singer signed and decorated with glitter,
and a 78 format record of Robert Johnson's "Me and the Devil
Blues" that musician Keith Richards purchased for the archive.
Once the archive has found a new home, George envisions it
becoming a public research center that could serve as a library,
host resident scholars, and perhaps even include a recording
studio for the next generation to put down some tracks.
"I know for a fact, and I'm probably wrong like every science
fiction writer, but there won't be Apple in the future. There
won't be Microsoft in the future. But there'll be vinyl," he
said.
(Reporting by Christine Kiernan, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
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