Tom Verlaine's Record Collection Available on Discogs and Academy Records

You may remember that late Television frontman Tom Verlaine ‘s book collection was sold off a few years ago and now the same is happening with his record collection. Starting Friday, June 26 you’ll be able to buy items from this 4000-LP collection via Discogs and NYC’s Academy Records.

“I knew  Tom for over 20 years,’ says Academy Records’ Mike Davis. “I was able see one of Tom ‘s first solo shows around 1979. Years later we met in the store and started hitting it off, turning each other on to countless records new to each other. He had asked me to go to his storage space and buy records from him in the early 2000’s. I thought it would be some things out of his personal collection, but it turned out he was talking about dozens of copies of his solo LPs! Before he passed, he specified that he wanted and trusted the records to go to Academy, and then we got the call.”

Ryan Russ of Discogs adds, “The records came to Academy because  Tom  trusted the shop. He’d known Mike and Cory for twenty years, turning each other on to records the whole time, and when it came to it he wanted his collection with them. That’s how record culture has always worked, through trust and the ear that comes with it. And  Verlaine ‘s ear was something else. A lifetime of his digging is in these 4,000 records, and our job is to keep them in circulation rather than let them vanish into a vault. Whether they go to a collector in Tokyo or someone walking into Academy, the music stays in the world the way it always has, passing from one set of hands to the next.”

Items up for sale include Television’s debut single “Little Johnny Jewel” and debut LP Marquee Moon , The 13th Floor Elevators ‘ Easter Everywhere , Nico ‘s Chelsea Girl , Albert Ayler ‘s Bells , The Sonics ‘ Introducing …, Love ‘s self-titled debut, Slint’ s Spiderland , and obviously lots more. According to Academy’s Mike Davis says most records will go for between $10 and $50, with some going up to $1000. He told Rolling Stone , “a fan can own a piece of Verlaine’s shelf without being a wealthy collector.”

“What’s interesting to me about  Verlaine ’s collection is how much more of an X-Ray it is than a mirror image, how much it maps a constant and active engagement with music rather than being filled with easily comparable or alike things to his own output,” says Academy’s Corey Feierman. “ Tom seemed to approach his buying in more of a spirit of adventure and discovery than to knock down his own holy grails.”

More specifics: The first drop of the collection will be available beginning June 26 online at Discogs, then in person at Academy Records Annex (224 Banker St, Brooklyn) on July 10 and 11, and then another Discogs drop July 31. Each purchase on Discogs will include a certificate of authenticity verifying that the record originated from Tom   Verlaine ‘s personal collection.

_Originally reported by [Brooklyn Vegan](https://www.brooklynvegan.com/tom-verlaines-vinyl-collection-to-be-sold-through-discogs-nycs-academy-records/)._