Someone once asked me was I a muso or music anorak? My initial reaction was to deny such an unsavoury categorisation. On mature reflection, I came to the conclusion that I fit both of these descriptions perfectly, much like a needle does as it follows the groove of a carefully crafted piece of vinyl.
Music is not a status symbol, or at least it shouldn’t be. It is something that you should enjoy, and get lost in at times. I have absolutely no idea of what it takes to write a song or a piece of music, and I hope that I never find out. It seems like there is some sort of mystical magic that is bestowed on a small number of us. This may come across as a strange thing for someone who works in the music media to say, but sometimes it is a good thing to be able to listen to music without any preconceived ideas or baggage.
I’ve been obsessed with music for as far back as I can remember, and the excitement of hearing something that I love, or something that is new that I like, has not diminished. Writing a book about music had always been on my radar, but it was something that I wasn’t sure if or when I would attempt it.
Putting together Buried Treasure Vol 1 – Overlooked, Forgotten & Uncrowned Albums was a daunting task. I knew that I would be able to do it, but I wasn’t sure how long that it would take. When it came to Vol 2, I had a method that I was confident with. I knew that there would be a lot of hanging around waiting for people to get back to me, so I was writing and putting together different parts at the same time.
I wrote about half of the albums that are featured in the book, and I invited just over 50 guests to tell me about their Buried Treasure albums. Contributors ranged from Butch Vig (producer of Nirvana’s Nevermind), Candi Staton and Maria Doyle Kennedy to rising Dublin artist KEMP, Baz Ashmawy and Ghostpoet. Some of the albums that they selected were familiar to me, but many, like Avoid Freud by Rough Trade (selected by Peaches) was completely new to me.
It never sat well with me that one of my favourite albums never made it into the first book, so that is where this book begun. I contacted Fergus O’Farrell of Interference, and explained that I wanted to start work on another book, and that Interference’s 1995 self-titled album was where I wanted to begin. He was game, and he gave me a hilarious quote to go with what I wrote. This was just a few months before this wonderful man passed away.
There is a misconception about books; most authors don’t make very much money from their work. Both Buried Treasure books were labours of love. When it comes to music books, unless you’re planning to write a book about Justin Bieber or the X Factor, you’re writing for the niche. This is not a complaint; more an observation for the benefit of people who might be under the illusion that you become a millionaire just because your name appears on the cover of a book!
The day that I finished this book, I realised that I could probably do 50 more volumes, and I still wouldn’t have given all the under-exposed albums their due credit. What about albums by excellent Dublin acts like Future Kings Of Spain and The Brilliant Trees? And surely Cork band Cyclefly’s Generation Sap and What The World Knows by Laura Sheeran are worth a mention? You can see where this is going, it’s an unending list that is so tempting to dive right back into. Who knows, maybe after a mental reboot I might just do that!
Buried Treasure Vol 2 – Overlooked, Forgotten, & Uncrowned Albums by Dan Hegarty is published by Liberties Press
