Music to Not-Collect By

Everywhere look I see unsung pioneers in the Non-Stamp Collecting movement; anonymous people, up to fifty per cent of whom are entirely unheard of, toiling away in lonely isolation, working diligently on refining their anti-hobbyist agendas, avoiding Stamps, avoiding stuff, living the 'only one of anything' philosophy, documented in the NSC Bible.

"ONLY ONE OF ANYTHING! (sometimes nothing of something)" - The NSC Bible, The One Commandments.

My current favourite NSC hero is the Japanese musician Merzbow. For those unfamiliar with his compositions, his album, Pulse Demon, is a good representation of his substantial and impressive body of work, spanning about 30 years.

In Pulse Demon, Merzbow pushes his musical genius to its obvious conclusion with the brilliant track, Woodpecker No.' 1

By discarding all superfluous notes and extraneous melody, he distils the very essence of music by drilling it down to its purest zen state.

This, I believe, is what all music sounds like when stripped of presence, needless baggage, and lyrics. Woodpecker No.1 is a striking audible metaphor for the art of non-collecting. It is a musical representation of all the essential detritus and unimportant paraphernalia we've deemed worthy of our lack of attention.

If anyone ever dares ask why you don't collect stamps (or whatever else it is you don't have stored away in boxes in the attic), grab them in a loving embrace, look them deeply in the eyes, smile gently and play them this haunting 6:42 Merzbow track. And don't let go until the track is finished!

P.S Kudos to Non-Stamp Collecting members who give this compostition their full and undivided attention.