It took me a long time to get into the ‘buying Kpop albums’ game. I’ve talked about that plenty in the past, but long story short, they aren’t cheap and I don’t exactly work in the type of field that pays tons of moolah. But in the last few years, my family and I have made some good financial decisions, we’ve seen some decent investment in us by our employers, and we haven’t spent much this past year because of the pandemic. This all means that money isn’t the limiting factor in my album purchasing anymore, shelf space is.
I try very hard to only purchase the albums for the groups or artists that I am completely in love with, the groups that I really think I’m going to obsess over for the long hall. There are a shocking number of acts that fit this definition, but it’s not so bad – they tend to space their comebacks out so I’m not overwhelming the old credit card in any particular month. This all being said, there are groups that I’ve built up rather a complete collection for over the years because at varying times I’ve been so enraptured by them, even when I was counting every cent, that I figured out a way to support them for each and every comeback.
But sometimes I wonder, especially as new groups come along that catch my attention and pry open my wallet, at what point do I stop buying a particular group’s albums? When am I placing the pre-order out of habit and not because I’m still in love? I’ve recently made the decision not to further collect one specific group, not because I don’t adore their music, but because they just aren’t doing it for me in the way I thought they would. I’m re-homing the albums I already have with someone that is giddy over them right now and focusing my attention elsewhere. But that’s a newer group and not one that I’ve invested in quite the same way as I have with some other, older groups. When I let my eyes run over a particular shelf, I start to think, maybe it’s time to move on, focus elsewhere, make some space. And then I see a video like Seventeen’s Fear and my heart thuds, and I place the order. Further proof that my relationships with Kpop groups are insanely similar to my relationships with real people in my life – if you’ve been around a long time, if I’ve invested in you, I’m probs in it forever. You can try new things, we can feel a bit distant for a while, but if given the slightest opportunity, I’ll be there to support you.
Fear, Seventeen
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