Q&A Remix With Brock Jerue

The Q&A Remix is a frequent column on IHTOV in which people from all walks of life answer a set of pre-written questions about their vinyl collection. Today we welcome Brock Jerue

Have you ever bought a record just for the artwork?

Absolutely - notably, REO Speedwagon’s You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can’t Tuna Fish. I bought this at an antique shop called Blue Shark Antiques & Collectibles in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It was the first record I ever actually spun on a turntable. Of course, I placed the needle wrong, which meant the first sounds out of my speakers were, “felt the tables turnin’!”

What is your most memorable vinyl buying experience?

At that same antique shop, I bought a copy of 1979’s The Best Of ZZ Top, which might still be my best sounding record. When I pulled the record out, a torn magazine page of period correct pornography fell out with it. Just some lady’s bush, in glossy print. I promptly discarded that.

What’s the first area you head for in a record store?

I always head for new albums, especially rock/alternative. I don’t know why, but digging through used crates has never exactly appealed to me. I’m also paranoid about getting gunk on my record player’s needle, so I really prefer to just get them new.

What’s the most treasured album in your collection and why?

I don’t know! I will say maybe my favorite record to spin when people are over is Cañon by Camp Howard - I bought it because I awkwardly told the band at their merch table a story, then felt obligated to buy something. (Also, they’re great, so I wanted to support!) It’s easy listening and can fade into the background, but when you really pay attention to it there’s a lot of good stuff going on. It’s perfect for company.

What one record in your collection would you be most eager to share with new friends?

Everyone Else by Slothrust. I own 3 copies in 3 different colors of this album, and it is perfect from front to back. It’s also the album that was coming out when I first heard their music, so it holds a special place in my heart.

Are you a completionist when it comes to artists? Which artist do you have the most records from?

I am not much of a completionist. Have all of Julien Baker’s records, and before the newest album came out I also had Queens of the Stone Age’s entire discography, but I find that I don’t usually listen to a band’s full catalog. I generally latch on to a few albums and listen to those on repeat. That said, I have 12 Slothrust records, and they’ve only put out 6 albums and an EP. I’m still waiting to pull the trigger on the Neapolitan and yellow variants of Parallel Timeline to continue the collection, but I did get the “mystery pre-order” glow in the dark variant of it, so I won’t complain too much.

What is/are your white whale records?

Mint Jams by Casiopea. I’ve gotten into Japanese jazz recently (a result of my recent obsession with anime in combination with growing up listening to the Gran Turismo games’ menu music), and this is one of the defining records of the genre.

What is your greatest “score;” could be on value or just rarity or something you were looking for the longest?

Probably finding Thundercat’s Drunk in person, at Recycled Books in Denton, Texas. I had been wanting it for a while, and my favorite record store had Drank, the chopped and screwed version of the album, but not the actual box set. It’s everything you would hope a Thundercat box set would be. Second on that list is probably a special edition of Because the Internet by Childish Gambino that includes a screenplay he wrote to go along with the album itself. It’s a journey.

Do you have a favorite live record?

Live From the Troubadour by The Backseat Lovers, or Live at the Observatory by The Frights. They’re both incredible front to back, the Lovers’ album because of the musicianship on display, and the Frights’ album because the energy they play with translates so clearly through the live record.

Who/what got you hooked on records?

I’d say my collecting hobby started at a Target in 2013, when I bought A Tidal Wave of Mystery by Capital Cities and …Like Clockwork by Queens of the Stone Age, both on CD. I started a small collection for my car that was a bit of a storybook for what I was listening to through the years. In 2016 or so I bought my first records (a Russian print of Led Zeppelin I, along with U2’s War), got a record player, and the collection started growing from there. It became my way of highlighting and supporting artists that were important to me through various times of life, or to commemorate some of the numerous live shows I’ve been lucky enough to go to. I’ve got a little over 100 records at this point, with many of them being purchased from the bands directly at music venues.

What are your first memories of listening to records?

We didn’t grow up with a record player, so I was the one who made the foray into vinyl in my family. I went to Guitar Center with my dad to go get a turntable (lol), plugging it directly into an electric piano amplifier. Thankfully, my equipment has improved since then.

What’s your favorite record to listen to on headphones?

To be honest, I’ve never listened to any of my records using headphones! I was lucky enough to pick up a 1983 Fisher Audio speaker system at a garage sale, and I’ve been blasting records loud and proud through that thing for the last 5 or 6 years. I love albums with a lot of sonic depth like Zaba by Glass Animals, but for some reason there’s nothing like those guitars roaring through the speakers on that ZZ Top compilation I have.

What genre is most represented in your collection?

Definitely indie rock. Both Boygenius records, The Backseat Lovers, Vampire Weekend, Glass Animals, Death Cab for Cutie, Father John Misty… I’m also a sucker for Midwest Emo and modern punk, but that hasn’t shown up so much in my collection yet.

Tell us a little about your favorite record store

R.I.P. to Mad World Records in Denton. Just a little shop stuffed full of records, almost all of them still in the plastic wrap. They had a great collection of all the stuff I was listening to at the time, like Julien Baker, St. Vincent, Foo Fighters… Not the biggest collection in the world and not exactly the place to go for used vinyl, but it was exactly what I was looking for. I would get paid every Friday right out of college, and I worked Sunday-Thursday, so I’d go have lunch with my mom at her work on Fridays and go buy myself a record at Mad World to kick off my weekend. I miss that place dearly.

What’s the weirdest record you own?

Probably Blossomlooksdownuponus by Wombo, a little band out of Kentucky that opened for Naked Giants when I saw them. The record itself and art isn’t particularly crazy (that award would go to Drunk), but the music is unlike what most people are trying these days. Lots of weird time signatures and polyrhythms to go around. Definitely worth a listen.

Brock Jerue is an IT guy, a car guy, and most importantly a music guy based in Dallas, TX. Raised mostly on Christian pop/rock in the 90’s/00’s, he is now Slothrust’s self-proclaimed biggest fan and has thankfully gotten out of his Newsboys phase. When his wife is out of the house, he likes to blast Jeff Rosenstock records at a volume that is just quiet enough not to disturb the neighbors.

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