Carter Haskins, 21

Film & Screen Studies Major at Pace University

Hometown: Portland, OR

Lives in: East Village, Manhattan

Collector of: Films

What inspired you to become a collector?

• It was mostly my friend Jared from home who’s been my best friend [since] late high school. And he’s the reason I’m into movies. I didn’t care about movies until late 2019. Every time I’d go to his place we’d just watch movies. I had a bit of a phase where I was buying digital movies on Apple TV or whatever to add to my library ‘cause I liked owning them instead of renting them. But I don’t like owning digital things because it’s not real. Of course, there’s the versatility of it, like if you’re traveling and you have your computer you can log into your account on something and then access them. But also a lot of Blu-rays come with digital codes, so sometimes for cheaper than a digital version you’re getting both.

What film marked the start of your collection? What does it mean to you?

• The House That Jack Built (2018). Jared has a big poster of it in his room, and I saw it all the time. It’s a very good poster. I was very intrigued by it. So when I was getting into movies, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna watch this now,’ [but] he was very adamant about how I couldn’t watch it and how I had to watch every single movie that the director [Lars von Trier] had made previously to understand it. This was a very seminal moment for my movie-watching career. It was 2020, so I was [between] 17 and 18. I watched all those movies and I had worked so hard to get to this movie that I’d been waiting so long to watch, so I think I was like, ‘I’m gonna buy a Blu-ray of it when I finally get there.’ It was an exciting thing for me. 

What film that you own have you seen the most times?

• Unfortunately, Tenet (2020). I’ve seen it like 24 times or something.

If you lost your home in a fire, what’s the one item from this collection that you’re pulling out?

• Probably The Guest (2014). It’s a 4K collection and it has a giant book and some cards and a CD of the soundtrack and stuff. It was like $90. There’s stuff that I have that are great releases or whatever but I could just buy them again. This is sold out, I think. It was a limited edition so you’d have to pay some crazy resale [price] on eBay or something. 

Which of the films you own remind you of home?

• I guess Uncut Gems (2019) would be it, probably. Not so much the vibe, but [it came out] close to when I left [for New York]. I went to see it in theaters a billion times, right before COVID. It was the last time I was in Portland, running around doing whatever I wanted. Oh, there’s this movie, Old Joy (2006), that’s in Portland a lot. They go to a lot of forests that I recognize which is pretty cool.

Zoe Black, 23

Optometry Receptionist

Hometown: West Palm Beach, FL

Lives in: Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn

Collector of: Vinyl, CDs, Cassettes

What inspired you to become a collector?

• Physical media, I feel, isn’t appreciated enough living in our digital age. And it’s the purest form of music. And to be able to have that, to touch it with my hands and actually play it is very special. It’s very different from playing off your phone, off of a streaming service.

What record marked the start of your collection? What does it mean to you?

• The first piece was Kaytranada with 99.9% (2016) on vinyl. I’d literally seen it in Urban Outfitters. This was back when it kind of first came out like 2016, 2017. And that’s when I really started to really fuck with music and really grow a great appreciation for it. 

If you lost your home in a fire, what’s the one item from this collection that you’re pulling out?

• I’d honestly probably grab Slum Village, Fantastic, Vol. 2 (2000). I’ve gone through periods of time where I was just really discovering new artists and I guess getting deeper into music. But after high school, I was listening to a lot of J Dilla and that’s when I got into Slum Village. And that album in particular is one of my favorite albums ever. It’s so beautiful. I can go on about J Dilla and his production and his work in Slum Village, and not even just him but T3 and Baatin, too, also great MCs. Just great music, great lyrics and the production is crazy. Honestly, I love hip-hop. 

Which record in your collection is the best conversation starter?

• The Jeff Lorber Fusion, Water Sign (1979). It’s more so like a jazzy record from back in like the ‘70s [by this] trio of really cool dudes. A lot of producers sampled from this album in particular. Ariana Grande, Big Sean, Lil Kim, Biggie all kinda took from this album. It definitely is very special.

Which record in your collection reminds you the most of home?

• That’s probably Amy Winehouse, Frank (2003). That’s a really great album. Overall, just very giving divine feminine energy. It reminds me of a period of time where I was working and just like finding myself. I was like 16, 17 at the time, and I was just listening to a lot of her. It just reminds me of a period of growth and my hometown. I used to work at a juice bar. It definitely is part of the reason why I’m here right now as a person.

Sam Hadelman, 26

Music PR Agent

Hometown: New Haven, Connecticut 

Lives in: Brooklyn

Collector of: Vinyl, CDs, Cassettes, Baseball cards

What inspired you to become a collector?

• It kind of started because my mom collected a lot of old Beatles records. And when I was growing up, my first real introduction to music I still like today was [by] the Beatles. And so my mom had A Hard Day’s Night (1964) and [John Lennon’s] Hound Dog (1974), the Elvis cover. A lot of the first music I got was on physical media. I have a crazy collection of baseball cards and sports memorabilia, and that kind of came from my dad. My dad is obsessed with Ted Williams, the baseball player from the ‘50s. I’m named after him, my middle name is Theodore.

What record marked the start of your collection? What does it mean to you? 

• The records I bought were Is This It (2001) by The Strokes, [Kanye West’s] My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). I was at band camp. I was really into Pavement—I must’ve been like 15—and this kid had a Slanted and Enchanted (1992) vinyl at the camp. We couldn’t leave after a certain hour, and he was fiending for a soda. I had soda in my room, and he was like, “Bro, if you trade me a can of soda and ten bucks, I will give you this vinyl.” And the last record [I got that week] was Vampire Weekend’s self-titled (2008).

What’s the most you’ve ever spent on a piece of media?

• I think the more interesting question is what is the most expensive thing I own now? I’d say it’s the [Frank Ocean] Endless (2016) vinyl. I have the Endless VCR, I have the Endless DVD, I have the Blonde (2016) magazine, I have the Blonde Black Friday vinyl. Wait, let me really think about it, the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought? It is Nipsey Hussle’s Crenshaw (2013) vinyl. I have that, I have the original press, and I probably spent about 300 bucks on it. This was after he passed.

If you lost your home in a fire, what’s the one item from this collection that you’re pulling out?

• Let’s say, like, I’m wheelchair-bound after. And I have no access to the internet, so I can’t buy the vinyl again. I have [Young Thug’s] Barter 6 (2015) record, one of 1,000 made, blood red. I just think that’s such a rare moment where I have something where physical media might not be as prevalent. In the 2015 Atlanta trap scene, I don’t think Birdman was rubbing his hands like “How much vinyl are we gonna press, playboy?” So just because of how weird it is and [the fact that it’s] one of my favorite albums ever, my Barter 6 vinyl. 

Which item in your collection reminds you the most of home?

It’s my Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life (1976) original press ‘cause it’s my mom’s. And if I’m in the car, she’ll only let me play Stevie Wonder. That’s all I’m really supposed to be playing if I’m in the whip with my mom. It’s a really old, beat-up Songs in the Key of Life.