April 2025

Our Shared Hobbies And Interests
Theme a meal around music... or vice versa?
Editorial By Alan Sircom

  There are some remarkably consistent commonalities with audio enthusiasts worldwide. Although some common hobbies and interests are unique to a few countries (UK audiophiles are often really into fishing, for example, and the same doesn't hold quite so well universally), many are almost universally common.

A lot of this is due to the intersection of 'geeks', 'men' and 'Boomers!' Hobbies and interests that tick all three of those boxes tend to have enthusiasts who share the same passions. And, while some are consistent with 'male jewellery' (if you wear a nice new watch to an audio show, many people will be able to tell you the history of that watch brand, and have an opinion about its best and worst designs), others are simply shared interests. It doesn't matter if you have a Leica, a Fuji, a Nikon or Canon in that camera bag... there will be people genuinely interested in its performance. The halls of Munich before the show opens often resonates with the sound of cleats as dozens compare cycling notes, and the Motorworld opposite the MOC will be sorely missed when the Munich High-End moves to Vienna in 2026.

Far from using these common passions to gain brownie points in the audio world, we should be using them as potential pools of interest. Anyone in who has spent time in the audio world knows people who are genuinely passionate about their pens, cameras, watches, cars, motorcycles, food, wine, whisky and so on. Often such people have common passions... and yet audio leaves them cold. Or, they have the same passion, but it's directed toward one or two well-known names on the periphery of good sound.

Booze And Vinyl Volume One

Part of the reason for this discussion is a book I bought recently: Booze and Vinyl (Volume One... it's a series apparently). The authors of this small, 2018 coffee-table book – André and Tenaya Darlington – have been making the links between their passion for cocktails with their passion for music and movies for some time.

The idea being mixing up a Boilermaker is the perfect pairing for the A-side of Springsteen's Born To Run, with a New Jersey Cocktail (a new one to me, but it's like an Old Fashioned, replacing the bourbon with with applejack) bringing up the B-side.

OK after a few albums, I'd be so 'refreshed' that I'd be trashing cartridges at an alarming rate. But the idea of blending two passions is great. Try looking at Robert Frank's photographs without thinking of The Birth of the Cool, and it makes me wonder whether you could theme a meal around music or vice versa. OK, if the music was Black Sabbath, it would have to be pork scratchings and a lamb Balti to go with the band's Birmingham connection. However, other bands – and curries – are available.

Alan Sircom, Editor hi-fi+

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