Fans will soon have the chance to dig through the records that helped shape Television frontman Tom Verlaine’s inimitable and pioneering style.
Beginning June 26th, fans and collectors will be able to purchase records from the late musician’s personal vinyl archive through Discogs, with a selection of titles also set to be sold in person at Academy Records in Brooklyn.
The roughly 4,000-record collection offers a rare glimpse into the listening habits of one of New York’s most distinctive artists, tracing the sounds that informed Verlaine’s work with Television and his solo artistic inclinations. Spanning jazz, avant-garde, garage rock, psychedelic music, experimental recordings, and underground releases from around the world, the archive reveals an artist guided by genuine curiosity.
“What’s interesting to me about Verlaine’s collection is how much more of an X-ray it is than a mirror image,” Academy Records co-owner Cory Feierman said in a statement. “Tom seemed to approach his buying in more of a spirit of adventure and discovery than to knock down his own holy grails.”
This is not the first time Verlaine’s personal collections have drawn public fascination. After his death, the sale of his vast book library became a minor New York cultural event, attracting fans and collectors curious to see the shelves behind one of downtown rock’s most searching minds.
Highlights from the record collection include Verlaine’s personal copies of Television’s “Little Johnny Jewel” single and the band’s landmark debut Marquee Moon, alongside albums by the 13th Floor Elevators, Nico, Albert Ayler, the Sonics, Love, and Slint.
The first batch of records will be available on Discogs on June 26th, with additional titles offered in person at Academy Records’ Banker Street location in Brooklyn on July 10th and 11th before returning to Discogs on July 31st. Purchases made through the online marketplace will include certificates of authenticity.
The sale follows the announcement earlier this year that Verlaine’s archive had been acquired by the New York Public Library, ensuring that his personal archive will remain accessible in different forms.
“The records came to Academy because Tom trusted the shop,” Discogs’ Russ Ryan said. “A lifetime of his digging is in these 4,000 records, and our job is to keep them in circulation rather than let them vanish into a vault.”
Ryan added that the collection’s release reflects the communal nature of record collecting itself, allowing the music to continue “passing from one set of hands to the next.”
Academy founder Mike Davis, who knew Verlaine for more than 20 years, said the musician specifically wanted his records to end up with the store before his death.
“Before he passed, he specified that he wanted and trusted the records to go to Academy,” Davis recalled. “Then we got the call.”
