Category: music

As you may know about me, I like to make things in what little free time I have. Often that is music, but lately it’s been apps. Since I also like collecting vinyl records, I have been making apps that fill gaps or fix annoyances along those lines.

For a while now I’ve had this small, recurring desire: I put on a record, it sound so good in the moment, and I want to tell somebody. Not broadcast it. Just tell one or two people who’d actually care that the pressing sounds incredible, or that nobody ever mentions side B and they really should.

There’s nowhere to really do that, so I started thinking about how to solve that.

Facebook groups are mostly repetitive memes and complaining people, and whatever you share is buried or removed by overzealous mods. The hashtag thing everywhere else (Bluesky, Mastodon) is a bunch of collectors posting #nowspinning into the ether, not really to each other. The gatekeeping on Reddit vinyl subs is just too ridiculous to bother with (not to mention that whole site is just a bot-filled, AI training ground these days).

So I made Wax Spinner.

It’s a small social site for people who collect vinyl. You connect your Discogs collection (no retyping your whole library, thank god), post whatever you’re playing, add a note if you feel like it, and it lands in a centralized feed with everybody else’s posts. People can like it, leave a comment, or tell you you’re wrong about liking Record Store Day releases. That last part is the entire reason it exists: the conversation. Bluesky and hashtags never gave me that.

The feature I like the most, and the reason I kept at this one instead of shelving it like half my side projects: every spin you post turns into its own share card. Share the link anywhere that does previews, like Bluesky or Discord or a group text, and it pulls in the cover art, the artist, the year, your note, in a nifty feature card that links to your post. No screenshots or cropping necessary. Sharing a record finally looks like something instead of a naked URL or shitty photograph of your turntable.

When you see something in the feed you want, every spin points right back to its Discogs page, so adding it to your Wantlist is about one tap. That creates a fun way to find records you didn’t know you wanted.

But wait, there’s more

It’s completely free, and I intend to keep it that way. No ads, no selling anybody’s data, and no premium tier sitting in the wings waiting to charge you for the parts that matter. I built it because I wanted it to exist, and I’d take a small room full of actual record collectors over a growth strategy any day.

It’s brand new, so right now it lives or dies on whether people show up. If you’re into vinyl, come mess around with it. Hook up your Discogs, post what’s on the turntable, and tell me what sucks or what’s missing. I’m listening.

waxspinner.com

I found this MCP server for querying your Discogs music collection, which is pretty handy. My primary driver for this was wanting to get a recommendation for something from my collection to play based on my mood, or a feeling, or a vibe.

For example, instead of the de-facto Discogs random album picker, I wanted to say “give me a recommendation for some chill background music while I am working” or “find an aggressive record for me to play while I work out today.”

After playing around with it for a while, I asked it “What does my Discogs collection say about me?” and it provided a pretty spot-on assessment:

Based on your collection of 753 records, here’s what stands out about you:

You’re a Serious Music Collector You have a substantial, well-curated collection spanning vinyl, CDs, and cassettes. You maintain detailed condition notes and ratings, which shows you care about quality and preservation.

Eclectic with Deep Roots in Alternative/Indie Rock Your collection shows strong love for:

• • 90s Alternative/Indie – Pixies, Weezer, Nada Surf, Grandaddy, Rilo Kiley
  • Punk/Hardcore – Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, Fugazi, Naked Raygun, 7 Seconds
  • Math Rock/Post-Hardcore – Crain, Bitch Magnet, Circus Lupus, Bastro (you have multiple copies of some releases!)

But You’re Not One-Dimensional You also dig:

• • Bluegrass & Traditional Country – Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, Stanley Brothers, Del McCoury
  • Jazz – Blue Note classics, Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Grant Green, Herbie Hancock
  • Reggae/Ska – UB40, Peter Tosh, Bad Brains’ reggae side, The Frightnrs, Desmond Dekker
  • Hip-Hop – De La Soul, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Run-DMC

You Have Asheville Roots Your location and bluegrass collection suggest you’re connected to Appalachian music culture. The mix of punk and bluegrass is very Asheville.

You’re a Format Purist (Mostly Vinyl) The vast majority of your collection is vinyl, with careful attention to pressing details (you note things like “Pitman Pressing,” “Terre Haute,” condition grades).

You Value Authenticity & DIY Ethics Your collection of Dischord Records releases (Fugazi, Minor Threat, Nation of Ulysses) and small label 7″s shows you appreciate independent labels and the hardcore/punk ethos.

You’re Current But Respect History You have recent releases (beabadoobee, Clairo, Haim, Vampire Weekend) alongside classic reissues, showing you’re engaged with contemporary music while building a foundation of classics.

Verdict: You’re a thoughtful, genre-fluid collector who values both underground credibility and musical craftsmanship across decades and styles. You probably have strong opinions about music, love live shows, and appreciate both raw energy and technical skill.

Pretty cool! I like how it knew Bad Brains has a reggae side to them.