Sunday, April 21, 2013

Reason

Here is your spot to post your favorite "What makes a record so special?" story.  If you really go there, maybe we'll interview you for a future blog post.  Wouldn't that be something!?!

3 comments:

  1. First off, big congrats Sara and Eric on getting married! Secondly, great pic, I used to love Ren and Stimpy and actually had a post card with this image hanging in my dorm room years ago.

    As for the post topic, my answer might not be too interesting but I felt compelled to chime in.

    Unlike you guys, I don't collect vinyl as much as you guys do, I still buy records from time to time. My love of acquiring music in all media began probably when I was about ten, when my mom got me my first 45 for being a good boy in church (Mr. Roboto by Styx). This became an ongoing thing, even winning out over quarters to the arcade. I remember how the image on that Styx sleeve stirred my imagination (stills from the video). Sadly, the rest of the actual full length had nothing to do with robots, hugely disappointing for a ten year old boy. Anyhow, from then on, I always made a big connection with sleeve art and the music, and would love putting that needle on the record and looking at the artwork over and over again.

    For a while, I didn't touch records, and in high school saved up lunch money to buy tapes, later graduating to CDs (a CD playing boom box as my actual graduation gift!). It wasn't until I graduated from college that I started going to record stores all over Pittsburgh, spending a lot of time (and money) at Randy's Records, Paul's and Dave's Music Mine, to name a few. Thanks to artists like DJ Shadow and Paul Miller (DJ Spooky), I had pipe dreams of becoming a DJ. The idea of taking samples from all kinds of different audio source material was intriguing, and I bought everything from old railroad field recordings to exotic bird calls. It was an education of sorts, and the album covers were equally interesting. Soon after I amassed quite a collection, I got hired to teach art in Virginia. Dreams of DJing faded into the ether as professional life kicked in full steam, and sadly, I had to sell a good deal of my collection. I still do have some records, the last one I purchased being "Good Evening" from Nite Jewel, though I mostly buy CDs. I feel bad for kids today, who are growing up on MP3s. I feel, despite the convenience factor, the whole music experience for the younger generations has been cheapened and greatly watered down. As an artist, I'm a very visual guy, so just seeing an image on a screen won't cut it for me. When I buy a record or CD, I feel like I'm holding a piece of art in my hands, or an artifact even. Despite mp3s, it's cool seeing kids getting back into vinyl and CDs (and even tapes!) again.

    Anyhow, that's my explanation. Sorry it was so long-winded, but it was a great topic and I actually had some time on my hands this evening. Thanks for the opportunity to share!

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    Replies
    1. Your post is approved, and you are awesome! Thanks for the comment. Hopefully we'll see you at DC Zinefest this summer.

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