The music experience or what I learned from a spinning record

So I was at a friend’s house the other day grilling and he brought out his record player to provide some music. I don’t have a lot of friends that have a record player (me included), but I couldn’t stop staring at that big black disc go ’round and ’round. The party was raging and there I was, mesmerized. Since then I’ve been growing a fascination with “vinyl nation” and am on the verge of cannonballing myself into the pool of record lovers. Since then, when I go to record stores I check out the vinyl section and just stare at the covers. Examining the artwork with a jewelers precision and thinking, “this is damn cool.”

I don’t consider myself an audiophile so I’m not going to spew about how the sound quality of vinyl surpasses anything a CD could dream of. I’ll still buy CDs and occasionally download some songs from iTunes. However, the EXPERIENCE of listening to music on vinyl was different for me.

There was more of a connection to the music and I actually slowed down, listened to the music, and took it in more as an experience rather than background. The last two evenings I’ve been sitting and listening to CDs and staring at the artwork checking out every aspect. The spine, whether it’s a jewel case or digipak liner notes, photos, etc… After a while I’m surrounded by a pile of CD cases with music I’m not even listening to. Just contemplating the good and bad covers.

Yesterday, I wandered back into our inventory closets that have some of the albums we still have here at Red House and I did the same thing. Flipping them from front to back and again thinking of how cool it would be to just put one on. We do have a record player here, but no needle:( A problem that many folks seem to have. I think the advantage of buying/playing music whether it be on CD or vinyl is that it can more easily be something to do instead of something that’s going on as we do something else.

I guess I’m arguing to go to your local music store and buy some music. It’s just fun. Anyway, those are my Thursday musings from Red House Records. Hope ya’ll have a good weekend wherever you are.

Brandon-RHR