For some time I have considered purchasing a turntable every time I see old vinyl records at a flea market, yard sale, or in record stores that resell vintage goods. I actually did a little research and found that a decent turntable can be had for a modest amount of scratch, but I continued to hesitate in the vein that we have been working for several years to simplify our life and I was unsure if I wanted to own another "thing". I was finally pushed over the edge in the last few weeks.
Tim, one of the other managers in our company, recalled that I had mentioned an interest in vinyl records. He scooped up a healthy stack of LPs at his community yard sale thinking it was stuff that I may enjoy. I'll tell you that he found some very good records. It is a nice mix of funk, r&b, and classic rock with a little folk stuff thrown in. Although some of the records have a bit of some cover wear, the actual records were well kept by the owner and are in pristine condition.
Thanks to our fine friends on the internet I was able to place an order and my turntable arrived just in time for this past weekend. Now, it just so happens that Denine was away over the weekend and I had a punch list of stuff I wanted to do around the house. How good can it be to spin a few disks loudly while you work around the house? It only took a few minutes to get setup and spinning disks.
Now, I am not sure, but I think it must be a guy thing. There is something about dropping a needle in the groove and hearing a little crackle & pop as analog music fills a room. And for some reason, it all sounds a little richer and deeper.
Most of you who know me are aware that I am a bit of a music junkie with a wide range of tastes. Many days I load up a digital play list that will run for hours of whatever I feel like hearing. I typically listen to stuff that has a common thread, but ...but, there is something special about the 22.5 to 25 minutes per side on an standard 33 rpm vinyl record. Do you ever remember just putting on a side and laying flat on your back to soak up those minutes just listening to the music?
The musicians and producers understood what it meant to fill up one side of a record. They could elect to use a bunch of cuts that radio ready at a few minutes per song much as we have these days, but they could dare to fill up half to almost all or even all of a side with a single extended song. I remember talking about those long cuts when I was a school kid.
We may all have bought the 45s that featured the latest radio hit, but we respected album rock and "the long cut". We debated if the artist was being indulgent or fully exploring the tune. Those discussions about actual music seemed way more interesting that the patter on MTV or other cable outlets about someone's reality life.
So, I'm a guy. I've missed you record player. I've missed you LP. Welcome back. I'll try not to mess up our friendship this time. As Reverend Al Green said, "Let's Stay Together".
PS: As I wrote this, a then unknown George Thorogood and The Destroyers put out their debut album and tore it up. Yes, tore it up.
