Hi all!
It was a Christmas morning that I said, “I would like a record player”. Of course, even I thought I was ludicrous for saying something like that. Is there any need for things like records nowadays. with the likes of spotify and other digital services? I didn’t think there was, but at the same time, I wanted to experience and see if there was any difference in my understanding of music.
Fast forward 2 years later, and now I have a desire again to try records(and cassettes) as well. Lots of people think it’s a fad. I don’t think it’s a fad to want to own a physical object that you could potentially pass onto the next generation, without worrying about things like DRM, or whether the hard drives you put things on survive. Anyways, I bought a turntable, a Audio-Technica LP60X, because it was recommended for beginners. Then I bought a record, Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories. The day I got the player I was so worried that I’d made a dumb decision and had plunged nearly $100 on a pointless, but extravagant, thing. A day later I got the record. I had watched many videos and done lots of research about records and turntables, and now was the moment of truth. I put the record in and the sound was amazing! It sounded so crisp and alive, like I was finally discovering music that had been away from me all these years. I eagerly listened to the rest, and was just amazed at it as I was the first part.
I’ll save the cassettes for another story, but I just wanted to let y’all know that, the biggest takeaway from all this that I learned is not to doubt myself when it comes to discovering “new” things, learning that (some) modern technology has it’s pitfalls, and that ownership of your media is really important. These things shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Finally. I wanted to say that I’ve ordered a record off Bandcamp. I don’t know how well Bandcamp generally treats the records it ships, but I hope it treats them well. I guess it depends on the label. I’m getting a record from an anti-fascist metal band called Smoulder, it’s called “Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring.” Look it up sometime!
As always, have a good one everyone!
