The Rebirth of (my) Vinyl

One of my clearest early memories, at age 6, is of sitting in the conversation pit (yes, really - it was the 70s, kids) in our living room, listening to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. And I listened to it over and over and over. I also loved Endless Summer, the Beach Boys double album compilation, at that time. Today I listened to the used copy I just bought last week, very grateful to the person named Marsha who sold it to 1-2-3-4 Go Records in Oakland, who sold it to me for $6, because hearing In My Room on vinyl this afternoon for the first time in 44 years was a very amazing and emotional experience. Sense memory is so powerful. I was back in that conversation pit with the clear and unjaded mind of a 6-year-old again. And loving music the way it is supposed to be heard - analog.

I was an only child until almost 8 years old, and was on my own for entertainment a lot. Thankfully, I had very young parents who listened to contemporary music and were happy to let me listen, too. I may have listened too much, because I remember frequently having earphones much too big for my head put on while I listened. I looked like I had half of a black cantaloupe on each ear. Until I was about 10, I just listened to the records my parents had or bought for me. Memorable ones include Revolver, Rumors, Peter and the Wolf, the Star Wars soundtrack, and the aforementioned disco and beachy music. I saw Annie the musical when I was 7 and wore that record out. Around 1980, I started buying my own records, mostly based on things I heard on the radio and saw on Solid Gold. I remember Private Eyes by Hall and Oates, Beauty and the Beat by The Go-Go’s, and Pyromania by Def Leppard the most. I first heard Men at Work and the English Beat on vinyl, and bought more Beatles records to explore. I’m really glad my parents let me listen to whatever I wanted, and that I earned an allowance!

Pretty soon I started to buy tapes more than records because I could take them to my room and play them on a boombox, or out and around on my Walkman. By the middle of high school, CDs started to become the preferred way to listen to music, with CRYSTAL CLEAR DIGITAL SOUND! NO POPS OR CRACKLES! IT’S BETTERRRRRRR!!

But when I was home and in the living room, it was always records. Because the stereo was dope, the speakers were loud, and it just sounded amazing. And I was home alone a lot. Sorry for the noise violations, former neighbors.

From the age of 17 until mmmmmm……2020, I moved around a real lot. Like to other states and back, and then to another state, and another, and then with everything in storage while constantly on the road, to being kind of settled, but never truly so. Therefore, I never started my own record collection apart from the many opera records I inherited from opera companies and my uncle Merv. And the only reason I was dragging those records around without a player was because they were 78s, and I had also inherited a Victrola that I had to find a way to a) fix, and b) safely get to me. Sadly, neither of those things ever happened. The Victrola is still with my cousin in the central valley, not working, and the Memphis Public Library now owns my extensive opera collection. So yeah, 33 years without a record player or a vinyl collection I could play. Boooooo. I am lucky that I had friends and family who let me listen to theirs!

Now that I think I’m living where I’ll probably die, if not very close to it, it was time to start my new vinyl journey. In January of this year, I bought a decent turntable, a great used receiver, and some more than sufficient speakers, and started anew. My boyfriend is a super record maniac, so I get to go record shopping as much as I want to without alienating my sig-o, and that’s awesome. I have just loosely counted, and I already have about 70 records. Oops! So that’s where my money has been disappearing! Don’t care. It is so magical to hear old favorites as well as things I’ve never heard on vinyl before, and look forward to the next exploration thru stacks or boxes, flipping for new treasure, and then getting to listen to all of it when I get home.

And holy shit, are there already records that I can’t stop listening to! I am still the same person as that 6-year-old, and I will wear stuff out! Joe Jackson, Big Star, Dead Kennedys, Public Enemy, Muse, George Jones, Tears for Fears, EODM, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Prince…..it all sounds SO GOOD. I have been on a quest to purchase all of the records that brought me joy in my youth, and only have a couple more on the list at this point. Getting to hear some of my favorite local bands and friends’ bands on vinyl is hella cool, too. And omg, the opera. One of the record stores that has been around my whole life, Rasputin Records, has a ginormous collection of used complete operas for $1.50 a piece! I am trying to control myself and not go there every week for more, because I don’t have endless time for listening. But maybe someday. Playing the lottery now just in case. But OH! My favorite recordings of Rigoletto, Figaro, Orfeo ed Euridice, Tosca, so many more….I have literally wept while listening, it’s so much like having the singers right in front of me again.

The only negative thing about my new (old) vinyl life is that apparently the kids are into it too, and the resurgence of popularity makes the prices…..well…..pretty dumb. But I’m happy to buy treasures in new condition, and search for quality used finds. Thankfully, I make a little more money than I did in 1980, too.

Hey! It’s Record Store Day on Saturday! Happy listening, loves. And thanks for reading.