There's a reason vinyl albums went out of style. They are not portable, they get scratched easily, and they are big. On the flip side of this argument they sound warm, their cracks and pops remind me of something tangible made via a group of people getting together and sharing ideas that become some kind of infectious musical poetry....at best, at worst you have a big square albums cover you can hang on your wall that looks really cool.
Ipods and the like are portable gold, taking your music collection everywhere and anywhere you need to go...but that’s the head scratcher. In a world so busy, desperately on the move, one can long for the thing that grounds them...the vehicle that can transport a listener to another time and place in your mind, in your heart or in a lifetime that lends itself best to sitting down, and just opening your ears to a sound that roots you to a moment. lately, I feel I am in need of this vinyl snapshot that helps me to walk down a road traveled very infrequently in 2010.
So after I write this piece, I’m going drive to Shake, Rattle, and Read on Lawrence and Broadway (Northside of Chicago) and check out the dollar album bin. By the way, they sell records at Target...just in case you get the vinyl itch.
--Cally, your humble proprietor
