Why vinyl?
Art by Alltelleringet
Why use such and outdated old format. Why go out of your way to collect it? Friends have asked me all these questions over the years. Several times in my life I have even sold my entire collection off and went to Spotify only and eventually Apple Music. But something about vinyl keeps pulling me back. It’s clear that listening to music is an emotional experience and it does seem to be enhanced by having a physical object. I love seeing the big cover art and holding this object in my hand. Maybe it’s because I have such fond memories of listening to records as a kid and discovering music for the first time this way. That love turned in to a massive cassette collection. I would ride my bike around town for hours a day listening to the same tape over and over. Then eventually I would be asked to play bass and that one decision changed my entire life. Even in my current projects like The Drunk Pedestrians and The Davenport brothers, the love of music is the driving force.
There is also something weirdly beautiful about knowing that every time you play a record you are slowly destroying it. Wearing it down bit by bit ever so slowly. Ruining the art you love. As an avid hip hop fan and sampler, vinyl is the perfect medium. It pays honor to the past while letting you connect with the voices of the present. Maybe I love going to the record store and hunting for my next favorite album while finding new records along the way. There is something more organic and visceral then any music finding algorithm in an app ever could be. You can’t listen to it in your car, you have to wait until you get home. Then you have to open it up carefully before you can get started. The whole experience is so intentional, you are going out of your way to connect with the music. To listen to the whole thing you have to stop what you are doing and physically turn it over.
We could talk about how vinyl just sounds better. Most modern music is compressed to the absolute max and can be fatiguing to listen to for long periods of time. This is one of the reasons I had the next Drunk Pedestrians album “F#” mastered with lots of headroom. So it can breath, because that’s what I like to listen to. Just put on Tom Pettys “Damn the Torpedoes” on vinyl and tell me that doesn’t sound like magic.
I also love hearing an artists complete musical statement or idea. I want to listen to the whole record front to back. It’s a complete thought and I love it. No one did this better then Pink Floyd. Each record is an journey that is worth taking multiple times. That’s the music and records I want to make. Music for people that want to go on a complete journey with me. That what to listen to the whole thing. It’s not for everyone and I understand that. But it is so much fun. So let’s sit back, grab a coffee and listen to a record on a quiet Saturday morning. Can you think of anything better?