“People have asked me why I’ve bothered to print up a big gatefold album version of our new record, despite the fact that most people are getting their music online these days, and it’s pretty simple. Back when I was a kid, I used to spend hours listening to my favorite bands on vinyl—the Beatles, the Who, the Stones, Led Zep, Pink Floyd, and I always loved becoming totally absorbed in the album artwork and cool packaging stuff, even the record sleeves—the more stuff to look at and study while the wax was spinning, the better.”
“Whether it was the full color books of Magical Mystery Tour, the posters of Dark Side of the Moon, or the watercolors printed onto the inner sleeve of In Through The Out Door (which would only appear when painted with a wet brush), or the 40-page book of beautifully staged, plot-specific photography—as well as a cool first-person narrative story—that accompanied the double-album Quadrophenia, album packaging, as much as great album sonics, was part of the thrill, part of the story, and part of the active experience of listening to your musical heros on a shiny black record.
Look, the convenience of MP3 has its benefits—I do love having an entire record collection in my pocket—but there is no physical product exchanged: nothing to collect, display, study, and cherish. So, if someone goes through the trouble of purchasing a tangible item, that they can hold in their hand, I believe The Cringe owes it to them to give them their money’s worth, and try to offer them a similar listening experience I had when I sat down in my living room, opened the gatefold, and dropped the needle.
Fortunately, vinyl shops are still flourishing, and many of my favorites are right here in New York. House of Oldies is surely one of the best: it’s been around for something like 40 years, and proudly displays in its window that it has no CDs and no tapes. Only vinyl. It’s also deceptively large. While the main store itself is small (and jam packed with vintage vinyl featuring plenty of classic rock and first pressings in mint condition) there is apparently a massive basement which houses something in the neighborhood of 700,000 records. It could be the largest selection in NYC.
Second Hand Rose is another personal favorite. It’s family run, has a very knowledgeable staff, and if they don’t have it there and then, they will find it for you. It’s frequented by vintage record seeking rock and roll royalty such as Elvis Costello and Iggy Pop.
Now, if I had to pick just one piece of vinyl out of my own collection that’s especially important to me, I would have to say it’s what could be considered the Holy Grail of classic rock vinyl: a mint condition, first pressing of The Velvet Underground and Nico complete with gatefold, out-of-print back cover art (which was eliminated after an intellectual property lawsuit) and—I can’t believe I actually found one—an unpeeled banana cover!
If my house was on fire and I had to grab just one LP, that would surely be the one I would grab. Hmm, there’s actually one other one, but if I told you what it was, you might experience particularly severe vinyl envy, so let’s not go there . . . !”
—John Cusimano
The Cringe’s brand new release, Hiding in Plan Sight lands on store shelves today, 10/9!
