“I remember sitting beside my mom’s console record player as a kid, ear on a speaker, while flipping through her vinyl collection.”
“These records had such awesome art and they were just standing in line with each other. They all should’ve been framed and hung on the wall to replace the flower printed wallpaper. Ooph. I was already into music at this point (thank you “Disco Duck”) so I understood the awesomeness that could be found in these records. I loved holding these square foot pictures in my hands and combing over every detail on the cover. I loved to put on Diamond Dogs. This cover blew my mind. But I think it made sense to me as I listened to “Future Legend.” Maybe?
Mom loved The Rolling Stones so these records were in frequent rotation. I got to hear her gush about how beautiful Mick Jagger was close to every day. Myself, I always liked the Talking Heads records she had. True Stories was my jam. And this was the record that was playing when I learned about revolutions per minute. That really spun me around. What’s wrong with the record player?! Did I break mom’s stereo furniture thing?! Ack!
But there was one album we had that I thought was really special. It was the soundtrack album by Michael Jackson to the movie E.T. I think it was kind of like an audiobook too? Inside was a poster of E.T. and Michael Jackson embraced in hug, giving a big smile and a look that seemed to say “be good.” I never hung the poster up on my wall because I liked being able to head into the living room to dig through the vinyl to find it.
The search was part of the fun. Which is partly why I love vinyl—being able to dig through a crate, to see and hold the art that the artist wants you to see and associate with their sound. I can still see all of the covers in my head. I can still anticipate the next cover in the same way you can anticipate the next song on an album you’ve heard a million times.
All of this makes music so much more vibrant. It really helps to bring music to life in a new way and it provokes my imagination in a way I have yet to find with more modern mediums. Interactive vibes are what I’m about. It’s my favorite. Let me feel the texture of the raised letters on the cover. Let me find all of the details. Let me hold it!”
—Dana Buoy
Dana Buoy’s will new album, Ice Glitter Gold arrives in stores on February 23 via Everloving.
