“When it comes to vinyl, I was a late bloomer.
My parents were aficionados of the cassette tape, so it was plastic hand-me-downs (not wax) for me until I was well into high school and college.
The first record I bought was Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush. I dug into the case on a quest for the lyrics to the rackety classic “Southern Man” and out fell this beautiful hand-written lyrics slip that was fifteen years older than me. It smelled wonderful. Next was The Best of Nina Simone. With that thousand mile stare, her face should grace dictionaries under the word “melancholy.”
Scattered Trees – Four Days Straight
An ex-girlfriend bought me Joanna Newsom’s YS. I’ve never really left the little dorm room in New Jersey where I first heard it. “Only Skin” was the perfect medicine for a rough falling-out. You can’t help but pull the needle back on a Joanna Newsom record—again and again. A last favorite record was a gift from a violinist friend—Mahler’s 5th Symphony. Check your vitals after the fourth movement. It’s everything.”
—Jason Harper, keys and guitar for Scattered Trees
Scattered Trees will be playing at Red Palace in Washington, DC on August 14th.
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