“Vinyl is a special thing. It’s so interesting how people have such a connection to it. You never hear people saying, “Oh, CDs, I love CDs,” but people gush about vinyl all the time. For me, vinyl is a memory, a ritual, a sound.
A memory. My first vinyl memory is of my parents’ Christmas records. I fondly recall the warmth of the sun shining through the window of the living room, making us feel cozy despite the impossibly cold, Winnipeg weather. A fire would be burning while we put up the Christmas tree as a family. Of course I loved decorating the tree, but I was always equally excited to be able to start playing the Christmas records that I looked forward to hearing all year. I particularly loved an old German one that was extremely scratchy, but a Bing Crosby one was also a favorite! The music enveloped us as we prepared for the season.
Jenn Mierau – Hush
A ritual. If I close my eyes, I can feel myself, as if in slow motion, partaking in the ritual that is playing a record. Sliding the platter out of its sleeve, being careful to only touch its edges with the palms of my hands. Making a tiny movement with my fingers to flip it over. Hovering over the record player, lining up the hole on the LP with the metal peg on the turntable. Carefully lowering the record into place. Pressing the button to watch the spinning begin. Seeing the words on the label start to blur. Gingerly picking up the stylus between two fingers… pinky raised as if holding a teacup. Then that ever-so-brief moment of anxiety when dropping the needle into a groove – not wanting to scratch the precious record, hoping I’ve found the right spot. And finally, the reward of music beginning to play.
A sound. The sound of vinyl is, as the clichés assert, both warm and rich. There’s nothing like hearing a beat and bass line playing off of vinyl, or a classical cello solo! But I recently realized what, I think, my favorite sound associated with vinyl is. I was having dinner with a friend I hadn’t seen in years, a friend with a vast record collection. We listened to great music throughout the evening. At one point, so caught up in catching up, we hadn’t noticed that the record had ended. But slowly, slipping its way into our consciousness, was a sound that had been softly soothing us for the past twenty minutes. We sat for a moment, smiling and listening to the rhythmic static and crackle of the record still spinning after the music had stopped. The perfect end to a perfect night.”
—Jenn Mierau
Jenn Mierau’s brand new release, hush hit stores last week and is available to order right here.
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