“I was raised by hippy parents who had a very healthy relationship with music—but a very poor one with technology.
In fact, I’m almost certain we didn’t have even a cassette deck until CD players were out. Vinyl was a constant. I have vivid memories of the artwork—stuff like Zappa, The Beatles, Neil Young—and the must-have in any hippy collection, The Woodstock Soundtrack.
However, at a young age, a lot of the album covers scared me. The one that struck me most was Rumors by Fleetwood Mac. Straight up, Mick Fleetwood creeped me out on that LP. Luckily, I had no idea that was the same band responsible for my favorite song at six years old, “The Chain.”
As I got older and my parents tried to replace their record collection with CDs, I was always struck by how much less the artwork’s impact was when crushed into that tiny jewel case. For instance, when The Beatles’ White Album became my favorite things in the world, I of course, unfolded the poster from the CD case and hung it on my wall. The next day, when I realized that the vinyl version probably had a bigger poster than the CD, I replaced it.
I started buying my own vinyl when I got into Nirvana and decided that I wanted the “Sliver/Dive” single. From then on, I have tried to purchase only the records that mean the most to me on this almost-lost format. Of course, when I bought “Sliver/Dive,” I thought I was making an investment that could send me to college someday. I later realized that the album was not worth as much as I thought—it was mass-produced, much like my supposedly-valuable comic book collection.
Fast-forward to this year. My band, Those Mockingbirds, wanted to release a cover song as a free download, and the choice seemed obvious – we had to pay homage to all that vinyl I swam in as a kid. We released “The Chain,” and it was great for us – though I don’t think it would have happened if I didn’t have Mick Fleetwood’s creepy leotard burned into my memory.
Though about to release our third EP, and having released a few EPs and full-lengths with previous bands, I still don’t feel like I’ve put out a record yet because none have been on vinyl. That should change soon.”
—Adam Bird
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