“My very first memory of seeing a record spinning and hearing music was Buddy Holly. I must have been about 2 years old, at a party with my parents. I remember pretty clearly running around to the adults and trying to explain to them how much I loved this music. When I was around 5, I remember putting on Michael Jackson’s Thriller and lots of Weird Al Yankovic records.”
“During my late teens I was mellowing out on hip-hop and punk rock, looking for something that ran deeper. I would pull out dusty records from my dad’s collection. The Beatles’ Let it Be, Bob Dylan, Another Side of Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Plastic Ono Band. Hearing this music on these scratchy records made them sound mysterious from some long ago era, yet the music was more immediate to me than anything current.
Of all the countless CDs I’ve bought and thrown away, it’s these few records that have really stayed with me. I came to feel that CDs sounded thin and clear in a way, while vinyl was deeper and more tonal. The tones get into you and somehow leave more to your imagination. And imagination is an indispensable part of the magic of music.
I remember when I was around 20 years old I bought The Stooges Funhouse on CD. I really liked it, but I was confused as to why people claimed it was one of the best rock & roll records ever. Years later in Brooklyn, I saw a 12-inch of Funhouse put out by Sundazed on 180-gram vinyl. It looked so good I had to buy it. When I brought it home and put it on I couldn’t believe it. Was this really the same album? The tones were getting into me; I knew it was one of the best rock & roll records ever.
I haven’t been able to buy much vinyl this last year, as we’ve been pretty much on the road with no turntable access. Wherever I eventually land and make a home, I will always buy my music on vinyl. The magic is too important to me to be sacrificed for quantity and convenience.”
—Frank Hoier
Crushed Out’s Want to Give was released on November 6th.
