“Tucked away in a cupboard was where all the dusty vinyl lived in the house where I grew up. Being a child of the ’80s, record players were not something I remember. They were slowly being pushed out of style with the new and beholden on the shoulder boombox and compact discs making their way into homes.”
“Mix tapes were what was happening and that was way more work than just flipping a record! I do remember that stack of vinyl hidden away in the cabinet though. I think it went something like Van Morrison, Bread, and maybe CSNY. I’m not known for my sharp memory, but now, if you come to my house you’ll see a turntable and a pretty sizable collection of vinyl. So when did that happen?
In college, my boyfriend had come into a huge collection of vinyl that belonged to a DJ, but whose angry girlfriend threw out on the street when they broke up. Somehow that DJ didn’t come and claim it and we got to keep it. It must have been hundreds of 12”s and even more 45s with stuff like Linda Rondstadt and Billy Joel, a lot of hip hop, and more music than I ever got to listen to.
He had one of those beautiful furniture piece record players that, of course, didn’t work, but he had a record player set up on top of it. Listening to vinyl was a special thing. Taking the time to pick something out, take it out of its cover, carefully place it on the player, and put the needle on it was like a ceremony. Then, hearing that crackle and pop. These may not have been the first times I listened to vinyl, but these were what got me started going to record stores and buying vinyl.
Picking up and holding vinyl was so much cooler than a CD and even the beloved cassette tape. It was this big beautiful piece of artwork that made listening to music a tangible thing, an experience. Vinyl makes sharing music with your friends so much more special too, well, if you have the kinds of friends that I do. I have a friend who actually holds vinyl listening parties where everyone brings their own vinyl and then, we take turns putting on song after song. We sit there and we listen to each song carefully and then we talk about the music that we just listened to. That kind of party turns vinyl into a religion.
The most special occasion I remember purchasing vinyl was at a record store in Portland, Oregon whose name I sadly can’t recall. Go figure. Anyway, I was on tour with my band Balthrop, Alabama and I was writing a lot of songs on the road for my girl group to be The Bandana Splits.
We had already worked out a cover of this song by a ’60s British girl group called The Caravelles. The song was “You Don’t Have to Be a Baby to Cry,” and it was perfect. So, after brunch one day, we were strolling around, and we popped into this record store. I had been on the hunt for a Ronettes record, which I didn’t find until much much later. I was flipping through the girl group 45s section when I came upon not just one but three copies of The Caravelles’ single, “You Don’t Have to Be Baby to Cry.”
Who knows what they were doing there, but I believe that “religion” I call vinyl, sent them there for me to find.”
—Lauren Balthrop
Dear Georgiana’s debut record is released today, May 20th, on Tummy Touch Records.
