“Growing up, there was music playing constantly throughout my house. My father had an extensive music collection that consisted mostly of CDs—stacks and stacks of them, coming out of drawers, falling out of closets.”
“A record player to me was a sign of ancient times. That was until about high school when I started writing and recording my own music. With that came the evaluation of sound and how you capture it and play it back. You always want it to sound the best, right? Well that’s right around when I started listening to vinyl. Once you start to take sound quality into account, there’s no going back.
Sure, I still stream music on a walk or throw a CD in my car’s CD player when I don’t have anything else, but that’s always a matter of convenience, not quality. Vinyl is something completely different. The raw talent and emotions of the musicians are captured right there in the grooves. You just can’t digitally compete with something like that! If I had a choice between vinyl and streaming, I would choose vinyl hands down every time. But, alas, I can’t bring my record player on a run or a road trip through the woods.
At my house now, we have a large record collection that we like to spin whenever we’re all hanging out or when we have guests over. Records are such a communal experience. I also enjoy their physicality. I love the feeling of pulling a vinyl out of its sleeve, laying it down on the table, and putting down the needle. There’s that crackling before the sound arrives. It’s pure bliss.
Even with Spotify and all the streaming services, to sit around with a record player going is so satisfying. It’s a musical experience all on its own. Streaming will never compare. You feel those musicians in the room with you, the fruits of their labor spinning in circles right there, occupying the same space.
I know in this day and age people are all about the “vintage,” the “throwback,” the “retro,” but I believe that vinyl goes beyond this fad. Vinyl is timeless due to its warm, intimate sound quality, physical nature, and ability to bring people together in the same physical space.
I hope and pray the day never comes when we have to close the record shops. If you have the time and space, listen to and buy vinyl!”
—Gregory Ackerman
“Stresslove,” the new four-song EP from Gregory Ackerman is in stores now via Munich Records.
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PHOTO: ANDREW WOFFORD
