“I didn’t listen to vinyl when I was growing up. I listened to the Beatles on cassette in my Dad’s car. I listened to Jimi Hendrix on CD in my room for hours trying to learn how to play guitar. Then when I was about 16 my friend showed up at my house with a copy of The Police, The Singles on vinyl that he had bought at a garage sale for a dollar. He knew I was a big fan of Sting and The Police, and he just handed it to me and said, ‘Check this out, it’s a REAL album!’ In my head I thought, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve heard about these.'”
“We took it over to my grandfather’s house (the only person we knew who had a record player) and cranked it up. His 1950s California ranch-style home had a speaker in every room; when the drums kicked in on “Roxanne” I felt like I got punched in the chest. The sound had this richness and texture I had never heard before…I fell in love right away.
It wasn’t until I was in my 20s that I got my own turntable and started buying vinyl of my own. I bought a fresh new copy of OK Computer (one my favourite albums of all time), but otherwise it was all thrift store finds: Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti, Pink Floyd The Wall, Tom Petty, some Bjork, some Tom Waits stuff.
When I told my Dad what I was up to he said, “Let me give you something.” He pulled a dusty cardboard box out of the attic and handed it over…it was heavy. Full of his favourite records from the ’60s and ’70s: the Beach Boys, the Beatles, Joni Mitchell Blue, Billy Joel 52nd Street. Even if I’d heard some of those albums before, I learned the truth: you haven’t really heard an album until you’ve heard it on vinyl.
Nowadays when I’m home, vinyl is part of my daily routine. I like to put on Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits or Simon and Garfunkel in the morning when I’m making coffee—something gentle and innocent while I’m still only half awake. When my woman and I are getting ready to go out for dinner, I like to put on some Frank Sinatra or Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66. I got turned onto MGMT only recently—Oracular Spectacular sounds great on vinyl and the artwork is killer too.
It’s not just about the music—it’s about the ritual. There’s something about taking the record out of the sleeve, picking a side, dropping the needle gently and listening to that sound—even the tiny crackling sound before the music starts—it’s all part of a unique experience of enjoying an album on a deeper level. To me that’s what vinyl is all about.”
—Jameson
Jameson’s debut EP, “Carnivore” is out now and catch him at one of the last few dates supporting Rival Sons as the tour hits the UK this week.
