“Oh, vinyl! Where does the love affair begin? How long we did wait for the return of your grooves and otherwise silky smooth circular frame.”
“I suppose my earliest memory of vinyl is at about 5 years old as I watched the sun pour in on an old 12 inch in the back window of our car, and turn its velvety black, flat surface, into a velvety black, wavy surface which seemed much more intriguing to me at that age. Later, I found out that you could also play them on a record player.
Vinyl was always a part of my household growing up because my parents were both singer/songwriters. My Dad had over-ordered several of his old albums from the 70’s, so we ended up with about 2,000 pieces of vinyl that lived in our garage for over 25 years, and weathered 4 different moves. He would always say “these will all be worth something again one day.” As luck would have it, people are now flocking to buy vinyl again, and consequently clearing enough space to turn a one-car garage back into a two-car garage. (By the way, the heaviest substance known to man during a move is a box filled to the brim with vinyl.)
For most of my childhood, I don’t remember seeing record players except in pawn shops. It wasn’t until my late teens that I could buy a brand new player in a store. Talk about a vinyl comeback was just a fragile, hopeful thought floating through the conversations of what was seemingly just a nostalgic few, but I could feel the excitement growing not just among the older crowd, but even from teenagers wanting something more tangible in this digital age. The pops, the crackles, that distinct sound that only comes from the needle hitting the vinyl-as people talked about it more and more, it became like that brownie sundae from your favorite restaurant you keep talking about until you finally just have to have it.
In an unrelated story, I haven’t had a brownie sundae in a while….Anyway, pretty soon, I remember people not just buying and trading their used vinyl, but I guess the record labels finally got wise to the whole situation, and realized what the people wanted. Now almost every new album I see is being released on vinyl. I’m very excited now that people will be able to buy my music on vinyl too. There’s just something organic and beautiful about it, and I think it helps a music listener really understand the effort that has gone into creating the music, and view it more as an art form, and not just a $.99 download.
One of my favorite pieces of vinyl I have heard is Jackie Wilson’s version of Danny Boy. A friend of mine played it for me at his house, and I couldn’t believe how incredible it was. I would love to find a copy of it for myself if anyone out there has one.
I’ve also been raiding some yard sales looking for some interesting pieces. I’m a big Bruce Springsteen fan, and someone was getting rid of all their records, so I bought Born To Run, Darkness On The Edge of Town, and Greetings from Asbury Park. I think they let me have them for $3 a piece and each one was in perfect condition. I’ve of course heard all the songs on CD, on my computer, and live in concert, but hearing them an on original piece of vinyl was like welcoming a long-lost friend back into the house.
Well, I would write some more, but I’ve already got the record player out and I’m headed to the ‘Promised Land.'”
—Jimmy Nash
Jimmy Nash’s debut release, The Road to 33 is in stores now.
