“This is a love letter.”
“My stack of very first records, which I bought at Reckless Records on Milwaukee Ave. in Wicker Park Chicago was a mix of Velvet Underground classics (White Light White Heat and The Velvet Underground and Nico—the latter suggested by a friend…I have since fallen in love with Nico in her own right), The Shins’ Chutes Too Narrow (I might have gotten Oh Inverted World on the second trip), some Neil Young (After the Gold Rush included), and random picks from the dollar box selected based on the merit or weirdness of their cover art.
I had just gotten my first record player: a turntable from the ’80s, bought for 50 bucks off a friend in an old warehouse where he helped out at a magazine and record label. That turntable didn’t last forever—of course. I eventually got a more ‘reliable,’ newer player—unable to find parts for the first one and not being able to live without vinyl for very long. I do still miss the sound and weight of that older turntable and dream of investing in a vintage one again soon.
Going wayy back, I definitely liked The Sound of Music, The Care Bears, and The Chipmunks on vinyl when I was little and had my own little kid record player that also played Sesame Street. My mom, a Suzuki piano teacher, also played Suzuki ear-training pieces for us on vinyl (which I still have).
Eventually, my mom gave me her vinyl collection from the ’60s and ’70s (approx. 1,000 records), so my current vinyl collection dictates—happily and to a large degree—how I furnish my living room. This has only solidified my love for listening in this format. I would say, at home, I spin vinyl 90% of the time I’m listening to music, if not more.
I will always remember Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together spinning on the weekend of my 30th birthday—my family visiting the community house where I lived in Philly, all of us cooking party food in the kitchen—the feeling of nostalgia and contentment that surrounded me. That album was just so perfect for that moment. This is my experience often in listening to records.
The broad sonic range inherent in the vinyl format takes me to a very particular place—the needle in the groove, the unique qualities of each record player. There is a play in the sound that reminds me of what I love about classical music: how it toys with tonalities and tempo, something that’s reflected in my songwriting and performances and is a part of my background. Vinyl allows the whole dynamic range of an album to be present—and it sounds so much less contained, so much more like music.
It is such a sweet feeling to finally hold my first LP pressed to vinyl in my own hands: one of the many milestones embedded in the release of Euphonia, my second full-length record.
Vinyl, let’s stay together. xoxo”
—Lauryn Peacock
Lauryn Peacock’s Euphonia is in stores now. On vinyl.
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PHOTO: LAURA PARTAIN
