“My first experience with vinyl was limited. When I was growing up, my parents didn’t play a lot of their records; they had moved on to 8 tracks by then. They had (and still have) an old record player/ 8 track player/ radio tuner combo with a huge speaker attached simply called “Trendsetter.” It’s a pretty dope piece of machinery.”
“It hasn’t been used in a good decade or two, but when I was a kid we had a couple of records we would play on it. The one I remember most though is the Chipmunks Christmas album. We’d play it every year around and on Christmas, and I’m sure it drove my parents crazy. I loved all the songs on it and loved the ritual of putting on something and having an interactive experience with it. Unfortunately my parents, who had no idea vinyl would ever make a comeback, stored all of their old vinyl in the attic. That might not seem too bad, but in Mississippi attics aren’t as well insulated as they may be in other parts of the country. So, I’m sure after 20+ years of hot, southern summers that those things are toast.
So I didn’t have a relationship with vinyl again until I was in my late teens/early 20s when I started collecting my own. My first record I bought was an Anathallo/Javelins split from the early/mid 00s. It was a translucent blue with clear packaging that had red balloons on it. I loved it, but didn’t know how to take care of vinyl and ruined it by accidentally leaving it in my car. I know, I know.
After that I started buying older records. I think the first one was definitely Rumours. I got it for $.99 at a bookstore in Louisville while on tour over a decade ago. I was shocked that it was only a dollar, not realizing that there were literally millions made back in the day. As I started to grow my collection of vintage finds, I found more and more bands releasing on vinyl. So I started collecting new records for the first time in earnest.
I don’t buy records just to buy them, but if I love a record or a band and want to support them, I’ll always buy a vinyl if they have it. I rarely buy digital copies and hardly buy CDs unless that’s all the band has. But vinyl is so tangible, so satisfying. I mostly buy records that are ideal for listening on vinyl, if that makes sense. I want something more on the mellow side, introspective maybe. Or at the very least, something experiential.
The greatest thing about vinyl is the intentional purpose by which you have to listen to the music. There’s a real relationship between the music and the listener that you don’t really see much of anymore with our endless supply of music on demand. Putting on a record is ritualistic. You spin it, sit down, listen, take it in. Then have to get up, flip it over, and repeat. There’s nothing mindless about it. And I think those moments of focus and attention are what a lot of records really need and deserve.”
—Matt Hectorne
Work, the new release from Matt Hectorne, is in stores now.
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PHOTO: DAVE KOEN
