“I was raised on cassette tapes, secretly borrowing my stepdad’s Toys In the Attic (Aerosmith), Hotel California (The Eagles), and any other ‘adult’ album I could sneak into my ears. And then my babysitter bought me U2’s Achtung Baby for my 10th birthday—still one of my all time prized possessions.”
“I got a dual-cassette boombox when I turned 13 and started spending most evenings glued to the radio to record my favorite songs when they’d come on (I have epic ’90s radio mixtapes courtesy of Seattle’s 107.7 The End). Eventually, my friends and I upgraded to CDs, and then my best friend Danny got a turntable.
We were 16 years old, and very appropriately, the first record he bought was So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes (NOFX). We were super into punk and pop-punk records, but the turntable also became a gateway to classics like IV, Highway 61 Revisited, and Dark Side of the Moon.
(Fun side-note, I studied improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade in LA, and El Hefe (guitarist of NOFX) was in one of my classes; we became pals and I confessed to him that So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes is one of 5 albums that I always keep downloaded on my phone.)
Back to vinyl.
For the sake of space in my current studio apartment, I’ve narrowed my collection down to about 50 albums that are the the most essential to me: Siamese Dream (Smashing Pumpkins), Abbey Road (The Beatles), Straight Ahead (Count Basie), Our Endless Numbered Days (Iron & Wine), and Boxer (The National) to name a few. I recently added I Had a Dream that You Were Mine (Hamilton Leithauser & Rostam) because goddamn, it is a modern classic.
My favorite thing about vinyl is the intentionality it brings out of me. It takes me an extra minute to clean the vinyl, to display the album cover, to turn on my sound system, to change the receiver settings, and just like all things in life—there’s more enjoyment after putting in that extra effort.
When I stream music, I’m usually doing other things: driving, working out, checking email. When I listen to vinyl, it’s more of an event. I pause to do nothing for at least a few songs. The album and the writers become best friends to me again. The world gets simple for a little while.”
—Peter Verdell, Forever X2; Pete + Sara; Act As If; LION-S
“Tape Deck,” the new single from Peter Verdell’s Forever X2 arrives in stores today, April 9. 2021.
