“As a child, I remember spreading my parents’ records out on the living room-floor, looking at all these colorful covers of Louis Armstrong, Simon & Garfunkel, and Danish folk singers. My dad liked listening to jazz and folk music, whereas my mom was very much into gospel music. She could almost turn the living room into a church hall, singing and clapping to the songs.”
“I inherited my parents’ vinyl a few years ago and it was like receiving a treasure trove full of all these records I remembered from my childhood. I was overwhelmed by how good they sounded and I think that is one of the qualities of vinyl: often, time only makes them sound better.
Last year, my uncle passed away, which, clearly, was a very sad event for my family and me. He and I had music very much in common. My uncle used to collect vinyl when he was young and left all his records to my little sister and me. My most treasured vinyl record comes from this collection. It is a beautifully maintained copy of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, which he bought when it was released back in 1979. I never get tired of studying the iconic cover-art of that record. The size of the cover almost makes you feel like you are looking at a painting and I think that is another quality of vinyl: unlike CD’s, there is room for the artwork to come into its own.
My favorite vinyl record—both audibly and visually—is perhaps Loveless by My Bloody Valentine. Obviously, the record has become a classic throughout the years, but just looking at the intensely purple artwork of Kevin Shields’ guitar, while listening to the crackled spinning of songs like “Only Shallow,” “To Here Knows When,” and “Blown a Wish” still makes me in awe of how good this record is as a whole. Honestly, I am quite sure I would not get the same experience of the album on CD.
I would not say my relationship to vinyl is based on nostalgia, but what keeps me being a vinyl fan is the fact that it turns listening to music into a more psychical experience. You need to maintain and care for your records and your record player—otherwise, the music will not play properly. I think that makes the whole idea of choosing a piece of music and really listening to it much more valuable and enjoyable, as opposed to what a streaming service can offer to you.
Perhaps, this is the real quality of vinyl: It makes you worship the experience of listening to music much more.”
—Jeppe Kiel Revsbech
