The Love-In, The TVD First Date

“Vinyl is the best part of Love-In parties.”

“The only good speakers in our house are hooked up to the record player, so we exclusively listen to vinyl when we throw house parties. At the end of the night, you can always see how the mood changed based on what records are left out on the table. I think our last party before COVID started with Beyonce’s Lemonade and ended with Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. I guess whoever put on that last record must’ve known something the rest of us didn’t.

Our collection is pretty eclectic because we all buy records for different reasons. My part of the collection consists of records I like to cook to, be alone to, dance to, and old jazz records featuring recordings I’ve never been able to find anywhere else. We stop at record stores in most cities we tour in, so it’s cool to be able to find little gems all over the country. The problem is keeping them safe for the rest of the tour. Our van’s AC is not the most reliable so I always worry they’ll melt in there.

The records that I pick on vinyl are not generally the ones that I pick to listen to digitally. The mindset is different. It’s much more intentional when you’re putting on a record that you know you’re going to listen to all the way through. Shopping at record stores is a great insight into your own taste because it requires you to look, touch, and select in a way that is impossible with streaming.

Do you pick up staff recommendations, critics’ picks, or the highest selling? Do you pick records only by artists you already know? Do you pick something out and spend money on it because the cover art is cool? That’s the part I really enjoy.

If the combination of cover art and liner notes strikes my fancy I’ve been known to shell out some cash on the chance that a record I’ve never heard of will become my newest obsession. Vinyl is definitely my weak spot when it comes to impulse buying.”
—Laurel Sorenson