“Things of beauty and value are sometimes handed down to us, and other times we inherit the task of finding those things on our own. My story is the latter.”
“I do wish I had the childhood memories of sitting with my parents while we enjoy the warm intermittent crackles of our vinyl records revolving around the turntable. But that is not my narrative. I have since found out that my parents have impeccable taste in music, and once owned a veritable treasure trove of original vinyl. My dad’s favorites were The Beatles and The Stones. My mom was a die-hard fan of Barbra Streisand and James Taylor.
What happened? A combination of my folks embracing the change over to cassettes and CDs and not realizing how priceless their collection truly was. I was told a gut-wrenching story that they had sold boxes and boxes of LPs to a local pawn shop in the early ’80s. I believe, “YOU DID WHAT??” was my response when my mom shared that with me. We’ve since worked through that musical crisis, and have many enjoyable conversations together about our favorite artists.
So, how did I discover my love for vinyl? The year was 2012. Thank you, Urban Outfitters.
No seriously. I owe a debt of gratitude to UO. I know, I know. It’s not cool to like something once it’s gone all hipster and trendy, but better late than never. I walked in expecting to buy Levi 511’s and was spellbound by a wall covered in beautiful 12” LPs. In a world where most album artwork is viewed on the small screen of an iPhone, my eyes were hooked on vinyl before my ears had a chance to catch up.
I’m only four years into this journey, but I am quickly making up for lost time. My collection is ever-growing, both with vintage records from local hole-in-the-wall establishments and current LP releases. Now, There Was A Song, a cover song album by Johnny Cash, is still one of my favorite finds to date, but there really isn’t much discrimination in what I’ll put the stylus to. Frank Sinatra, Coldplay, Gregory Alan Isakov, The Beatles, The Head and the Heart, Ryan Adams, Bob Dylan, and Ella Fitzgerald have all had their fair share of spins.
I’m learning, for the first time, how to enjoy this new experience in a way that CDs or downloads did not permit.
Vinyl is physical and deliberate, involved and sensory. Vinyl is intentional.”
—Chris Molitor
The Wilder Society’s debut EP, “Lion’s Den,” is in stores now.
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