“I’m at that age now where I don’t want to go out clubbing and have shout to friends over the top of whatever current top 20 the DJ is playing. I don’t want to listen to a playlist on the way to work or a mix CD whilst I catch up on my emails. Music has become a sacred ritual. I want to sit down, I want to relax, and I want to enjoy an album the way the artist intended; from start to finish with the focus solely on it. And it’s all because of vinyl.”
“More and more often I find myself getting home from work and settling down for the evening with a drink in hand and a shiny slab of wax on my turntable. I don’t even bother to turn the TV on. I just listen. And it’s such an amazing sensation.
You really do pay more attention to music when you’re listening on vinyl, there’s just something about it. I don’t know if it’s because I’m listening for the point where I have to flip the disc or subconsciously I feel obliged to because I spent that little bit extra on an album you could have easily spent less on for a download or CD, but I love it.
I love the precision and care I take when flipping that disc between “True Affection” and “The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apt.” I love putting down the needle and hearing that quiet hiss before the opening track of the score to Paranorman. I love the subtle cracks and pops on the emotional break on Ryan Adams’ “Come Pick Me Up.” Hell, I love the way the gloriously oversized artwork starts to look after that second rum and coke.
There’s just such a cool heritage behind vinyl and listening to My Morning Jacket ’s The Waterfall on a massive plastic disc really does help me feel closer to the music. I’m listening to an album that came out only months ago on a format that has been around longer than my Grandpop. The dedication to the format speaks volumes of the dedication to the music and just how much people really do care about it. It just makes me nostalgic for a time that I wasn’t even around in. It makes me think about how my Dad might’ve felt when first putting the needle down on The Eagles’ One of These Nights, which now sits nicely amongst the rest of my collection.
Yes you can spend lots of money just being able to listen to it. But that’s changing, a decent set up can cost less than a iPod. And yes, you can spend lots of money just building your collection. Heck, I’ve spent at least £500 in the last 6 months but it’s not because I want something “cool” to show off to my friends (although that’s a perk). It’s because I genuinely want to spend the extra money to have an album in a deluxe package with incredible audio fidelity, glorious artwork, and interesting liner notes. I want to spend my money on something I’m happy to invest hours into and not pop it onto my Mp3 player or Spotify only to listen once then never return to it again. There’s countless albums (that are now some of my favourite records) I have given a second chance simply because I own it on vinyl.
Vinyl’s not a phase or a fad. It’ not a dead format, it’s very much alive. It has been around for generations and will continue to be around for as long as I will. It will keep evolving and changing. And with the current boom, will hopefully become a much broader, more accessible format.”
—Brendan Dalton
“Medium” is out now via Meraki Records.
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