I’ve been thinking about buying a record player lately. That’s right, good ‘ole vinyl. I’m not sure what got me thinking that direction, but the more I consider it, the more I want one. It might be the popularity of vinyl lately, or the fact that I hang around with too many hipsters. Or both could be partly to blame, but I’m finding an even deeper desire than that.
My motivation to own a record player, is actually a yearning to slow down. I want to teach myself the art of pausing long enough to appreciate life. I have an ever growing desire to always be doing something. If the something isn’t interesting enough, I want to be multitasking. The worse it gets, the busier I am, the more I get done, without feeling refreshed. I still want to do great things, but I want to learn to be in the moment. I want to appreciate the truth, and the goodness, and the beauty around me. What better place to start than with music?
I lament the way that people listen to music now. While the number of songs played is at an all-time high, real appreciation of the music seems to be lower than ever. It may be a situation of supply and demand. The more songs are available, the less valuable they are. Our population seems to have turned songs into the audio equivalent of potato chips. You can’t eat just one. I’m guilty of this. I often choose to pull up Pandora and let the music play all day rather than choosing a few songs that I want to hear. I have relegated most of my music to pleasant background noise.
That wouldn’t be a problem with vinyl. I have to set aside time to choose an LP, put it in place, and start it spinning. What I want to do, is choose an album, with intention. Then I would like to sit down and listen. Listen to the whole album. I want to feel the instruments in the room. Through the magic of analog recording, I want to be moved by the same sound waves that the musician did. I want to make music listening an experience.
What do you think?