When Old Meets New

I can't explain it exactly, but lately I find that what I miss most about being home is being able to listen to my records. My big Christmas gift this year was a powder blue Crosley record player (similar styles here), and it could probably be heard belting out tunes from behind my closed bedroom door at any given time since. 

Most of my records I inherited from my dad, the others I either picked up along the way or received as gifts (P.S. my roommate bought me Schoolboy Q's Oxymoron just last week, coolest thing ever). It's one of those things where sometimes the search for what's next is almost as satisfying as the collection itself. I've been to record stores in my hometown, in beachside-hippie boutiques, and even on the opposite west coast (would I have visited Seattle fully otherwise?). You're always bound to find something you've never heard of, maybe discover a new favorite. 

I'm excited to watch my collection grow, and to be able to enjoy these pieces and sounds and stories for years to come. There's just something about the crackling feedback between songs, the way the record sways round and round like the hips of a hula dancer. In today's technology-driven music industry, it's so easy to play any song in an instant. Keeping records helps me to slow down, appreciate an album in it's (un-shuffled) entirety, the way it was meant to be heard. 

Where will your collection start?

Pictured above:

Nevermind // Nirvana

Comes a Time // Neil Young

Meet The Beatles // The Beatles

A Hard Day's Night // The Beatles

I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! // Janis Joplin

Led Zeppelin IV // Led Zeppelin

Ramones // The Ramones 

Boys & Girls // Alabama Shakes