Tangible sound

I got a record player yesterday. Yes, a real live record player. A Crosley CR249-TA Keepsake USB turntable to be exact. I couldn't be more happy. I forgot what it felt like to have a physical object that plays sounds. But, who am I kidding? I was 10 when the MP3 was introduced into the market in 1999, so I guess I never really knew.  Just three short blocks from my house in Greenwich Village is Generation Records. I spent 45 minutes thoughtfully thumbing through the stacks of new and used music, taking in not only the names of the artists, but also the beautiful artwork flipping by me like a slideshow of nostalgia and anticipation. Finally, I settled on the Black Keys - The Big Come Up (2002). In preparation for Coachella 2011, I felt the need to stay faithful to the lineup. The next day, I couldn't stay away. I went back and bought The XX (2009), Abbey Road (1969), and The Arcade Fire - Suburbs (2010). My ears are happy.

It feels gratifying to revert back to the pre-MP3 mode of tangible sound. Being able to visually see my growing collection instead of just checking the number of songs at the bottom of my iTunes window makes me feel connected to the music in a way that I never experience unless I attend a live show. The physical presence of music and its associated equipment gives it an aura of ownership and identification that simple digital listing cannot provide. However, it is not only being able to see and touch the medium producing the music, but also experiencing the technological process itself, that adds to the tactile temptation of playing records. When the needle is placed on the record, it vibrates along the groves of the record to create a sound that is electrically amplified. The full and luscious sound of the friction that is produced by this process has layers of texture and depth that you can feel when you listen to it. Most of all, I feel connected to an earlier generation because of this physical artifact. I can time travel back fifty years to an era when music was thriving in a very socially conscious way. If I can bring those artifacts into to the 21st century, I only hope some of the spirit and passion of the previous century makes its way into my New York niche too.  

Now. What do you see?