Ever heard the song “Music Sounds Better with You” by French house group Stardust? If you haven’t, I’ll just tell you that it’s a very disco inspired dance groove that would have John Travolta cuttin’ a serious rug.
And if this tells you anything, Thomas Bangalter, one half of Daft Punk, was a member of this one time group. Anyway, who is this “you” that the song keeps singing about? Who does music sound better with? It could be your girlfriend, your best friend, your dad, weed, or even a pint of Guinness. “You” can be whoever or whatever you want.
This past Thanksgiving, while at my parent’s house, I discovered my new “you”: the old record player. My mom told me that they hardly used it so I asked if I could take it back with me.
Sure enough, I was off to Charleston with a record player and a stack of my dad’s old LP’s. Most of the records were 70’s beach and disco music that I had hardly heard before, but there were also a few gems to behold.
Of the 10 or so that I initially took, the three that I have kept include The Beach Boys “Endless Summer”, Frank Sinatra’s “Round #1”, and Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life.”
I must say, I absolutely love having this record player.
Having to physically flip the music over, watching the record spin around and around, holding a real piece of artwork in your hands, smelling the dusty fragrance that has collected over the years, and hearing every snap, crackle, and pop has been a fresh perspective as to why music is so important to me and some of my closest friends.
One of the most fun experiences has been going to an independent record store in town that sells new and used vinyl’s.
It’s not the like the Internet.
Not everything is available and you actually have to do some work by searching through the stacks and stacks of records.
It’s quite fun and a whole lot cooler than illegally downloading songs online.
Every time I’ve been, I’ve walked out with at least one new album.
I don’t see this trend ending anytime soon so I’ve decided to share with the people my thoughts and experiences about new albums I purchase and my adventures with the record player. Up first… Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life.”
Stay tuned.