17th
O Record Player
Even after becoming an adult, we never really put our toys away. They just look a little different than they used to. Some things, however, never change.
Collecting records is unexplainable fun. It’s a simple, rewarding hobby. I can own digital music and still have the motivation to buy a hard copy. A Compact Disc could be convenient, but in this day and age an mp3 player can plug into just about any outlet initially designed for CDs.
Records are obsolete, over-sized, and audibly inefficient. Even so, they present themselves boldly. A CD can find itself conveniently packed together with other flimsy plastic cases in large numbers in even the smallest of available spaces on any given bookshelf. Packaged together like hot dogs made for your consuming pleasure. Arranged in an assortment of your choice, nothing but a small visible label on the side to discriminate one from the other.
Personally, I enjoy having a thick paper sleeve mounted on my wall like fine art for myself and others to enjoy. Records have personality, and not only that, they age! Every listen is a moment to cherish, as the vinyl disc sacrifices its timelessness for the opportunity of sending its listener back to another time.
The popularity of these gentle giants is greater now than it ever has been, and this allows the analog music market to continue it’s fight to survive. Artists are still releasing new material on vinyl, some even exclusively!
My hobby is my love, and I love records.
- Jesse
