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| Gramophone and records (Photo credit: GB_1984) |
Ever since I started participating in the Battle of the Bands event on my blog Tossing It Out I've been reminiscing about music. Listening to the tunes I used to listen to back in younger days puts me in a different frame of mind. When I pick out albums from my collection to spin on my record turntable it's like listening to an oldies station where I get to choose the playlist.
I may have purchased a few LP's in the 1990's and several in the 80's, but most of my records were bought in the 70's and 60's with most of those acquired prior to 1975. My record collection would probably be considered vintage.
There's something to be said for having old vinyl. This probably accounts for a big part of the popularity of owning old records. Some audiophiles will insist that vinyl sounds better than any other medium of music recording. Having spent many hours listening to LP's I can agree with that as long as the records are in good condition. For me, the memories evoked by vinyl records make them like gold when digging back for memoir material.
I've got my turntable hooked to a small sound system in the bedroom across from my writing office. Most weekdays I've been listening to one to a half dozen or so records. With something like 200 to 300 albums in my bedroom closet it takes a while to get through listening to them all. And I tell you, this listening has been bringing back many memories.
In the weeks to come I'll be posting more often about records and music in general. Some of this will be in correlation with the Battle of the Bands posts. Other posts will be for reasons that will become evident in a few weeks. I hope that you readers enjoy music as much as I do and will share your own memoir memories in the weeks to come.
Does music stir memories when you hear it? Is there a special era of music that taps into your past more than others? Do you think the sound of vinyl is superior to other mediums of recording?
Yes on loving vinyl more. The Grateful Dead's remastered songs on CD don't impress me. I'll take the LP versions any day. I have so many songs that remind me of specific things and times in my life, mostly the 70s and 80s....a couple from the very late 60s b/c I was still little. I have a few that remind me of my trips to Canada several years ago, and of our trip cross country.
ReplyDeleteVinyl and the old recording techniques lend an atmosphere to the music. That is what triggers the memories, IMO.
ReplyDeleteI can, like JoJo, remember certain songs that align with times in my life. The songs that were playing in Canada when I arrived. The songs I listened to while going through a divorce. The music second hubs introduced me to. . .etc.
Music and especially lyrics are important in my life. Some lyrics are poetry in motion.
If the apocalypse comes, we might need that Gramophone.
D.G. is right: the sound of the hiss of vinyl recordings lends a haunting, evocative atmosphere to them. Listening to CD's of vintage music puts a layer between you and the melodies -- as if you were trying to feel the cheek of a loved one while wearing gloves.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog. :-)
A subject close to my heart Lee, will look forward to them.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful write and a pleasure to read.
Yvonne.
I love my vinyl collection. I have fond memories of my mom playing records when she made us dinner, on the turntable she kept in the kitchen. All of my sisters are vinyl junkies, and one of my sisters is a DJ and also works in a record store. I think it's in our blood.
ReplyDeleteJoJo -- I'm the same way. Often I can hear a song and remember a certain person, place, or event that I associate with it. Or memories of many things might flood my mind.
ReplyDeleteDG-- For me the songs themselves are what triggers the memories for the most part. Though looking at the album covers, the contents therein, or the vinyl disc itself can jog a lot of memories as well.
Roland -- Well, yes there is that certain sound quality of the vinyl. I have some CD's of very old music that was obviously recorded from old 78's and that creates an interesting effect. Overall I've never been that much of an audiophile, but I'll admit the difference.
Yvonne -- You may enjoy some of these future posts and I hope you will chime in with some of your own memories.
Kelly -- I know about Heather's involvement with vinyl. My mother was much the same way as yours. When I was growing up she almost always had her music playing in the house. I loved going through my parents' record collection and listening to it. I wish my mother had kept all her old 78's and taken good care of them. She had some gems.
Lee
Dear Lee, because I've never been good at distinguishing variations in sound, I notice no difference between vinyl and other ways of recording. But I do have a favorite era and that's doing the Vietnam War when so many artists were composing protest songs and I listened to Simon and Garfunkle, Glenn Yarborough, Joan Baez, John Denver, Arlo Guthrie, and others. Peace.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely attest music brings back all the memories of when I was a kid, teen, and the like. Growing up, I didn't have a huge vinyl collection. But the ones that I did have I'd listen to over and over again. How can I forget my entire Led Zeppelin collection? What great music!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, it never fails that whenever I listen to a particular song, I end up back to when I first heard it, the memories surround it and the circumstances of when I grew up. Gosh, I can go on about some of the Bee Gees tracks to Saturday Night Fever, but that's beyond the space I can devote to them right now--and having a lack of time as well.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to your posts and what you have coming up in the next few weeks!
Everybody thinks that the music from their childhood is the best; but the people who grew up on disco are plainly wrong. Even on vinyl.
ReplyDeletePlease don't send me hate mail, I'm not serious.
flip at HILL BLOCKS VIEW
Greetings human, Lee,
ReplyDeleteMusic transports you. Takes you on journeys to moments in time. Memories of good times, bad times, happy times and poignant times. Music captures and freezes the thoughts of the past. Etched forever in your mind. You hear a song and you are there. The remembrance of childhood dreams, of first love, of love lost and learning to love again. The storybook of your life are written in the feelings of the music.
My human prefers the quality of vinyl. He might even get another Denon turntable. His musical tastes are eclectic. I just think he listens to weird music.
Pawsitive wishes,
Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar.
I was going through some of my old vinyl last weekend. Almost all from the 60's and 70's. We should compare titles sometime.
ReplyDelete(I still enjoy "Meet the Beatles".)
Dee - I need to remember that thing about distinguishing things. I was writing a blog post along those lines.
ReplyDeleteJack -- Very true. A recording is like a photo album made of sound.
Flip -- Disco I can handle. Hip Hop and Rap I have a tough time with. Mariachi music I can take in limited doses.
Penny/Gary -- So beautifully said. You should use some of that writing for something. At least as a blog post.
LD -- "Meet the Beatles" belonged to my sister and she didn't take greatest care of it. Gone now I suppose. Great album.
Lee