remember my eighth grade graduation party in my backyard.“ Hot Rocks” by The Stones was THE album that summer. I remember slow dancing to“ Wild Horses” on the back patio with a classmate--the brother of the boy that I was“ dating”( okay … so I was an early bloomer), when it suddenly occurred to me justlikethat, that I liked him better than his brother. While the strains of“ Wild Horses” played on, we plotted against his brother( who was a sophomore … I had a penchant for older men, even in grade school). His brother had sent me roses the day before professing his endless love and wishing me a very happy graduation. And it was happy indeed … just not for him.
I hear vinyl is making a comeback … and for me, I am glad for that. I never felt warm and fuzzy about CDs and we won’ t even revisit 8 track tapes and THAT little bit of nastiness. And cassette tapes are just WRONG on so many levels. It somehow gives me hope for our future if it includes vinyl albums. In this day of digital music and all the downloading and streaming, we’ ve lost the romance of having something to hold in your hands … something tangible that made you feel“ connected” to the artist. Now, music is in a cloud somewhere. It has become an abstract concept that exists in another dimension. And with the onslaught of manufactured pop tarts being shoved down our throats, well, it is a sad state of affairs. Just like that episode of The Brady Bunch where Greg fit the“ Johnny Bravo” suit and THAT made him a Rock Star( in a groovy and happening sort of way), we now have twerking twerps passing themselves off as relevant.
They say you can’ t go home again. I guess that’ s true. But, maybe, just maybe, if we return to the simpler time of vinyl albums, the world would recall the gift that music truly is. Music wasn’ t stolen like it is today( except by that shoplifting dude, Darryl). Artists were PAID for their work in REAL money … not a percentage of a penny. And the consumers were delighted to INVEST in the music and RESPECTED it. Everybody won …
74