IS IT ME ?
IS IT ME ?
John Davies is a senior corporate partner at leading commercial law firm Thrings . In each edition of TBE John addresses a topical news or business-related issue . This time he sets the record straight .
Hello folks . Before I begin please allow me to wish you a Happy New Year . Let ’ s hope it ’ s an improving one . In my last musing I was pretty optimistic , and I still am , despite this latest lockdown . The sun will continue to rise , and as each day passes we ’ re that little bit closer to spring and hopefully a bit of sunshine . However , we ’ re still in winter and I ’ m curious about what you got for Christmas .
In the Davies household we bought a record player . Nothing fancy , just an oldschool turntable allowing us to dust off some even older-school vinyl records which had been untouched for almost 30 years . The unboxing of the new gift was quite a big deal . My boys were curious to say the least and although they vaguely understood the concept of vinyl records it soon became apparent they ’ d never really seen one in the flesh and certainly had no idea about how this new and somewhat strange looking contraption worked .
It was fascinating . My boys are submerged in the digital arena , part of a generation with magical tech skills and the ability to find virtually anything in an instant . A few words directed at a smart speaker or a smart phone and almost every song under the sun is within reach and delivered in perfect digital harmony . No geographical limitations , no crackles , no imperfections or jumps and dare I say it , no soul . Despite all of this incredible technology they were intrigued by the new ( old ) set up . My boys were even arguing about who should turn the record over once we ’ d finished a side .
My youngest described the experience as ‘ magical ’. As he lowered the arm and needle onto the record he was blown away that the rotating piece of black plastic was able to play songs . They both loved the authenticity of the sound and I ’ ve got to admit I became somewhat nostalgic myself . I was transported back to my childhood bedroom where I ’ d spend hours playing my singles and albums , and curating compilations which I then ‘ taped ’ to my blank cassettes . I honestly can ’ t begin to describe how warm it made me feel – it was almost spiritual . Choosing which album to play ; taking the dust sleeve out of the cover ; setting up the turntable . It was almost ceremonial and so much more rewarding than saying “ Alexa , play ……” to the ether .
We listened to some James and some Radiohead but the music that really caught the attention of my boys was Motown . On past occasions when I ’ ve suggested they listen to a bit of Stevie , Marvin , Smokey et al they ’ ve been non-plussed and pretty uninterested . But when we played Motown on the record player it just seemed right - we listened to those songs for a few hours while playing board games . Very old fashioned and not an Xbox in sight . It was wonderful .
So there you have it – back to the future . For those of you out there with dusty vinyl collections stuffed in the back of a cupboard , do yourself a favour : dust them off and give them a spin . Yes , they crackle and yes , they hiss , but they may also take you back to a place when the world was a little simpler . As for me well I ’ m going to see how “ Now That ’ s What I Call Music volume 1 ” goes down .
John Davies e : jdavies @ thrings . com t : 01793 412634
Thrings
@ ThringsLaw www . thrings . com
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THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2021 35