The Record Player
Reflections on listening to music and finding new ways to relax and unwind
I feel like this one should have a soundtrack. Only I haven’t figured out how to make that happen yet, so instead, do me a favor, put in your headphones, take out your phone, and put on the album 1989. And I know what you’re going to say, should I listen to the Taylor Swift version or the Ryan Adams cover. That, my friend, is personal. I’ll just say…
Welcome to New York, it’s been waiting for you…
Sometimes there are things in life that just change your perspective on shit. For me, our record player is a great example.
The other night I came home from work to an empty house. That doesn’t happen often. As soon as I walked in the door, I picked out an Eric Church record (“Mr. Misunderstood”), put it on the turntable, selected a bottle of red wine, poured a healthy glass, and sat back in our velvet blue chair to relax and unwind. It was glorious.
We acquired the record player right after we moved into our house. I’d love to say that we knew what we were doing, but that wouldn’t be true. We didn’t have a clue. Honestly, we just had a room that we didn’t use, and a record player sounded cool.
Our house has an open floor plan. You walk directly into the living room and can see through the kitchen and to the back of the house. The TV is over the fireplace near the backdoor. We just didn’t use the front room. Ergo, the record player.
Now we like music, as most people do, but I wouldn’t describe us as music people. We go to a few concerts a year, we have our favorite bands, but we are quickly lost in any serious conversation about music. So it was somewhat amusing and idiosyncratic for us to go to the lengths that we did to buy a record player.
I think it’s important to point out here that we did not own a single record. So obviously, neither of us had ever owned a record player either, nor did we know how they worked (and now have only the most rudimentary understanding), so it was a novelty. I grew up mostly in the 90s, in the height of CDs and MP3s. My wife is a little younger, but had a similar experience. Vinyl records just weren’t a thing for us.
Despite that, we approached the task of buying a record player with gusto. We didn’t just buy a record player, something cheap and easy. No, we went all out. We consulted with our audiophile friend, a guy that literally puts together entire rooms focused on record players. He helped us find a vintage Marantz turntable online (first time I’d heard about Marantz), matched it with a vintage Marantz receiver, and then found high quality speakers. Not only that, but we had another friend, a professional woodworker, custom build a record console out of walnut. It took him a year. But again, at the time we ordered the turntable, and I can’t emphasize this enough, we didn’t own a single record.
So, because we owned zero records, we then obviously had to buy some. We went to old standbys like Chris Stapleton, Taylor Swift, Neil Young, Simon and Garfunkel, John Coltrane, Nirvana, and Bruce Springsteen to name a few. And when our daughter was little, we had a wonderful time playing the records when we got home from work and were cooking dinner. But, as happens, especially with a little kid around, the record player broke shortly after we set it up, and we took a very long while to get it fixed. We have it back now, and as I listened to Eric Church I couldn't help but think about how much I missed the experience. Few things have brought me as much joy recently as listening to records.
So I began wondering why. It’s hard to explain really, but I’ve been in such a good mood since we got it back, that I think it’s worth exploring. It would be easy to credit the sound quality, which is exceptional, but I don’t think that’s the driving force. It’s easy enough to get quality sound elsewhere.
Here’s what I think, throughout my life there have been very few things that I could reliably use to escape, unwind and relieve stress. When I was young, it was basketball. There have been times when I’ve taken out stress by running, or watching mindless television or reading. But when I find something new, it’s a revelation. And drinking wine and listening to music on a record player qualifies.
I think it’s because records make us slow down, handle things with care, and engage in the ritualistic exercise of selecting an entire album before then setting it up to play. It’s low tech, not as simple as just sticking in headphones and pressing a couple of buttons. And when you pick an album, you’re listening to every song. When you’ve got Graceland on, you’re listening not just to “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes,” but you’re listening to “Gumboots” too (real song, I swear). And you start to appreciate those albums as a whole.
For instance, I’m listening to Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska as I’m typing this. Before listening to his autobiography this month and going deep on vinyl, I could not have even told you that the Nebraska album existed. It’s fun to discover new music, listen to old favorites in a new way, and just generally find some sanity in an otherwise crazy world. To steal a phrase from my wife, it’s like we were in a world of black and white and now we’re seeing color.
The important take away, though, at least from my perspective, is that there are things that can make our lives better in significant and identifiable ways, and we don’t always know what they are until we try them. We should be on the lookout for new experiences, open to trying opportunities as they are presented, and willing get out of our comfort zone because the reward can be significant.
That’s what happened with the record player, we bought it more or less on a lark. We just thought it sounded cool. And yet, it was one of the best decisions that we’ve made in recent memory. Now, one of our goals going forward is to find more “record players” that we can incorporate into our lives.
As always, thank you for reading. Please send me a note or leave a comment with any reactions.
You’ve made me really want to get a record player. And the walnut cabinet too.