The way we listen to music has changed a lot in the last decade. And I, probably like many of you, have been absorbing music mostly though Spotify or YouTube. And I realized how much I miss listening to music. And I mean really listening. Through changes in technology, music has become something of a convenience, or an accompaniment to something else, rather than an event in itself.
Because it’s so accessible, music feels now like something disposable. Or worse yet, something that we watch, rather than hear, in the form of YouTube (or tiktok/Instagram) videos. A mentor shared a wisdom with me when I was young: “people listen with their eyes, kid.” And those words are no truer than today. Music has been demoted... a mere side dish in a gluttonous sensory banquet.
How many of us can remember the last time we sat down, without scrolling away on our cellphones, and just listened to a song—or, God forbid, a whole album?
For me, it was a few days ago. For my birthday, my girlfriend bought me a record player; probably because of me rabbiting on about the above complaints until she could take no more. (This squeaky wheel is officially oiled.) But before that, I’m ashamed to say, it’s been too long.
And I think like me, a whole new generation is “re”discovering vinyl because the conveniences of the digital age are just not scratching that itch. This trend first struck me a
