1 week Ago
I hope you enjoy music: whether it’s listening or playing. Fred Haier, of Lawtons, enjoys expanding his musical horizons. My love for music began before I joined the school band and played the trumpet, but the experience of playing music helped solidify the pleasure I had in listening.
I have not touched my trumpet in years, but it opened the door for me to listen to other trumpeters like Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard. Of course, the main reason I picked up the trumpet was because of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Aside from playing in the school band, I enjoyed music on the radio – first Top 40 songs and then later album rock of the 1970s.
When I went to college, I only had a handful of albums, including an Electric Light Orchestra greatest hits collection and Blue Oyster Cult’s “Agents of Fortune.” My collection quickly grew as I purchased albums by bands I heard on the radio: Pink Floyd, Genesis, Kansas and even a few some consider outside the realm of rock, like Tangerine Dream. When a college roommate introduced me to used record stores, I found cheap, but good-condition vinyl albums that swelled my collection.
When compact discs emerged in the 1980s, I left vinyl behind and focused on buying CDs. They cost more, but didn’t have pops, clicks, scratches or the dreaded skips. Yes, compact discs can be damaged, but for me they hold up better.
Another advantage to CDs is that they can be inserted into a computer drive and put on an iPod, which I did so I could listen to them in the car. Vinyl aficionados say records sound warmer. Honestly, I can’t tell the difference between records and CDs.
For my ears, the music from a CD is as good as a clean vinyl record. As downloading music became popular and eventually streaming, it seemed that purchasing physical media was less relevant. I still buy CDs but also create playlists on a streaming platform and listen to that music during my morning walks.
Recently I’ve heard that compact discs aren’t worth much, but vinyl records are on a resurgence. Apparently, a younger generation is embracing vinyl records. I just hope they have a lot of money.
When I purchased vinyl beginning in the 1970s, new records were around $6 or $7. Double albums (which now could fit on one CD) were $15 or $16. Now I see albums for as much as $27.
Why the cost jump? Vinyl albums are made better today than the ones I purchased in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Even used records have climbed in price, from the $2 to $3 dollars I paid in the past, to as much as $10 or more. The last two vinyl albums I bought were a Return to Forever album that was in good condition and the Carly Simon album “Boys in the Trees” that has her hit song “You Belong to Me.
” That album is in “like new” condition. I paid $2 for each one. Though I mostly listen to music on compact discs, my iPod and streaming, I continue to explore vinyl.
Recently I’ve spent Saturdays listening to just the vinyl I own. I don’t have many crossovers from my records to my compact discs, so it’s like stepping back in time to when I first bought and listened to music. No matter how you listen to music, I hope you still enjoy your favorite songs and artists and discover new sounds, as I have.
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