I’ve never listened to a vinyl before. It’s only in old movies or retro-themed films that I get to listen to one. And even then, the audio would sound so smooth and flawless. I never knew how different the music sounds like coming from these records.
I discovered vinyl records aren’t perfect. Often there’d be that static noise in the background. You can even hear them crackle sometimes. They’re the audio equivalent of those silver screen movies – filled with vertical lines at one time or bursting with bright lights the next. They can be distracting but I guess, it’s part of their appeal.
It’s a totally new experience, something that definitely increased my appreciation for this particular medium. It’s not just the kind of music that’s on record, but the quality on which they were produced. Of course, they’re nothing like the audio we have now.
But at some point, the records made me long for a time I never knew. It’s poignant and mysterious and “old”. Old in a very, very good way – just like how memories of summer afternoons in childhood bring nostalgia or how Sunday morning rain can sometimes bring comfort and melancholy.
The Great 78 Project
A simple search on YouTube can give you a taste of vinyl experience. But the effort of Internet Archive with their Great 78 Project would surely cater to your curiosity. They’ve uploaded over 25,000 78s of wide genre. Most date back to 1939. It’s the aim of the project to preserve the cultural value of these records. They were digitized mainly for preservation, research and discovery.
Update: Removed links to Somehwere Over the Rainbow, La Vie En Rose and Spellbound. They aren’t working anymore.
As always, thanks for dropping by!
Featured Photo by Emma Frances Logan
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