Even though it is now obsolete technology, I still have my record albums. I can no longer play them, without a bit of work. I do still have a turntable that I could hook up, but I am not sure of the condition of the needle, or how well it functions.
When I was growing up these records were such a huge and important part of my life. I put in a lot of hours to earn enough money to buy a record, and despite my parents disapproval, it was a sacrifice I was happy to make. The music that they provided gave me a lot of enjoyment and got me through a lot of hard times. Many of these records would “snap, crackle, and pop” when I listened to them, others would skip, but I played the records so much that those audio problems became a part of the songs. I remember stacking pennies on top of the stylus in an attempt to weight the needle down in the groove so it would skip.
I was surprised about 20 years ago when a friend, who was baby sitting for some children that were brought over to her house, told me that the kids had never seen a record player and were very intrigued by how it worked when they saw one in her house. That was the first time I really felt the march of time. How could something that had been such a big part of my life suddenly be obscure and old. I remembered being similarly intrigued as a child the first time I came across an old Victrola.
I have kept up with the changing technology. This music that I first bought as an LP, I later put on a reel to reel tape recorder, then bought again as a cassette, after which I purchased I lot of the same songs as CD’s. Now a good chunk of this music is on my computer and iPad as digital music.
Oh well, here sit my records. Even if they are no longer get played, they bring back a lot of good memories, and fill up a space underneath the television.
See my paintings: www.davidmarchant.ca
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