Turns Out I Miss Vinyl LPs Afterall



My New Purchase: All Things Must Pass

 I am not much for nostalgia since most of the things I liked when I was younger are better now. I never sit around and daydream “God, I wish this TV only had three stations and I had to get up to adjust the volume.” Or, “Man, ten year old Penthouse magazines I found in the garbage were so much better than internet porn.”


So, I wouldn’t say I was feeling nostalgic in Record Revolution in Cleveland Heights on Saturday – just a bit of longing for the forgotten beauty of vinyl albums which Record Revolution had in bins all around the store. But what did I miss? Was it the sound? Purists will say that vinyl recording most clearly reflected the original intent of the musicians and producers who mixed tracks to precisely translate to LPs – and that their future digital incarnations were merely copies – copies that were cleaned and scrubbed, erasing the imperfections that gave each track and each recording session its own signature. But albums could get scratched and needles could jump, and not being a purist, I never really did miss the recordings.

No, I think what I miss is my record collection. Like a college bound fool, I sold mine before I left for school - an entire box for the price of a keg or two of beer. Mine was not populated with rare bootlegs – I had Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, The Doors, The Beatles and that Boston album with the flying guitars that looked like spaceships. But it was representative of my high school years – in some way it was part of what defined me. Sure, I can power up my iPod and listen to all these songs in their digital clarity; but I can’t read the liner notes and find out that Pete Willis played guitar on Def Leppard’s High and Dry album. (Rock trivia: Did you know that Tesla’s song, “Song and Emotion” was dedicated to Def Leppard guitarist, the late Steve Clark?)

And I miss the cover art; Bruce Springsteen on Born To Run, his Telecaster slung around his leather jacket; the Beatles looking over the balcony on the 1967-1970 greatest hits album.

Record Revolution (which is still so indie they don’t have a website or a Facebook page) brings all this back. It is like looking through photos from your childhood and wondering what happened to your friend in the picture of the two of you on your bikes in front of your old house. You forgot how much you really liked that kid.

I guess in some way I do miss the scratched records and the jumpy needles. I guess the entire experience has, after all, left me feeling nostalgic.

Record Revolution

1828 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118-1611
(216) 321-7661