Old School

I don't suppose I'm an expert on the mindset young men in the 70's propagated when they were depressed...but I'm willing to bet ya money that if they were anything like young men today, they put on records.

Believe you me: The best remedy that can get Elder Roxas out of a real funk, and real fast, is getting me some cookie dough, some good movies, and some good music, and then locking me up in my room for hours and hours. And when I found myself in the middle of a very complicated love triangle last weekend, I could think of no better cure. Honestly.

But I might've taken it a bit too far. Instead of the usual run to Wal-Mart and going on a movie buying spree at F.Y.E., I did something a bit more old school. I pigged out at Arby's and Iceburg, then went to my last Sundance Film Festival screening Choke, and then raided F.Y.E. --not for movies this time, but for vinyl. You got me: I bought a record player, plus three or four records.

So now I'm sitting here at 3:18 AM, going through some old emails and my new records. Now before you panic, I must inform you that I've got a perfectly good sense of financial judgment when it's called for. The record player is complete with a CD player, an AM/FM radio, and a jack with plug for an iPod. Now, how much better can you get for only $100? I do not know. Especially when right next door to Pink Floyd and The Beatles, one of my three favorite albums is sitting on the shelf in front of me, glistening and begging me to try it in vinyl: The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance. Oh, JOY! Sweet ecstasy! I think I wet myself just standing there, seeing it. So it now joins my slowly growing record album library, next to Abbey Road and The Dark Side of the Moon, since it's just as great in my eyes as these giants of rock as well. And what else do I have? As a true Orem High alumni, I actually own a copy of Survivor's Eye of the Tiger album. On top of that, I also have two albums that came out last year: Neon Bible by Arcade Fire and In Rainbows by one of the greatest bands to ever live, Radiohead.

I'll admit that I've honestly never heard a record before tonight. From everyone I spoke with, vinyl has its own sound, but CD's and mp3's obviously sound better. But I really think that hearing vinyl is a great musical experience in and of itself. Just when I thought I couldn't fall any more in love with The Black Parade, I hear Gerard Way's voice crackling over the song that changed my life, "Famous Last Words," giving an interesting dimension to it....a sort of beautiful imperfection. An older, warmer sound. A higher pitch, a more desperate and heartfelt sounding music. And hey, some guitar solos on the album actually sound much clearer. I'm starting to wonder just what I've been missing from the 70's....I am gonna raid music stores for record albums the soonest I get the chance. Cuz I am having a lot of fun with my vinyl.

I think I found a new hobby.