Vinyl is making a comeback, or is it that
just that it never really left?
I have spent a lot of my life, as many of us
do, trying to keep up with the times. What cloths are in fashion, what car is a
cool one to drive, what music do I listen to, that sort of thing. What I have
done however is two things that I now realise have been to the detriment of my
failed attempt to keep in step with the times.
I have sacrificed in part, the quality that
came with trading out many of the things I loved for efficiency and convenience
and,
I have traded away a little part of who I
am.
I know that the new 60 is the old 40 and my
generation is doing things our parents would never have tried or been open to.
We are living longer and looking younger (despite a diet off the McDonalds’
deal menu) but that does not guarantee that all of the advancements mean that we take along the quality that we previously had. I know it was a technological
breakthrough to put 1,000 songs on to a pocket sized MP3 player, but the price we
paid was the quality of the music and one thing I have discovered is that quantity
in no way takes the place of quality.
Music has always been a very important part of my life, it brings back memories of times and places. My entry into acting was through musical theatre and in times of joy and sadness it has always been there to comfort me. It brings emotion to births , wedding and funerals and it's the link between words and pictures in films. There is nothing quite like seeing and hearing live music, everything after that is always second best.
Vinyl records have always been available on
places like 'e bay' and in retro shops but suddenly my daughters’ generation has
rediscovered how cool it is all over again. Interestingly it is also the
artists of that Vinyl generation that are in the forefront of the revival. I
was in HMV today and noticed that it was James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac and the
Ramones who were leading the charge and not the music of the present time. Suddenly there was a common link that I had with a young woman who had pink hair and piercings, is was the music and in this case the Vinyl. It was a bridge that has spanned several generations and allowing us to experience this common bond.
The thing I have learned throughout this is
that we all need a little quality in our lives. Quality of music, quality of
books, films, cloths or whatever it is for you and most importantly, quality in our relationships.
Convenience is great and it is needed in this time we live in, but we can
always use quality. It will outlast everything.
