In Defense of The Download, part 1: You Can’t Get That Stuff No More

I now consume more recorded music than anyone I know. My weekly driving routine takes me to twelve (12) different thrift stores that are “local” to my area, and there are occasional jaunts to more remote areas – all in the name of vinyl. Beyond the records, these thrift stores are a great resource for my other addicitions (well-worn band t-shirts and cheap CDs), but the real search is always for rare, obscure, and unusual LPs. When I find some poorly designed short run self-financed, self-released album featuring original songs © 1973 by some goon in a polyester leisure suit (many times autographed by the artist), I know I am holding audio gold. Such records were originally a reliable source for drum breaks and beat samples I could craftily use in my own songs, but before long they became a staple of my regular listening. Echoing my experience is this very moving scene from the documentary Scratch, which illustrates perfectly how the greatest accumulation of expression in the history of recorded audio exists in LPs:

Praise be to the gods, the internet has provided a perfect marriage of two oft-maligned digital champions: the blog, and file sharing. I’ve found it to be the wildest dream come true for any out-of-control music enthusiast. When I buy a record at a Salvation Army thrift store, my internal dialogue goes something like this: “I have never seen this title before in my life, and I may never see it again – I need to buy this”. I have no interest in buying battered, dog-eared LPs of stuff that’s readily available on a CD pressing – finding the Rolling Stones or Elton John on wax does not thrill me. At home, after buying a stack of LP rarities, you can basically google the details of your finds, and see who (and where) in the world has any knowledge of that particular disc. I also like to throw in “blogspot” alongside my search terms, just to increase the quality results. In those cases where a blogger across the ocean happens to have posted a review or vinyl rip of that obscure LP you now own, you may want to check out other mysterious and unknown titles they’ve come across and felt moved to share.