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| Merry Christmas Sesame Street has been in our Christmas rotation for over 30 years! |
There are a few Christmas records we listen to each year and this year was particularly fun. Singing along, dancing around, decorating for Christmas and each family member taking turns picking Records. It was a rewarding time spent with family that centered around the Records being played.
Shortly thereafter I was talking with my friend "Wireless Mike" (he hosts a Music Interview show) about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2019, the merits of different music formats and the art of "active listening". We classified active listening as being undisturbed and focused intently on the music, melody, rhythm, etc. in place of the more passive or background music listening we all do on a daily basis. He and I both remember times in the past where one put on some music and the sole activity was to experience the music; to bask in the artistry or emotion (too much?). During the discussion we determined that Vinyl Records/Albums was the format or medium that facilitated active listening the best due to the physical nature of the Record and Record Player.
A few days later I stumbled across a clip from The Joe Rogan Expereience where he interviewed Henry Rollins and they discussed Protein listening vs. Carbohydrate listening (all within the first minute of the video). Then after going down the rabbit hole watching Black Flag documentaries (part#2) and SNL sketches I came across another Henry Rollins clip about listening to records. He talked about listening to a record with another person and how it requires attentive listening to fully grasp the music and also the nostalgia or depth that music can imprint in memory. I remember sitting in a best friend's basement playing hours of NES/Super Nintendo/N64 games on mute where neither of us spoke much as we listened to dozens of records.
Summation: All of that combined to rekindle one of my biggest passions... music!
Project Overview:
The general plan is to listen to a full 12" Record or Vinyl Album every 2 weeks for a total of 26 Records. In another metric, it equates to 1 side per week. 7" Records or 45s/Singles would be counted as 1/2 of a Side or 4 full 7" Records to equal a full 12" Record (I know the math doesn't add up... but it's all for fun anyways). Basically... listen to music!
Action Plan:
- Gather: Head out to record stores (Everyday Music, Music Millennium) and pick up some new records. It will be a great archaeological adventure and will flesh out the collection (currently consists of Punk Rock, Metal, Christmas and a few others randos). The outing will also be a bit if nostalgic in that it was something of a passion in the early 2000's; hunting for specific CDs or Records and spending hours pouring over the music.
- Listen: Spend time attentively listening to the records at an adequate volume, in other words... Loud! This is where the restrictor plates come into play. There is a limited window when high volume is available and time to absorb the music uninterrupted is at a premium.
- Report: Lastly there will be a short detail of the record, quality and impression of the music. These will not be full on reviews but rather a quick blurb on the listening experience. Each record will have a dedicated post and also linked from the list below.
Results:
Coming Soon...
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