Shadow Record © Tré Inc. 2010

Music has now become a convenient pleasure. You can think of a song and download it within minutes. I recall a time when listening to it was a luxury that took a lot more effort. You’d wait with bated breath for your favorite band to release a new song on the radio, and wait till midnight to see a new music video premiering on MTV (a blank VHS in the player, and your trigger happy finger on the record button). As much as I love progress and technology, I still romantically hold on to my vinyl records. The dusty crackle and pop as the needle hits the record, that white noise pause before the music kicks in—it all takes me back to happy memories of running in place while listening to Del Shannon’s Runaway, bopping to Bobby Day’s Rockin’ Robin, and wistfully tossing spare change into the air as Bille Holiday sang Pennies From Heaven. Records are priceless tomes in my library, and this piece is a homage to my undying love for vinyl.