Music.
Music is one of those things that is so complex, yet so simple at the same time. It holds the power to instantly change someone’s mood. Have you heard the saying that music is life, and because of this that is why our hearts have beats? (while an actual statement, it was also my hopefully successful attempt at a dad joke lol). This saying does ring true though. Imagine a world without music. Pretty dull and boring right? Music is something that most of us tend to listen to every day. Whether it is actually listening to full songs, hearing a snippet in a Tik-Tok video, or having it be in the background of a film we're watching. Music is something that surrounds a lot of aspects of our lives, and I for one am so blessed that we have it.
As you all know, I love writing (hence one of the reasons that I started this site), and music is a form of writing. It allows the songwriter to express their feelings but in a different artistic way. One that moves people (literally and figuratively). I’ll admit, I went through my songwriting phase. Were they the best amongst audiences, maybe not-although I never really shared them, but to me they were everything. I still have that little felt notebook that I always carried with me Incase a new idea struck up, and every once in a while I still flip through it and add a few lyrics or two.
I think one of the most beautiful things about music is that there isn’t just one type, or in this case genre. We all have the option to choose which we like best. I for one am a fan of pretty much all genres of music, as long as I can understand what you’re saying then we are good haha. Regardless of the genre though, each one has the ability to speak to listeners. You can learn a lot about someone else by listening to songs that mean something to them. It’s like a peek into their soul. That is how deep music can affect. One of my favorite quotes is from Robin Williams: “You know what music is? God’s little reminder that there’s something else besides us in this universe; harmonic connection between all living beings, everywhere, even the stars.” Music has the power to bring people, from all walks of life together-regardless of where they’re located in the world. These last two months is a perfect example of that, left and right there are singers and songwriters putting on virtual concerts with thousands, upon millions of people all tuning in to listen to the same tunes. It goes to show that even in dark times, music sheds light and can turn the hard moments into a little bit easier ones.
We are extremely Blessed in today's day and age to have the technology that we do because with this we have music at our fingertips. We can bring it with us wherever we go. Whereas a few decades ago, it wasn’t as easy. Music originally was something that could only be seen played live, or heard in the comfort of your own home. But as mentioned, now today everything is much different. Over the years music, and music players evolved; from phonograms to MP3 players and everything in between. Nothing beats hearing music live, but my favorite way to listen is hands down on vinyl. While there’s nothing wrong with listening to music directly off your phone; listening to it off of a vinyl (at least to me) is 10x better. It provides a mid-range very warm sound; pair that up with some classic rock and you’ve got yourself some solid gold right there. Another benefit to vinyl is that with mp3s quality and certain details can get lost due to files having to be compressed in order to be stored on your phone. Whereas with vinyl there is no data lost when pressing and creating a record, so it sounds just as great as it was originally intended. Currently, as I’m writing this we’ve got some Billy Joel playing in the back 👌🏻 were chilling lol.
I’ve always been intrigued by record players, and vinyl - but it wasn’t until about four years ago that I personally got into starting a collection of my own. It all began with a trip to Hollywood on my last fall break in college. My sister and I had driven up to LA to attend Chad Michael Murray’s book signing (hello One Tree Hill and Cinderella Story fans). While wandering around Barnes and nobles I saw a sign raffling off a vinyl player, a Star Wars one to be exact (literally this thing was calling my name lol). I thought ‘what the heck, I’m probably not going to win’ as I filled out the little information card and dropped it off in the slot. It was one of those things where you know it would be cool to win, but you don't actually think it's going to happen. The week passed by, and I was on my way back to Arizona to finish up school when I got a call from an unknown number. I decided to let it go to voicemail, one because I was driving, but two I also don't answer calls unless I know who they're from, and more times than not if the caller was actually trying to reach me, they would leave a message. After about an hour or so I pulled into a gas station to fill up and listened to the voicemail...I had won! It was a Barnes and Noble employee letting me know, that I Tessa Zalfen had won the Star Wars Vinyl Player (cue fangirl squeals of excitement). After composing myself, and calling the gentleman back we agreed that when I was done with school in two weeks and back in California, that I would come to pick it up. Little did I know that at that time, I was about to pick up a new hobby. One that I love with all my heart.
Flash forward to the present day and my collection has grown immensely. From what started with one vinyl, Billy Joel’s ‘Glass House’; has now turned into well over 100 different pieces of records, ranging over multiple genres. One of the main reasons that I love growing my collection, is that it's almost like a treasure hunt. Ninety percent of mine have come from swap meets or thrift shops. You never know what you’re going to find, and when you pull one out by an artist that you love, the feeling is unmatched. I may get some hate for saying this, but I am more of a fan of the classic “oldies” music, I guess you could call it. What teens today would describe as the music that their parents listened to. I love music today, don't get me wrong. Play some 5SOS or some T-Swizzle to name a few, and were chilling. *NSYNC, you’re my new best friend (they’re supperior to Backstreet Boys, just saying). However, in my opinion, nothing can match that of the music from ’50s-’80s (I do enjoy some 30s/40s as well though: Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin have such defined voices and sound). Artists such as The Beatles, Queen, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel-yes I mentioned him again, love me some good ole Billy; will always trump the music of today. Now I could continue to list artists that have continued to transcend time and will continue to do so, But that could go on for miles trust me, this is just barely scratching the surface. Just like how I find most of my vinyl at flea markets, a huge amount of my collection is also made up of classics by those above, and many more. I have a few ‘newer’ vinyl, which is some of my prized possessions I’ll admit (especially since the creation of colored vinyl discs instead of the normal solid black), but there’s something about a vinyl with a little love already that makes it extra special. When you purchase a used vinyl (obviously check that it's in playable condition before doing so) you’re giving it a second life, and that to me is a little magical.
As much as I love thrift stores and swap meets because you never know what you’re going to find, I also love vinyl shops. One of my favorites, living close to LA, is hands down Amoeba. For those who have been to Amoeba, you already know what I’m talking about. But for those who haven’t, when this is all over please go, or let me take you lol. Even if you aren’t necessarily a fan of vinyl, it is such a cool shop; and they also sell music and movie memorabilia too, all walks of pop culture really. Literally walking into Amoeba is a music lover heaven. Left and right walls are adorned with pretty much any artist that you could name from every genre imaginable. New, unopened, and reimagined classics to slightly worn down and used. Either way, I guarantee you will leave with at least one in your hand-or spending over one hundred dollars (whaaaaaatttt me? I never did that lol). I personally just love the vibe and feeling of community that the store expresses. They welcome you in with open arms, and you are able to strike up conversations with others over an artist that you both love and who has most likely majorly impacted your life in some way as well. Vinyl shopping is just an overall experience. One that is extremely unique in its own way. You’ll take gambles, and put money into albums having no idea if they're actually worth it or not. But that's part of the fun. Obviously you have albums on your wish list and artists you love, but sometimes one catches your eye that you know absolutely nothing or very little about. More often times than not, I have gotten home and played my wild card and ended up absolutely loving it. When it comes down to it vinyl shopping provides you with so much more than just clicking purchase in the iTunes Store. It provides you with an experience that you can't get over the phone. One that when this is all over with, I can’t wait to get back to.
I hope you all enjoyed this week's topic. After the last two weeks, I wanted to get back to a little bit of the lighter side of things and share a passion/hobby of mine that I adore. I absolutely loved these last few weeks though. I love being able to be transparent and open with you guys. I want to show everyone that vulnerability isn’t a weakness. There is such a large stigma around talking openly about mental health, and I want to try and dismiss that. Break down that barrier. Over the course of our lives, we are taught to put up those walls and to not let people in, when in reality it should be the exact opposite. I don't want anyone to be scared to talk about things such as this that affect millions of people’s daily lives. And with April being sexual assault awareness month, and May being mental health awareness; there is no better time than the present. So here is to being unapologetically open. I hope that this peek into my life inspires some of you guys to do the same And to erase the stigma that shouldn’t even exist in the first place.<3
Cheers to us all, and to another week of making it through quarantine! Now go jam to some of your favorite tunes.
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