ObscuraJournal 1/12/26

I took a little time away from the journal to get some dailygrind shit out of the way, read a little, and ponder buying a turntable.

I don't really need a turntable. This is a want more than anything else. I grew up listening to albums ... late 70's early 80s. The concept of "singles" is lost on me, so much so I rarely listen to pop artists who put out nothing but singles. I like albums. I like it when bands put their whole fucking chest into 30-60 minutes of aural bliss.

My go to for music nowadays is Apple Music. Haters best get to kicking rocks, because to me nothing beats them. Sure, it's Apple, and they barely pay their artists, but neither do any of the other guys, and they do pay their artists. If I really like an album I will buy it, and I do support some artists on Bandcamp, etc. Spotify is turning into AI crap, not to mention right-wing bullshit I want nothing to do with. Besides, Apple Music works with CarPlay exactly like I want it to. No fuss, no mess, just plug in and jam. I know this because I spent two months trying out the competition, and nothing even comes close.

The thing I like most about streaming music is I can play entire albums. Sometimes the tracks have a theme, sometimes not. Sometimes there might be a concept. Doesn't matter. The realization that Pink Floyd's "Empty Spaces" is part of "Young Lust", or Van Halen's "Eruption" slides into "You Really Got Me", (or "Intruder" is part of "Oh, Pretty Woman") or "Sirius" is part of "Eye in the Sky" by The Alan Parsons Project, or any number of tracks meant to be play together (there are probably hundreds). Singles don't give you that connection.

Growing up, we had an album rock station. That meant they weren't beholden to constant advertising constraints. They had real DJs, playing music from vinyl albums. I know this because I visited their studio multiple times. Usually, after midnight, since they didn't have to worry about bombarding people with ads, they would play ENTIRE fucking albums.

Modern radio is dead. The youngsters of today will never know the awesome power that was just a dial away. Album rock radio stations have been gone even longer. Listening to whole albums, tracks meant to be played together, longer than the standard 3 minutes of poppy drool that is just mindless crap filtered through autotune ... that's where it's at folks.

Musicians who care about their music know this, which is why they've started putting out vinyl albums again. It never really went away, but now they're everywhere. Well, at least everywhere online. Good luck finding albums locally in my neck of the woods, which is a huge factor that may sway my ultimate decision of getting a turntable.

Record stores need to come back.

Well, they kind of are. Check your local Barnes & Noble. Also, check your local 2nd & Charles location.

The same criteria I used to check out streaming services applies to record stores:

Do they have Miles Davis Bitches Brew on vinyl? And, as a matter of fact, my local Barnes and Noble does.

Hmmm ... Decisions decisions.

peace&love