a beginning with no end

I like buying records.

That's the guts of it, but it's a little more complicated than that. I like buying records because I'm trying to recapture something. There's a certain disposability with music these days, and it's getting harder and harder to really connect with music and the people who create it. The magic is slipping away slowly.

I remember the record player my parents owned. Being so young I didn't understand anything about records, so the played was this thing of beauty and reverence - a magic box that created music by some ethereal process.

Today, music is just another digital commodity and it's such a shame. CDs have become the next digital watch - you can't give them away on a street corner. Digital music is just so utterly impersonal too - download, listen, delete, repeat. I love being able to carry a thousand songs in my back pocket, but it doesn't make me appreciate the subtly and mystery of music, nor the man hours that so many people have put into creating it.

Listening to the music of a fantastic band should be an experience, something to be cherished and appreciated. I guess buying records is how I choose to reconnect with that magic. I've only been collecting vinyl for the last year so my collection is far from expansive or amazing, but it is very special to me. Sounds a little self-indulgent but most hobbies are.

So welcome to my waxlog, a place where I can document some of the records that have passed into (and sometimes through) my hands, and a place where I can strive to recapture some of the romance of an old record player.