The record, the album, the LP (long player), vinyl disc… There are many names for it.. Sometimes the cover was beautiful, like a painting. You looked at the cover, tried to imagine the music, took the black disc out of the sleeve, put it on the turntable, placed the needle carefully… And then you sat down and listened for about 20 minutes, trying to concentrate with no interruptions.. Then you had to stand up, and turn the disc over to side two, and listen again for another 20 minutes..
Many years ago (more than 30 years ago), High School students did this every evening. Next day at school, you would tell your friends about the latest album discovery.. One friend loved "Slow Train Coming", another was crazy about "Dark Side of the Moon", the cool guys were listening to "The Velvet Underground", and some girls had discovered Kate Bush's debut album… These records were alive and they spoke to us, they had a voice.. And the memory of those albums remains strong today...
Record Store Day on April 20th: a chance to go to a record shop, listen to some live music, buy a record or CD, and remember some albums from the past, from the period before MTV, before Spotify, before iTunes and downloads and "Grammy for Best Video".