Could I Love This Band More?

Yesterday I purchased my first ever album on vinyl. Which album did I buy? Why, Clarity of course. I found it at Zia's for about $23.00, and I have no intention of ever opening it. In fact, inspired by Steven's intelligent design (for some reason it makes me happy that I worked "intelligent design" into this post, so I left a surprise to any who click on that link) of framing his Rush albums and pasting them to his wall, I shall get a frame for Clarity and put it on my own wall. Eventually when I have made enough money or have had enough time, I will have a studio and this album shall be hanging upon its wall. For now, it'll go up in the "music room" (that is actually the guest bedroom of our new apartment until we fill it with a child--DISCLAIMER: we are not preggers yet my anxious and impatient friends--or guests).

Thus begins a new obsession for John: vinyl. I feel absolutely no rush to run out and drop tons of cash on albums (I don't even have an old school record player, yet), so this will be a slow build over the rest of my life. The other night though, we played poker over at Luke and Megan's (goodbye Steven and Jenna... *sniff* *sniff*), and Luke showed me his delightful collection of vinyls. While we played he put on an old Elvis album. There was something different about listening on vinyl; it just felt cool. In a faint way, it almost felt like being transported back in time or something. John likey. So, after I found Clarity, I perused the inventory over at Zia Records and discovered that vinyl is back, baby. They had TONS of used albums for a few bucks a pop. The new ones are much more expensive (you definitely pay for the higher quality of the vinyl), but, aside for decorative purposes, I don't desire to purchase new albums on vinyl so that shouldn't be too bad. I'm totally happy with CD quality, plus I can load them onto my iPod, which thing I like even more. Mainly, my vinyl purchases will be of old albums that I love but don't want to go drop some serious cash on getting. For example: The Carpenters, The Lettermen, Elvis, The Beach Boys, The Sound of Music, etc. These are great albums that I would love to have access to but don't want to spend $8-15 a pop in purchasing. Now, I can get them for $1 - $6 a pop and I'm good to go. Plus, you can find some great deals (like 3 for $1) at thrift stores and even Zia's. Nice. Another bonus is that I can finally check out some older artists that I've always wanted to hear, but never wanted to pay to hear like Neil Diamond, Elton John, The Who, and even classical music. There is a whole world of music out there for me.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share my new and current obsession. If anyone has any tips on purchasing a record player (what brands, what to look for) then I would appreciate the insight.

In other news, JEW (Jimmy Eat World for any who still aren't familiar with that acronym and were shocked by what seemed like my sudden outburst of racism) recently posted some information about the writing and recording of the tracks of Clarity. A must read for fans of this band. Check out Clarity: Track By Track.

*As an aside, I am not very familiar with intelligent design or what exactly it teaches, so my posting of that cartoon is not a statement on my own thoughts/opinions regarding the matter; I just thought it was funny. If anyone has a great reason for me to agree or disagree with it, feel free to comment. I'm all ears.