"You've taken your first steps into a much larger world."

Alright, I'll apologize for the Star Wars title. It just felt necessary.

So, I've picked up a couple marvelous new toys this week. Numero uno (that's 'Number one' for those of you who don't speak Spanish) is a typewriter. Specifically, an early 1960's Remington Streamliner. Matt let me borrow his (a remarkable Olympia SM-9) for a few hours and I fell in love. It seems to add so much gravitas to the words you write...you really learn to appreciate spellcheck, the backspace key, and the immediacy of gramatical correction of the Personal Computing age. I sincerely think everyone should have to take their high school typing classes on manual typewriters...

Next up is my most recent purchase, a Denon DP-37F turntable. I got this used on consignment at the local audiophile shop down in Bismarck. I'll have to replace the cartridge (already have one picked out, a Shure M-97xe) and repair/replace the mounting bracket on the tonearm, but it's supposedly one of the best entry-level audiophile turntables out there, and I got it for a pretty amazingly low price. Something about pure analog music turns my bones.

Which made me think aloud today: Maybe I'm turning into a luddite. (technically speaking, a "neo-luddite" as I'm perfectly happy with the English textile processes of the early 19th century). Obviously since you're reading this on a blog, created from a computer, uploaded onto a network of connected computers and stored on server in some large city, I'm not anti-technology at all. In fact, I welcome technicological change. I think I'm just romantically drawn to technologies that I was not around to appreciate. I loved hearing my dad tell me how to care for my turntable and LPs...and opening a new LP has once again, that heafty feel to it. Somehow it feels more real and immediate than simply downloading a new album and having it portably stored on your iPod/Zune/Sansa/etc straight away. The smell of a new pressing of vinyl, the large and colorful artwork, the grooves of the record...it's just a much more gratifying experience in my opinion.
So far, I only have 3 albums but this number will soon inflate, as I'm now bound to checking out all used record shops/yard sales/vinyl dealers for the albums that I have to own. But I think I have a pretty good first three: Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, In Rainbows by Radiohead, and No Deliverance by the Toadies. I'm thinking of ordering Kind of Blue by Miles Davis and Imagine by John Lennon, both on 180g virgin vinyl later this week at that.

So, chances are within the next few weeks, should one of you pop on by my place for a cup, we'll have some great tunes to listen to, in their intended format!
Happy listening to me!
-w-