“I grew up in the ’80s, so I was very much a cassette kid for a lot of years, but my earliest memories of hearing music were of digging LPs out of my Dad’s closet and playing them on our record player. It was how I first discovered music. My first record store, I guess.”
“The first time I put on “Louie, Louie” by the Kingsmen, I was absolutely hooked. I used to hold my breath for the few seconds of hiss and pop before the intro lick. Another pivotal moment was hearing The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” for the first time. I had never heard anything like that electric guitar, or anybody sing with that kind of swagger. I remember being slightly terrified and fascinated by “Play With Fire.”
There was also Simon and Garfunkel, The Righteous Brothers, The Beach Boys and The Oak Ridge Boys. And while I didn’t listen to the Herb Alpert Whipped Cream And Other Delights album much, I certainly spent a good deal of time looking at that cover. Add to all of this, the sheer mystery of the physics of a record player, and it’s safe to say my little mind was blown.
I remember going on family trips to the mall and getting to go to the Record Bar. I played guitar by then and I’d load up on as many Chuck Berry, AC/DC, and Led Zeppelin tapes as I could afford. Sometimes I’d hear a song on the radio and not know who it was, and I’d go to the clerk and sing a little of it for them and they could always find it for you. That level of mystery and engagement in music discovery seems to plant it a little deeper in your soil.
There is a culture in record stores that is inspiring. I was not a gifted athlete, nor was I on the math team, so to go to a place where all of these oddballs were on display and you could see their creations and personalities being celebrated out loud (literally) was very cool for a young person like me to see. It gave me courage. There’s a sense of community in a record shop.
“Yeah, the world might be going to s**t, but have you heard this record?”
Over the years, there have been countless times when I wanted to hear a certain album by an artist that just never made it all the way through the changes to a modern format, and the only place to find them now is record shops. You may find the hit song from that album on a streaming site, but you have to find the physical album to hear the originally intended collection. There’s a romance to it that, if you appreciate it, makes all the difference in the world.
EAT MORE RECORDS!”
—Adam Wright
I Win, the new release from Adam Wright arrives in stores on October 9, 2020.
