Growing up, I always associated classic rock with floor-shaking drum solos, ear-piercing electric guitars, smelly old records and dad’s crazy basement workouts. Like most of my peers, for me Led Zeppelin was no competition for Justin Timberlake. Car rides consisted of mostly country, pop, anything on America’s Top 40 and of course my father’s complaints about how he “could never understand why we liked such silly songs” and “how music just isn't the same anymore.”
My dad had always been, and remains to this day, the most important and influential man in my life. So, as I got older and realized that there was more to music than T-Swift, Bieber, Sam Hunt and America’s Top 40, I decided to give my father the benefit of the doubt and revisit his beloved classic rock.
I was familiar with many of the band names and their popular hits, but I never took the time to listen to any of their songs. I began with the basics and slowly began to expand my playlist. I’ll never forget my dad’s shock the first time I stole the aux and played "Ramble On" instead of "Sorry" in the car. While I’d always been close with my dad, classic rock helped bring us even closer together. Soon he wasn’t the only one bringing out the air guitar when Rock 101 was on the radio.
I soon realized that today’s music isn’t the same as it once was. Everything sounds the same. There is a distinct pattern of beats and tunes repeated for three minutes or so and then it’s over. I still enjoy today’s top hits, but have a new appreciation for Steven Tyler’s insane vocals and Jimmy Page’s crazy guitar solos -- two things even Bieber will never be able to compete with.
I never understood what people meant when they said that everything sounds better on vinyl. How could anything sound better than that HD mp3 track playing through $200 headphones? So while many argued that vinyl was making a comeback, I remained loyal to my trusty iPhone to deliver my daily music dose.
That was until about three weeks ago, when my roommate received a record player for her birthday. I then brought back some of those old albums that had been collecting dust for so many years. Expecting them to sound old and scratched, I was amazed at their quality, despite the fact that their casings looked as if they’d been through the Vietnam War. I’d heard these songs a million times, but hearing them on that record player was like listening to them for the first time again. I realized that it wasn’t the vocals, beats or guitars that changed, but the experience. Something about listening to these albums knowing that my dad was doing the same exact thing 30 or so years ago makes them even more enjoyable.
Not everyone wants to listen to music from 40 years ago, especially when Beyonce just released her new song after an entire year off. But sometimes it’s good to revisit the oldies.
People argue that classic rock never left, and for some it might be true, but I can’t remember the last time I went to a frat party and someone played "Walk This Way." Society is so focused on “the latest and greatest” that they forget that the latest might not always be the greatest.
It pays to step back and revisit the past. As for record players, many say they are just a fad, a waste of money, impractical or inconvenient. I say give them a chance, because everything sounds better on vinyl.
