i made a proud purchase today, bought & sold like crack rock in the parking lot outside work, carried from one car to another in the icy wind & fluffy snowflakes (looks like we might be in for a white thanksgiving). i finally leapt into the '70s & bought myself a record player.

actually, it's more than just a record player. it's a ge shelf system complete with radio, dual cassette, & high-speed dubbing (which could turn out to be useful someday, especially if i ever get around to handing out all the contest prizes that've been won over the past couple years), with speakers, all for $30. but i already had a shelf system with 25-disc changer (not that the damn changer will even recognize cds anymore; i listen to music through my computer most of the time) & dual cassette. i just bought this new one because i needed a record player.

my parents were confused that i'd bought it. they, like i would have been only a few short years ago, were boggled that i would feel i needed a turntable. i didn't bother explaining at the time (they didn't really ask, though). after all, cds made records obsolete, right?

for simple recording & playback, cds are clearly better. they're longer & use digital recording technology instead of analog. that means during the silent bit in your favorite song, it really is silent. no popping & static. way back when people cared about pearl jam, i recall hearing about eddie vedder's claims that vinyl "sounded better" & to this day i still don't really get what he meant.

so why would i need a turntable? because i listen to underground electronic music. it's all about the dj. paradoxically, the music that is the most technologically advanced, created largely or entirely using computers or other fancy electronic devices, probably puts out more vinyl than anyone else. so in order to get a lot of the good stuff, i needed to buy a record player.

much of the scene hangs on the idea of the dj (the rave scene especially. interestingly, the rap/hip-hop scene seems to have almost forgotten about its djs). unlike the hacks on corporate radio who talk through the first 20 seconds of every song, these djs elevate the act of playing other people's music to an artform. armed usually with only two turntables & a mixer, they create a seamless blend of music, which morphs from one song to another, overlapping & creating, ever so briefly, a brand new song. they scratch (scratching has become almost a cliche, but in the right hands still sounds brilliant), they play tracks at the wrong speed to get different sounds, & do dozens of tricks they simply couldn't with cds. in some parts of the scene djs seem to get more respect than the artists who made the tracks they spin.

so everyone wants to have a record out in the hopes that djs will spin it (or because they too are djs or aspiring djs, & want to be able to spin their own tracks). it's almost like a status symbol to get your music pressed on vinyl. sure, with cdr technology so cheap these days anyone can be diy & put out cdrs, but not everyone has a 12" out... also, it's cheaper to press vinyl than to factory press cds. the result is that a lot of the coolest stuff is never released on cd, so i've never been able to get it. until now.

eventually this is going to kick off a large record-buying spree, but maybe not right away. i doubt i'll even play the records much; i'll just burn them to cd when i get them & leave them in pristine condition, unplayed & ready for some dj friend to borrow for a set. or maybe someday i will aspire to be a dj, & i will be able to spin the beach boys record or the 45 of falco's "rock me amadeus" that came along with the stereo for free.