Hard to believe that I bought Rubber Soul fifty years ago when it was released in December of 1965. I still have that album, although it's jacket is a bit worn and tattered. Rubber Soul is one of about a thousand records I have kept over the years. It's a record that I play every year during the holidays. In fact, I'm listening to it right now. I recently shipped all my records from California where for over a decade they sat waiting for me in my ex-wife's garage. Records are heavy and I couldn't figure out how to ship them cross-country, until I asked my friend at my local used record store. He knew. In what must be a carry over from a time when people bought a lot of books and records, the post office still has a media rate. Which means instead of paying a hundred dollars a box it was only thirty dollars a box to ship thirteen boxes of vinyl cross country. Most people have gotten rid of their records, but LPs still seem to be a source of fascination for everyone. For me, it's just not the same when you look at a postage stamp sized picture of an album cover on your iPhone. Same thing with your personal photos. it's an experience when you look at a photograph in a frame, see a film in a theater or read a printed book. It's real, especially in a time when everything seems so temporary. Now, where was I going put all those records' My first thought was upstairs in my office. But then I realized listening to records while I was working wasn't going to work. Records require that you actually pay attention when you're listening, not just zone out and never really hear the music. The more I thought about it the more I wanted them in my living room, so I could share them with friends. Have an experience where we actually listen to music together. Then I thought wouldn't it be cool to invite people over and ask them to pick out a record they wanted to hear. Tell a story about why they chose that particular recording. I remember Rubber Soul. It was the record I listened to with my first true love on our first Christmas together in 1965. I was sixteen and my Dad had a showy turquoise blue Pontiac Bonneville with a white convertible top and a hood that went on forever. It had a great FM Radio and lots of room to make out. When I hear "Norwegian Wood" I'm back there with my girlfriend. That next August we went to see the Beatles at Shea Stadium. I don't think my dad still had that Bonneville, it must have been the green Mustang. I've bought Rubber Soul three times now. First as an LP, then as a CD and again last week at Barnes and Noble. They had a mono version that I wanted to hear, so I bought it. That's right, Barnes and Noble is selling vinyl in all of their stores. They have about three hundred titles for sale. A couple of years ago they closed the one next to my movie theater, now I have nowhere to go after the movie. I realized that if I didn't buy something this little vinyl oasis would disappear. I'm just like everybody else. I buy a lot of stuff on the internet, but I decided I wouldn't buy everything online, I need someplace to hang. Who knows, maybe one of your memories is waiting for you in their record department. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Click here to read full news..
