As I was reminiscing Thursday about no longer bringing records to gigs, unless it’s a friend’s party or a more intimate event, I began thinking about when I first started collecting records in the early 80s, when I was old enough to ride my bike to the local record store and with a Kiss album slung under one arm, rode home one handed with the other. Getting home and spending hours looking at the artwork, reading endless lyrics I couldn’t really understand, liner notes and being immersed 
in listening to the album all the way through, song by song. Even sitting there and patiently waiting for the songs you didn’t like as much to play all the way through sometimes augmented the better songs. Within the larger context of the album those songs often fit in, and you were able to develop a bigger picture of what the artist was going after.
There were so many essential albums that needed to be listened to in this way, Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti and Stairway to Heaven, Pink Floyd’s The Wall and Final Cut. This was the beginning of the formative experiences one develops with music, and how a deeper, more intimate connection with the music is cultivated. I wrote about one of these experiences relating to Downtown Records here.
I was in Tribeca last night for a gallery opening for a friend’s photography exhibit and he expressed a similar sentiment so well I thought I’d share, unfortunately I don’t have any copies of his photographs to post, but here’s what he wrote:
“Portraits: 1979-1982
I was 13 years old in 1979 when my father entrusted his Zeiss Ikon 35mm camera to me. In the thirty years since, I have shot countless portaits, but this collection of primary work remains my favorite. The unhindered perspective of a young teenager shooting reluctant subjects created an authentic connection clearly captured in these early works. Shot in a makeshift studio in my parents basement, these images reveal not only the lack of constraint that comes with youth, but also the importance of spontaneity in the creative process.
I photographed my 3 sisters relentlessly (and 3 neighbors across the street) for the following 10 years. The images were influenced by shots of musical icons of the era (Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde) and television advertising (Charlie’s Angels, Calvin Klein ads). In later sessions, the posing became more formal and the work improved technically. But what they gained in professionalism, they seemed to lose in spirit. These early images not only represent a moment in time in the lives of the subjects, but a pre-digital era long gone. This was a time when every frame counted, when few knew what a stylist was, when photoshop did not exist, when mistakes were not deleted, but printed and paid for, staring you in the face and begging for evaluation. This was when the anticipation of waiting for the results made the process that much more contemplative and exciting. When the lack of “readily available” necessitated digging deeper to find resources, resulting in a greater appreciation of every detail and a more individual expression.”
Perhaps you might head down to a local record store today or tomorrow and talk to the guy behind the counter, you might be surprised with what he can show you.
April 18, 2009
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