Some post Valentine’s goodness. Happy Valentine’s day vinyl lovers from Merlin and I ❤️❤️

Always and always and always ascending. 

Do you see any of your favourites in here? 👀

I see you 👀

Don’t you break my faded heart.

Take it or leave it.

Now playing. . . 🎶

Lounging in my favourite chair, listening to my favourite Weezer album! 📷: Casey Haughland

I was listening to The Postal Service before my friend’s wedding yesterday. Merlin was pretty unimpressed when I told him that he couldn’t be my date.

Naturally, I’m being indecisive as to which Of Montreal album I need to be listening to🎶👀

Masseduction I can’t turn off what turns me on. . . 

When it’s your last day of the winter holidays and you go into a frenzied panic trying to listen to your entire collection in a day 😂❤️

All my clouds have a silver lining From which I'll melt the metal down For paddles for my heart to keep it beating And if they keep repeating Then the two of us could dance all through the night And get caught up in the rain

I am going to get a little bit real here for a minute. . .

I don’t even know if people will read this, but I need to do something I don’t usually do and vent because I woke up to a message that kind of struck me the wrong way. 

My vinyl turntable is a Crosley Bermuda. I am well aware of the problems that come with that system (like any suitcase turntable). I am well aware of the quality and how it could potentially do damage to the records. I know that the sound produced is not nearly what other incredible systems are able to do. I get it.

I don’t owe this information to anyone but let me tell you guys a little story. I am lucky enough to engage with all kinds of amazing people on here. We talk about records, we talk about our favourites, we talk about our collecting life, and I always get asked how I got into collecting and I always say the same thing. . . I got into it because my dad was into it, and it inspired me. Here is the thing I never mention. My turntable was a gift to me after my father lost his very fast, very aggressive 11 month battle to cancer. 

In the darkest and most depressing part of my life, this gift was given to me by someone I love dearly with a huge heart who saw I was hurting and wanted to give me another way to connect with my father. I ate it up. I wanted to listen to anything and everything as fast as I could because it helped me heal. It helped me feel on the days that I would have otherwise just sat staring at the wall wishing for him to be back with me. It got people into my house and gave us something to do that felt safe when I wanted to be around others but not talk. It helped me process feelings I didn’t even know I had. This record player, no matter the quality has saved me and that’s the most important thing I could ask for. Isn’t that one of the huge things music gives to us?

Guys. I know there are some audiophiles out there that see my set up and shake their heads.  But you never know why people have what they have and you definitely never know what they have been through.  We should not be punished for what brings us joy. Music is a safe place for me, and I love to connect and share it with others. I am so thankful for the amazing vinyl lovers that have engaged in positive discussions with and have chatted with me about a setup that I could upgrade to in the future (I am currently saving up to get myself something really special, hopefully as a birthday present in April!) 

Just be kind to each other everyone. There are enough hard discussions out there that we have to have over everyday issues. There are many scary situations and unsafe places in the world. There are enough negative things people go through in their day to day grind. Please, let’s not make music one of them. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. 

xo

I wanna hurry home to you Put on a slow, dumb show for you and crack you up So you can put a blue ribbon on my brain

When your best furry friend interrupts you as you are trying to take a moody Smashing Pumpkins photo. . . didn’t come out quite the way I intended. 

I’m gonna die in a getaway car. . .