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Random Record Pick is a way to organize and archive an always-growing collection of vinyl records. Each record is randomly picked from a shelf or crate or dusty corner of my house, a photo is taken of the cover, and then the entire record is played all the way through, even if it’s terrible.
For more photos, connect to @afrancisb on Instagram.
Random Record Pick is a way to organize and archive an always-growing collection of vinyl records. Each record is randomly picked from a shelf or crate or dusty corner of my house, a photo is taken of the cover, and then the entire record is played all the way through, even if it’s terrible.
Well. That was surprisingly easy even though my bones and skin feel reversed and my head is somewhere floating behind my body. (I’m talking about THIS.)
Maybe it was SO SIMPLE, though, because these CNN.com headlines were written so well. THANKS CNN. You’re THE BEST. You make everything sound so ridiculous that I don’t even have to worry about any of it being real.
It’s not real, right? CNN.com turned into the Onion, right? Pure satire, right? Because these headlines CAN’T be actual news.
Or, wait…I did get stuck on Interstate 290 heading out of Chicago Monday morning because of a…train crash. UH OH.
But maybe that’s the only real news item, right? RIGHT!? Please tell me yes. I can’t deal with anything serious right now, okay?
I hadn’t listened to any music since late August, so of course I go ahead and have Random Record Night two nights in a row. SORRY BABY.
Usually I’m brewing beer or cooking something while I do this. (Who wants to just sit and listen to music? BORING.) Last night, I was just making some pizza dough and fresh-picked-basil pesto. No actual cooking, but SO MUCH MIXING.
Anyway, here’s what the records were like:
Don’t fuck with the King. He will teach you not one, not two, not three, but FOUR ways to be a good and moral and decent human being. I listened to this and I heard it.
Even though I’m a little too familiar with Bob Dylan, I’m not so familiar with this album. For whatever reason it’s one that I just neglect. Lots of good songs, though. “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” is always one I like to hear. It also has “All Along the Watchtower.” However, I don’t like this song. I think it’s because it’s one of those tunes where everyone will say things like, “Oh yeah, I like Bob Dylan. ‘All Along the Watchtower’ is SOOOO GOOOOD. Have you heard [insert other musicians name]’s version. It’s THE BEST.” Or, I think that happens. Does it? I bet it probably does. I usually have a hard time listening to what other people say, so I’m not sure if that’s ever been said, though.
Do musicians still go into prisons and perform for the inmates? They should. This record is why. Also, there’s no one in the world who doesn’t like Johnny Cash. HE’S LOVABLE.
This is how I like to end a night. The cover art is kind of stupid, but I enjoy looking at it anyway. Looks like Art has RED LASERS shooting out of his face.
Oh, hey, look at this here. I guess I do other stuff than just sit around feeling sorry for myself and popping pills. Sometimes I brew beer and listen to vinyl records that I pull out of my stacks randomly. And then I write about how they made me feel. And I call it a Random Record Night Recap.
I’m working through my whole collection of vinyl in this way. Conversations in my house about Random Record Night sometimes go like this:
Wife: “Random Record Night is cool and all, but, tonight, can we just listen to some records that we DON’T pick out randomly?
Me: No.
So here we go:
Ramblin’ Jack is kind of the reason that I play guitar and sing the way that I do. When I first started performing, I sang out of the side of my mouth like him. I tuned my guitar a half step down like him. (DON’T DO THIS. People HATE it when they pick up your guitar to play a song and can’t figure out what’s wrong.) I even wore a cowboy hat for a brief amount of time. (I don’t like to admit this because I am not a cowboy AT ALL.) Ramblin’ Jack is just fantastic. This record isn’t the best one of his that I own, but it’s still pretty good. Maybe it’s his most “commercial,” but I don’t know what that really means. It’s not a recording done on a boat in the English Channel. But not everything can be that.
Look at the cover of this. That’s the type of music it is, okay? I don’t know any other way to explain it. Get all dudded up. Invite over some of your dudded-up friends and sit around in arm chairs in front of an old Victrola player. This is the music that will come out. You and your friends will enjoy it. You will remember that night FOREVER.
Here’s a kids music vinyl. This is Ella Jenkins playing a bunch of old tunes on banjo, guitar and harmonica on one side. And then doing the same thing on the other side, except with a bunch of kids in the room. Lots of idle chatter on this record. Only reason I’m not a fan of that is because when I’ve got a big kettle of beer brewing I can’t always hear what they’re talking about. So I’ll hear things like, “Oh yes, oh yeah, yes. Mama gonna do that right now. Get the barbecue hot!” And then a song starts. Hmm.
I don’t know why I have so many Nat “King” Cole records. I don’t like ANY of them. I know there are like 10 more in my collection that I’ll have to listen to. I DREAD that. I will say, though, if I had lived in a time where the “Ballads of the Day” were these ballads, well, I would probably love them. Think about all the HAND HOLDING and ROSY-CHEEK KISSING. What are our “Ballads of the Day”? Does anyone sing ballads anymore? Do these modern-day ballads also get you some sweet sweet PALM?
The title says it all. Its just one long medley of every children’s song there is. EVER. Not a great record to listen to at the end of a long night. It’ll make you feel more insane then you already do. You will have NIGHT SWEATS.
Music Vomit 