"Go down to the record store and visit your friends"

I alluded to my love for vinyl in my last post after buying a few records over the weekend. The title of this post is a quote from one of my favourite films, Almost Famous (which deserves a whole admiration post all to itself).

This little area is probably my favourite part of my bedroom or is, at least, a close second to my bed. My record player was a birthday present from my ex and though it is a very basic version, it does the job pretty well. 

I have an ever-growing collection of records including some from my parents' personal collections- two of these are pictured above; Kate Bush 'The Whole Story' and Fleetwood Mac 'Rumours' (which is one of my all-time favourite albums). Of course, I have also had handed down to me Lionel Richie's 'All Night Long' single, which neither of my parents will admit to originally being theirs...Other records are the result of hours of thumbing through rows of records in vintage shops and market stalls or are my prize from several panicked ebay bidding wars. The Beatles' Red album is one such example; I won this for £2.70 and although some may be put off by the fact the sleeve is being held together ever so slightly with masking tape, I actually rather like it because it shows that someone really loved it once. While the vast majority of my collection is made up of records from the 60's, 70's and 80's, I also have Haim 'Days Are Gone' which, despite my normal insistence that buying modern records is silly due to them being ridiculously expensive, I am very happy to own.

I intend to keep my collection expanding, there's just something I love about the whole experience of listening to a record. Some of the sleeves are also useful for a spot of light entertainment- George Michael's perfect bouffant and cheesey grin on the sleeve of Wham's 'Make it big' is priceless. I consider myself to have a pretty varied music taste but my love for my records (and the fact the only radio station allowed in the kitchen is absolute 80's) does often lead me to think I was born in the wrong decade. Alas, at least now I can enjoy the classics while also being able to indulge my inner One Direction fan-girl every now and then..don't judge me. 

Are you a vinyl fan?