Records the Good Kind

I’ve told the story a few times before concerning my original copy of ZZ Top’s Eliminator. I remember the day I bought it and why? I’m not ashamed to say it was because of the airplay “Gimme All Your Lovin’” received on the then newly launched MTV. I loved the song, and there was something about the girls in that 1933 Ford Coupe…

Anyway, flash forward a few decades and a few turntables later, and I pulled the record out only to find it had warped. How? I have hundreds of records, and this one is warped? I wracked my brain for an answer. And then I heard this…

“Ideally, records should be kept vertically and away from radiators and heating vents to prevent warping. Otherwise, they’re really pretty stable.”

I always stored them vertically. But maybe it was a radiator. That can be the only answer. I’ve lived in a few places since I bought it in 1983. Being “Z” in the alphabet, it was always the last in the stack and may have been the closest to some long since gone radiator.

I bet Ian is right. Who’s Ian? You don’t know Ian? You should. If you ever find yourself in Vernon, CT and are looking for your own copy of Eliminator, you would do yourself a grand favor by heading down the Hartford Turnpike to Rein’s Deli Plaza, where you’ll find Records, The Good Kind.

The store opened in July 2014, and it was a fortuitous move given the current state of record sales. If you walk through their doors and are looking for a particular record by a specific artist but can’t quite remember the song, Ian can help. All you need to know is a lyric or two.

“We had a customer recently who remembered a couple of lyrics from an old Ray Charles song from her youth that she wanted to find but didn’t know the title,” Ian explains. “We ended up figuring it out, and I found her a copy of the album. She was so excited – it was awesome.”

That is awesome. It also exhibits the hands-on service and personal you’ll receive at Records, The Good Kind. You’ll also find the records in great condition because they only stock the best, and only “the good kind”.

On any given day, you’ll find an eclectic mix of customers, be they young or old. It’s an exciting time for vinyl.

“For me, it’s been really exciting to see how open-minded young people are about music compared to how it was when I was a kid,” Ian says. “People don’t feel the need to narrowly define themselves by what they like (or don’t like) to, and they listen to a much wider range of styles these days. If they like it, they like it!”

And he’s right. I look back on my own collection and can point to a record and tell you when I bought it and what stage I was in my life. The early 80s were all about heavy metal, Ozzy, and Blue Öyster Cult. The late 80s early 90s saw Joan Armatrading, Neil Young, and Otis Redding find their way into my collection. I narrowly defined myself by what I liked in certain periods. It’s different with the younger music lovers today. Both my children have a wide and varied tastes. My daughter might buy Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon along with Miley Cyrus’ new album. My son just bought tickets to see Lady Gaga in Boston for his girlfriend, and they’ll probably listen to a mix of songs that will include Styx and Harry Styles on their way to the show.

I think I’ll ask them to make a day of it and take a wide detour through Vernon on their way. There are a few records on my list that Ian may be able to help me with. I’ve especially been looking for one, but all I have are a couple of lyrics. I have no doubt he’ll know what it is.