When I was an early adolescent, maybe 11 or 12, I looked through my parents’ vinyl record collection and discovered Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. I put it on the turntable, lay down on the floor in front of a large pair of floor-standing speakers—which my parents still have—and listened to the whole thing from start to finish. That was the first time I listened to an entire album. I remember thinking something like, “Hmmm, so this is why people like music!”
I listened to that album over and over. From that point on, I was a fan of The Beatles. My dad was too, and he eventually acquired all of their albums on CD. Each one was an amazing discovery to me at the time.
When I was exploring some old computer images I made as a kid, I found this cassette tape insert I vaguely remember making for my cousin, Jenny, who was also a huge Beatles fan. The creation date on this image is Februay 4, 1990 (coincidentally the same day I’m publishing this post), so I was 13 at the time.
Jenny and I went to a Paul McCartney concert in Cleveland, Ohio in 2002. I don’t really remember much about it, except that George Harrison had died the year before, and Paul made a tribute to him, which was quite moving.
A couple of years ago, I helped crowdfund Tangara, an open hardware music player. That motivated me to rebuild my CD collection, which had included most, if not all, of The Beatles’ albums. At some point in the past, I sold or donated my old ones. Usually I don’t regret parting with material things, but I wish I had kept those old albums. Physically owning the media I like is important to me in this era of ephemeral streaming, where things can just come and go.
Around the same time, I started listening to the Screw It, We’re Just Gonna Talk About The Beatles podcast. They turned me on to a bunch of Paul McCartney solo albums I had never listened to before. Paul was always my favorite Beatle, and he’s had a long, prolific career. I’ve been slowly adding his albums to my collection. Two of my favorites so far are RAM, and Creation and Chaos in the Backyard, which is a masterpiece.
Despite what I’ve written here, I don’t think I’m as into music as most people seem to be. I can go long periods of time in my life without purposely listening to anything. I could never work—programming or writing—when listening to music. Even without lyrics, I think it just distracted my brain a little too much. One thing I have noticed, though, is that I do seem to be happier when I’m in a music listening phase. Whether the listening improves my mood, or my improved mood makes me want to listen more, I’m not sure. But many thanks to The Beatles for providing the music for so many of those moments.