music and me
While the other menu tabs on the homepage explore subjects I enjoy engaging with creatively… In this instance I want to clarify right off the bat: I am not a musician. Instead — and the reason I’m adding this as a page on my website — I just love discussing, listening, and jamming out to music. From blowing out my car’s speakers (and possibly my eardrums), to walking to class with a little extra pep in my step with my knock-off Airpods in, to carefully listening to vinyl records on my Dad’s old turntable and hearing subtle backing instrumentals in my favorite songs that have always escaped me… I love listening to a little bit of everything (yes, even some country and metal). In short, music is very special to me, and a big part of my identity in many different ways.
Me with two hand-signed vinyl records after a Hot Flash Heat Wave / Sad Park concert that I went to with one of my best friends Zach in Washington D.C. last fall (2025).
My personal favorite (and objectively the best) way of listening to music is the classic needle-on-vinyl at 33 (or 45) rpm with a solid set of stereo speakers, a comfy seat (even if that means the floor), and a record sleeve to look over the album art and follow along to lyrics that you’re just now realizing you’ve misheard for years. There’s something about that little scratch you hear right as you put the needle down that is the cherry on top of the whole experience.
With how much emotional weight vinyl carries for me, I try to be very purposeful with it in all aspects. That’s why I wanted to (and did after many hours) make a shelf from scratch with my Dad that we could use to store our records. It would’ve been much more cost effective to get something prefab online, but actually buying the supplies, cutting the wood with our table saw, staining everything by hand, and putting all the pieces together was, once again, very special. Below are some pictures from when we put together the four boxes we made for regular LPs, the tiny crate for 45s, and the stand for the sleeve to be displayed while the record is spinning.
I also love to share and talk about music with folks! So if you’re interested in hearing more, check out my “all time favorites” under this tab or click on each year to see my top songs going back almost a decade. If you have any song/album recommendations, feel free to send them my way as well!
-Blake 🙂