First Record Player

Last month I bought a record player. After the Colfax Marathon, I wandered in to Twist and Shout and found a 1980’s Sanyo with an orange light that turns on when the arm is down.

I knew nothing about record players except that I wanted one and this was the one I wanted. Paul, an unpretentious and likable employee, explained the player’s parts and what to do with them. I don’t remember most of what he said, but I felt better that he said it.

Merriweather Post Pavilion is the only record I own. I bought it that day. Earlier, Kellen advised that I buy my top ten favorite albums to start my collection. I don’t know what my top ten favorite albums are, but I do know that “My Girls” is my favorite song.

I first heard “My Girls” on Rob’s record player in Chicago. He busted in the apartment after work, marched to the record player and said, “Listen to this song.”

We sat in silence as the electronic keyboard spun into rhythm, and then those lines: “There isn’t much I admit I need/a solid soul and the blood I bleed. With a little girl and by my spouse/I only want a proper house.” Enter bass, vocal harmony, claps and woots, layer upon layer. The song moved unlike anything I’d ever heard. When it was over, I asked Rob to play it again.

I have played “My Girls” more than 100 times on iTunes; every time I hear it, I picture Rob and our apartment’s red walls and Chicago’s skyline. It helped me forget about unemployment and inspired me to write.

My record player still has no speakers, but I do have more records. Tonight I went on a shopping spree: She & Him, Atlas Sounds, Dinah Washington, and Middle East. Dinah’s the only one I know well; the others I know in bits and pieces and I’m curious to hear more. More importantly, I’m eager to find the one that will define Denver, 1108 York, summer 2010, and all those along the way.

Waiting for Danny's

A few weeks back, during darts and Shuffle the iPod, “Real Life” by Tanlines played and Josh asked why bars didn’t play this kind of music.

His comment reminded me of a favorite Chicago bar, Danny’s, which did play music like Tanlines and Rye Rye and Delorean and Diplo Rhythm. There, music was not ambiance; it was the reason for being. There, I discovered new songs or old songs with a fresh twist, a mix of dance floor and house party and hip Wicker Park DJs.

Danny’s encouraged collective music discovery, rather than solitary online discovery. At Danny’s, I tested a song’s energy in real time as I bounced, swayed and head-banged.

We can do this at concerts – it’s better, really – but it is transient. Memorable concerts pass through cities once every few months; fantastic bars with fabulous DJs are forever.

I wish Denver had a Danny’s. Similar to Austin, Denver could be a music city, but has yet to establish a mainstay music/dance venue. DJ Rockstar Aaron tries, but the only song I discovered at Rock Bar was “Party in the USA.” Rock Bar trumps LoDo’s tired club tracks, but playlists vary little from Friday to Saturday, December to June.

Music is a deeply personal experience, even more powerful when shared with friend and a moving crowd. For now, my friends and I must settle for Rock Bar and Shuffle the iPod as we wait for Danny’s to show up.

Five Reasons to Love Denver, Part II

5. City rooftops Friday night, endless surprises in Breckenridge on Saturday.

4. Baby blue skies Saturday; snow storm Sunday; spring again Monday.

3. Colfax Avenue, once called "The Wickedest Street in America." There's the mafia bar, Kerouac's hangouts, the beautiful theaters-turned-live-music-venues, the 1980s motel bar/dance club, the giant record store, the shady bicycle shop. So much character, so much to explore.

2. Capital Hill, Uptown, Wash Park, Cheesman Park, Highlands. Old houses, narrow streets, front porches, so many trees.

1. Michel, Pablo, Sara, Ellen, Danny, Kellen, Joe, Frank, Josh, Bryna (here and there), Stephanie, Katie and so many more.

Five Reasons to Love Denver

5. Sky full of stars nearly every night, from everywhere in the city.

4. Big names, small venues: Phoenix, Band of Horses, Spoon at The Ogden, Bluebird, or Fillmore.

3. City Park, Cheesman Park, Confluence Park, Cherry Creek Trail.

2. Vail in the morning, Rock Bar in Denver at night.

1. The best job in the world at The Children's Hospital.