Optical race

I didn’t grow up playing records; I’m a millennial, so CDs were my thing before Napster “liberated us from the recording industry.”

But the bloom is most definitely off the rose when it comes to streaming and on a whim I came across this record on Ebay and bought it in February. Mind you, before this year I didn’t even own a record player, but YOLO, yeah?

When I was a teen I randomly bought a Tangerine Dream compilation that focused on three records from the early ‘90s, all released on the new-defunct Private Music label. These 3 records—Optical Race, Lily on the Beach, and Melrose—were a bit different from their ‘70s output, a bit more commercial and “‘80s-sounding” than their more revered early work. But it’s a sound and style I immediately vibed with: heavy, hooky synths, unapologetic guitar and saxophone solos—like if Pure Moods mated with Iron Maiden’s Somewhere In Time with Nu Shooz playing in the background.

Alas, though—and one of the many gripes I have with streaming—is that none of these records have ever been available on any streaming platform. In the 10 year-long algorithm haze I was on Spotify, I would periodically check to see if any of the 3 Private Music-era TD albums were available to stream. Never!

But where could I finally listen to these albums in full? Sure, I could buy a used CD somewhere… but what if I bought a record instead? Huh? What if I did that? I didn’t even own a record player, but what if? Now we’re cooking. So out of curiosity I looked on Ebay and what do you know? There was a copy. The description said it was a promo copy, even. Mint condition. Best part? Since this record isn’t an original pressing of Led Zeppelin IV or whatever, it was a very reasonably-priced $35. I thought, It’s just a record, I’ll probably get it and it’ll collect dust in the closet and I’ll be out $35…

So I bought it and it came in the mail and I opened the box and it hit me: that smell. Every record collector knows what I’m talking about. “What’s that smell?” quoth Lynyrd Skynyrd. It’s history, man! It smells like years! You don’t get that from the algorithm! Apple Music isn’t scratch-and-sniff. And the cover is die-cut! It slides out and there are colors! And on the back? Oh yeah, right there: “For promo use only/NOT FOR SALE/DJ COPY.” The back has a PO Box address in West Germany! This was recorded when there was still a West Germany!

Alright, cool. Well, now I had a record. I could finally listen to this album in full…

…if only I had a record player!