The smell of vinyl seats baking in the summer sun, the crackle of AM radio cutting through static, and dad's off-key humming as the family station wagon rolled down another endless stretch of motorway. If you grew up in the 60s or 70s, these sensory memories probably just transported you back to childhood road trips that seemed to last forever. Those journeys weren't just about getting from A to B. They were rolling classrooms where we learned geography from road signs,
Last weekend I was standing in line for some Fashion Week sale that I didn't even get into trying to figure out Dorian Electra's new industrial-strength electroclash track "Shutting Up." Why do I feel like I listened to this song obsessively from 2009-2011 and never again since? Why am I scrolling all the way back to I Created Disco-era Calvin Harris right now?
Valentine's Day has evolved beyond chocolates and roses into something more intentional. The modern celebration of love calls for gifts that reflect a genuine understanding of your partner's daily rhythms and personal aesthetics. Minimal design isn't about doing less; it's about saying more with intention. These carefully curated pieces speak volumes through their restraint, their functionality, and the thoughtfulness embedded in every detail.
The first song I fell in love with I grew up in New York City, so the emergence of hip-hop really connected with me when I was a kid. Rapper's Delight by the Sugarhill Gang started me down the road where I am today. The first single I bought Let No Man Put Asunder by First Choice, on 12-inch vinyl from Rock and Soul in New York City, with money I'd saved from working part-time at the grocery store.
While these chronicles are more than worthy in their own right, I'm also not interested in how many guitar overdubs were recorded for the title track, or regurgitating the "lyrics by Dylan, sung by Orbison, and produced by Spector" line (although I guess I just did). Both of these bits of lore - and many other stories surrounding the album - are true, but that's just what they are this late in the game: lore.