Antique Adventure

July 27, 2007 at 1:48 AM

I'm amazed at how fast the summer is flying!!! Ah!!! Exactly three weeks from today and I will officially be a college student. Scary. I had a lesson today — the first one since my teacher got back in town after her summer traveling and one of the last ones before I start classes. It went well, although I don't have anything terribly exciting to report.

The really interesting thing from today wasn't my lesson, but what I did before my lesson. See, I decided to go to a local antique mall to search for a nice old-fashioned wooden chair for my bedroom (to replace the metal and blue-plastic hand me down I currently possess. I'm sure it looked spiffy in the 80's but it is now rather hideous). I'd been in this antique mall a few times before, but I was always with other people and walked through pretty quickly. This time though, I had a whole hour to myself to just wander at will. It may sound odd, but it was an almost exhilerating experience. First of all, there was just SO much stuff to see. Wall-to-wall shelves and tables without a spare inch of free space on them. China and glassware of every kind imaginable, books and magazines, clothes, shoes, purses . . . and everything in between. I even ran across a sad-looking old fiddle with the neck fallen off, no bridge or strings in sight, paired with a emaciated bow minus the horse hair. Although, with a little love, it could be some pretty neat wall art. Hmmm . . .

And then there were the LP's! There were stacks and stacks of vinyl albums and singles, some just lying around naked, but most in their distinctively worn cardboard covers. My gosh, I could flip through them for hours. A friend of mine has been giving me a crash course in classic rock, so the first thing I hunted for was Beatles records. And sure enough within seconds, I discovered the Fab Four adorning the cover of Let It Be. I was highly tempted to snatch it, but being a poor almost-college student, I also figured I should probably refrain from shelling out $25 for wall art and get a playable recording so I actually knew all the songs on it (ha!). You see, I'm in about kindergarten where my Beatles education is concerned. In an attempt to remedy my ignorance I'm reading the book Here, There, and Everywhere which outlines the (supposedly) top 100 Beatles songs. It's pretty fascinating because it not only gives the gist of each song, but also details about the recording process and lots of little bits of history. Just listen to this factoid: "In 1982, composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein said that fifteen years after first hearing it, 'A Day in the Life' 'still sustained and rejuvenated me.'" And did you know that Paul McCartney got the idea to use a piccolo trumpet in "Penny Lane" after hearing a Bach Brandenburg Concerto? And all fellow gig musicians will share my amusement at the fact that "The four members of the string quartet George Martin hired to record 'Yesterday' had never played together as an ensemble before the session." Classical music and rock apparently aren't as alien as I had assumed . . .

But pardon my digressions . . . well, I didn't buy any Beatles records (yet) but I did find one pretty nifty vinyl that I just couldn't resist (especially given the $3 price tag) — Itzahk Perlman's recording of the Paganini Caprices. They didn't have many classical LP's compared to rock albums, so I thought this was a bit of a lucky find, even though it apparently isn't worth much. It's funny, I don't own a record player and I'm pretty sure this hunk of vinyl wouldn't play even if I tried it, but it still feels pretty cool to own a little bit of history like that. It's in the original 1972 case, and somewhat battered (although I prefer the term well-loved). Looking at it makes me wonder where it's been and who originally owned and listened to it, and how many hands it has passed through to get to me.

At this rate, the antique store may turn out to be my favorite secret refuge. I've always loved browsing through places like Borders or Barnes and Noble, or a cute gift shop or jewelry store, but they pale in comparison to the things I found in this antique mall. After the commercialized perfection of normal stores, it's kind of thrilling to see all this random stuff crammed into one place. It's the perfect juxtaposition of the mundane and the beautiful, junk and treasure — everything is unique and has a history to it. I'm not sure what's gotten me into this nostalgic mood (I suspect Beatles 101 may have something to do with it) but I can guarantee you'll browsing the antique mall again in the near future. : )

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on July 27, 2007 at 3:27 AM

Browsing through antique stores is a lot of fun. The one you went to could provide hours of entertainment. Did you ever get the chair you were looking for?

From Albert Justice
Posted on July 27, 2007 at 5:57 AM

If you need a quick term paper--holler! ;)... Just kidding.

From Emily Liz
Posted on July 27, 2007 at 4:02 PM

I LOVE antique stores, and especially classical records! Unfortunately they seem to be much rarer than rock records, as you said. I have a gorgeous one of Oistrakh encores that I'm very proud of. Someday I'd like to use them as wall decorations, too - maybe in my studio. :)

From Scott 68
Posted on July 28, 2007 at 7:05 AM

perlman dedicated his recording of the caprices to michael rabin, if you ever hear rabin play them you will know why

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