I considered writing the first draft of this post on my typewriter. I like using the typewriter for reasons that no one really cares about. They might see it as an affectation—the peculiarity of a contrarian in the modern age.
I did begin creating this post while listening to Big Star’s Radio City, an album released the year I was born and given to me on vinyl for my 40th birthday. I played it on my Technics SL-220—a turntable that has served me well since my mid-twenties.
There are some things I will never be able to let go and I don’t know if it’s because of the memories they hold for me or that they truly provide a better experience: The typewriter forces me to re-type a second draft, which gives me more opportunity for improvement and pushes me out of laziness for leaving things as they are; The turntable helps me engage more with the music because I have to be in a specific place to listen to it.
I also think the turntable sounds better but I don’t know if that’s true or just nostalgia.