My dad always had these vinyl records and I never understood why. CD’s were long out and in comparison vinyl records are big and every four songs you have to turn them around. The sound quality isn’t that good either; they’re riddled with cracking noises. Also, I didn’t like his music, because what was popular when I was a teenager was very different. But now, almost twenty years later, I love vinyl records. Not the new ones you see in the stores, but the ones my dad has. What I have in that imagination is partly myself too. I think when we grow up, we first wander to explore ourselves, but we develop too far, either because we wanted to separate from our family and create our own identities, or we’re influenced by our friends. But we will come back to our roots, one way or another. I think that’s why I love vinyl, among other things I didn’t like as a child. Going back to your childhood is part of growing up.
Today, I’m visiting Zhengyi Old Street (正仪老街) in Kunshan — a city wedged in between Suzhou and Shanghai. This old street is like a leftover slice in between other parts properly planned by the city. On the horizon, I can see construction cranes, as if they are threatening the area; ‘we are coming to you […]
It’s 06:30 in the morning and I’m driving to the San Gabriel Mountains, north of Los Angeles. I’ve been trying to sleep after an exhausting week at CES, but I’m too excited for this hike and can’t wait to depart the Airbnb we’re in. Every visit to the United States is an adventure. The most […]
If George Orwell, one of the best essayists, were alive today, he’d be firmly against AI. Not because of 1984 or ‘Big Brother’, but because in ‘Why I Write’, he listed four motives for writing; Historical impulse Political purpose Aesthetic enthusiasm Egoism Neither of these motives survives if you let AI do the writing […]
This series is called ‘Secret Listening’, from the Chinese word 偷听Tōutīng. I know this can be — and should probably be — translated as ‘eavesdropping’, but secret listening captures it better and adds a bit of jest. These little stories or remarks stood out to me, and show a more personal side of China away […]
