My answer is simple: writing allows me to celebrate the joy I feel about records since childhood.

And oh the joy it is... let me tell you.

The first record I ever bought was Iron Maiden - Live After Death.

It was 1985. I was 8. The record just came out. I had some money, mostly what I got for birthdays or the few coins my granny would put in my hand every time we visited.

I remember going to the store and buying it. Then coming home, proudly announcing my purchase.

My dad was furious. To him, I wasted all this money on nonsense. Mum seemed indifferent but I think inside, she agreed with dad. And my brother (21 at that time) tried to convince them both that metal musicians are Satanists and I should be forbidden to listen to this music.

And me? I was in my room, headphones on, immersed in the record. I listened to both LPs over and over again. I read Martin Birch's note in the insert. On the left was the original. I read it, even though I didn't understand a word. Luckily, the right flap contained translation in Polish.

And then, I marveled at all the photos. The Polish edition came with additional insert, also including shots from their tour in Poland the previous year (in itself, a completely unthinkable thing - a band like Maiden to cross the Iron Curtain! [Before you ask, no, I didn't go. They did play my hometown, but mum didn't want to take me. And I was 7 so...])

I looked at that insert so often over the years that to this day I remember where each photo is. Like that one with Bruce in the hawk mask. Or Nicko with googly eye glasses. Or that one of Bruce in the spotlight (as a kid, I always wondered how the lightning guy knew where Bruce is going to go next, since the spotlight was always right on him...)

I listened to the music almost non-stop. I still remember every note, and even every audience reaction between songs (that shout "motherf***er" at the end of "Revelations"! Part of me still thinks it's actually Nicko from behind his kit but I can't be sure.)

I still have that very copy but it's been so worn out that the sound is completely flat.

And you know what? I don't think I've changed much since then.

I still feel the same emotions buying a new record. The same joy and childlike excitement. Luckily, my wife and kids don't declare every album I bring home as satanic. Well, not to my face anyway.

I still go through every insert and try to learn as much as I can about every record I hear.

This time, however, I also share my thoughts about it through writing.

I started writing in college. Writing features, reviews, and occasional interviews for xerox magazines got me even closer to music. I wasn't just writing about it. I got to meet some of the musicians I admired, too. I became more involved in the scene.

And I never really stopped. Sometimes I wrote more, sometimes life took over. For a while, I even made writing my profession as a copywriter.

Eventually, I decided that I wanted a place where I could simply write about music the way I've always experienced it.

TrueResAudio is that place. It's where I publish my essays, impressions, reviews, recommendations, and Needle Talk, my monthly magazine about music.