The Return of Vinyl

It wasn't that long ago the pundits of cool and the marketing managers of music and entertainment were announcing the death of the vinyl record. Like anyone who predicts the future, the future has a opportunity to dope slap you upside your head when things don't match the prognostication.

At the beginning of the 21 century the vinyl album and 45 rpm record where only one half of one percent of music sales. Since then sales have doubled and doubled again. That's only 2% of the market but it is the beginning of a healthy niche. My turntable still works fine but my two sons are mystified that I would go through so much trouble to listen to 12 - 20 minutes of music and then get up to turn the record over. I build three sets of shelves to hold the some 2,000 albums I've collected over the years. My oldest boy likes to point out how all that volume of vinyl can be recorded on an MP-3 player with plenty of space for a few thousand more albums -just in case I was interested or ever got tired of flipping the records every 15 minutes or so.

That kind of leads into the paradox of the digital world. There is so much more out there but no one is really looking. When everything is only a few mouse clicks away you lose the thrill of the hunt. The old social network of friends, hanging out at the record store, going to the music clubs and sharing music hasn't entirely disappeared but seems to be fading fast. Discovering something on your own isn't that cool unless you have somebody to share it with -and every act of sharing is an act of intimacy. Maybe that's worries me, that people a generation younger than me live in a less intimate world.

Music today reminds me of a used book warehouse in Texas. They had a special section just for interior decorators. If you had mansion size house with lots of empty shelves you can buy "books by the yard" to fill the space. That's what music has become -sonic wallpaper, soundscape decor, a rhythmic beat with without much thought or feelings.

The alternative music scene has come to embrace the vinyl record. The audiophiles claim the sound of vinyl is "warmer" -but the limited editions and hand crafted feel of the modern album really makes them special. If a band wants to create a strong bond with its audience a vinyl record has become a high value promotional that gets the core fans excited.






The Brooklynphone company was one of the last manufacturers of vinyl records. They almost closed their doors but now they are not only riding the wave of success, they have also become interracial part of  New City's music culture. If you want to be considered a band with street creds then you need to have the people at Brooklynphone press you a record. Brooklyn has become the epicenter of arts, culture and hipsterism -and new vinyl is so hip.

This is excellent time to start collecting records. People are still cleaning out their basements and attics  and offering boxes of albums for next to nothing. Actually the last two big boxes of albums I received where for free. I kept a few records for myself, it was fun giving away or trading away the rest. Any big box of records can be filled with surprises -one of my big finds was the Four Seasons, The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette. It was the Four Season's most oddly experimental album. Finding this album was like finding Cheech & Chong's Big Banbu record with the giant rolling paper still inside and intact. 

Where else but a use record store or a yard sale are you going to find lost gems like John Wayne's 60's classic Why I Love America. The world is filled with lost records -are you ready for the adventure?

A few months ago I helped some people I know paint their house. Anthony pulled out his old turntable and we all brought a few selections of classic vinyl. It was pretty eclectic mix of sound and music but it was far more entertaining that the drone of some radio station that has long stopped caring what it broadcasts.

Old vinyl isn't always hip but it so much fun. This spring we plan to have another couple of gathering centered around old vinyl.  So instead of spending another Saturday night alone with your computer get together with your friends and makes some memories -do it with vinyl.

This fellow here, Corey Koehler, has either a youtube clip or a website showing that he made his own record using a 3-D printer.








From Goldmine Magazine Video, a short visit to Brooklynphone. Where new vinyl gets pressed and the art lives on.