This piece was originally posted at the MTV Music Blog
For those who only buy their music on iTunes, Amazon.com, or other online digital music services and retailers, the idea of walking into a “brick-and-mortar” record store and plunking down cash for a physical, mechanical reproduction of a recording (also known, for you youngsters, as a “CD” or “LP record”) might seem like a royal pain in the ass. Or perhaps the record shop simply seems like a relic from a bygone era of original Star Trek episodes and 8-track tapes, the province of nerdy, still-goateed Dads who huff and puff that “there are no good bands anymore” (um, not true) and insist that a McIntosh tube amplifier is way better than anything solid-state (um, basically true).
Still, in respect to this month’s Third Annual Record Store Day (April 17, 2010), before you dismiss the independent vinyl and CD shop as hopelessly outmoded, ask yourself when was the last time you had an stimulating chat about rare ’60s garage-psych bands or the hippest new British electro with one of the sellers at iTunes or Amazon. Right: trick question–they don’t have actual people selling records at those sites, of course. Instead, you get the “Genius Sidebar” and “Recommendations,” non-humanoid taste-bots that spit out preferences based on your buying habits, all lovingly thought through by a giant server somewhere. Is that really how you want to be turned on to cutting-edge new music and under-the-radar classics? (“Yeah, dude, I got hipped to the awesome new MGMT record by a Hewlett-Packard BladeSystem Matrix.”) Sweet.
Okay; those taste-bots are a handy part of the home computer mix, I’ll confess, but they’re no replacement for wandering the aisles and bins of a proper record shop, checking out the featured albums that the store displays to pique your interest, talking turkey with the guys and gals at the counter, and knowing that the money you spend not only buys you a superior product sonically (vinyl and CD quality, of course, literally crushes the tinny sound of MP3s) but helps to support a small business that genuinely cares about putting great music into the world. Do we really want our music consumption controlled entirely by corporate fat-cats who themselves listen mainly to mid-Nineties Phil Collins? Thought not. And while the dudes and dudesses at your local indie record store may not always answer your questions without a certain whiff of hipster snobbery, it’s a good bet that your journey of discovery will take turns that you’d never have traveled while surfing the web.
What’s more, a good record store acts as a kind of brain trust and cultural meeting place for the music scene that surrounds it. “Hanging out in record shops” is a time-honored way to connect with like-minded (and like-eared) enthusiasts, find out what cool gigs are happening in town, and even meet other musicians who may also be looking for a band influenced by “My Bloody Valentine, Kid Creole, and the Fugs.” Getting to know the people behind the indie record racks is a great way to stay plugged-in to the local music scene; without them, you’re arguably just another isolated post-modern punter trolling the internet in your Crocs. Whether you’re picking up “rare groove” sides by Donald Byrd and Mongo Santamaria and sampling them into Ableton Live, or buffing out your collection of Dick Dale and Ventures singles to brag about in the pages of Goldmine, you’re likely to bump into someone who shares your passion.
As vinyl records continue their remarkable comeback as a viable, even premium form of music enjoyment, the indie record store becomes even more indispensable, a place of vinyl worship where devotees of the LP congregate to buy, sell and celebrate the sheer pleasure of the polyvinyl chloride-based spiral platter. While the wonderfully visceral thrill of watching the needle on a turntable make contact with the grooves of an LP–and hearing those first comforting crackles and snaps–is easy to rave about, so is the visual force of pulling a full-size LP jacket out of a bin and absorbing the cover art in the open air. Those postage stamp-sized JPEGs on the internet will simply never replace the optic bong-hit of a great jazz, psychedelic or new wave LP album cover (or a luscious prog-rock double-album gatefold!), and there’s only one place to have that experience in a way that helps you bring home both the LP and the righteous memory of the first time you held it in your hands: the independent record store, to which we can only say, in the words Mr. Spock used on those original Star Trek episodes: “Live long and prosper.”
Read even more, including a list of rock band The Cringe‘s favorite record stores, at the MTV Music Blog. The author wishes to thank the folks at Criminal Records in Atlanta, GA.
Follow James Rotondi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JamesRotondi
James Rotondi: Vinyl Is Forever: In Praise of Indie Record Stores
•May 2, 2010 • Leave a CommentWax.fm Catalogs Current and Historical Vinyl Record Offerings – Analog – Lifehacker @waxfm
•May 2, 2010 • Leave a CommentWax.fm Catalogs Current and Historical Vinyl Record Offerings
If you’re a fan of keeping your music old school and vinyl, you’ll want to check out wax.fm, a site focused on cataloging vinyl records old and new and helping you find places to buy them.
At wax.fm you’ll find indexes of vinyl records by artist, the most popular current releases, and an index of record stores to help you find local places to buy new and old vinyl. The “Vinyl Is Back!” section is a running list of current news articles about the resurgence of vinyl and quite an interesting read if you’re unfamiliar with the renewed interest in vinyl records.
Visit the link below to start browsing records or share your favorite vinyl-centric site in the comments.
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why is it not vinyl.fm instead of wax?This year while doing my taxes I put on a vinyl recording of Mahler’s fifth. I forgot how good vinyl sounds after listening to mp3s for so long Reply
Well I guess this won’t win me many friends. Imo, what was or is good about the vinyl album, are the things that came with it, the art, the liner notes, the pictures. What’s bad, is the disk itself. I think there were good sound reasons for the CD taking over when it did.I don’t think anything ever really comes back. You can have revivals, renaissances, whatever you want to call them. But if vinyl somehow became big or de facto again, people would once more get tired of the rice crispy sound, especially after the third play or so.
Like I said, there were good reasons for vinyl being replaced by CDs. If there weren’t, we’d still have vinyl as the mainstay format. I still think digital is the way to keep going. It needn’t be mp3 or even CD or Flac for that matter. I just don’t think we should revert to something that had its day and then was replaced.
Also, I question the motives for any talk of a vinyl comeback. Because they sound a bit like romanticism and the yearnings of aging yuppies and middle-aged gen-x’ers. Lots of time and lots of revision can soften up memories so that most anything from the past can have more charm than it did when it was current.
Older people want their youth to come back. And the young are charmed in a different way, the novalty and coolness factor.
I think what I mean is that I want my music to stay quiet, no matter how many times I play it. Reply
Record Store Day Marks Single Largest Number Of Vinyl Purchases Since 1991
•May 2, 2010 • Leave a Comment
Despite the fact that nearly the entirety of the recording industry is crumbling in the face of illegal downloading, at least one aspect of the biz is not only holding its own, but continues to thrive in the face of sagging numbers—vinyl record sales, according to Pitchfork. April 17th of this year marked the annual Record Store Day, in which independent record stores are celebrated with various artists releasing rare/ unreleased material on vinyl. And according to Neilson Soundscan, 2010’s Record Store Day marked the single biggest day for vinyl sales in the history of Soundscan, which began recording music sales in 1991.
Further, Record Store Day co-founder Michael Kurtz (also of the Music Monitor Network), reports that NYC’s Other Music, Seattle’s Sonic Boom and New Jersey’s Vintage Vinyl all had their most financially successful days ever. Perhaps there is a glimmer of hope out there for the music biz after all (at least until the inevitable Fall Out Boy reunion).
So what did you score for Record Store Day? I nabbed a pristine original copy of Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen. Why, you ask? Because it’s one of the greatest Boss records of all time, that’s why.
What did you buy for Record Store Day?
Hear the New Dead Weather Record NOW by Unconventional Means | Crawdaddy!
•May 2, 2010 • Leave a CommentWelcome | LP Revival | Vinyl Records, Vinyl LP, Audiophile, 180 Gram Vinyl, 200 Gram Vinyl, Colored Vinyl Records, New Vinyl Records, Limited Edition Vinyl Records, Import Vinyl, Record Store
•May 1, 2010 • Leave a Comment
To Have & To Hold – A Film About Vinyl « The Sophisticated Audiophile @atane
•May 1, 2010 • Leave a CommentThanks @atane.
Pitchfork: Coachella Friday: Jay-Z, Vampire Weekend, LCD Soundsystem, Fever Ray
•April 19, 2010 • Leave a CommentCoachella Friday: Jay-Z, Vampire Weekend, LCD Soundsystem, Fever Ray
Also Passion Pit, She & Him, Yeasayer, Sleigh Bells, Gil-Scott Heron, Specials, more
Kicking off day one of this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival were Jay-Z, Vampire Weekend, LCD Soundsystem, Grizzly Bear, She & Him, Fever Ray, Yeasayer, Gil Scott-Heron, the Specials, Them Crooked Vultures, Sleigh Bells, Baroness, and many more.
Check out a selection of shots by Natalie Kardos and Chris Tuite after the jump, then head over to our photo book for a complete set of full-size photos.
Polar Bear Club « Vinyl Noize
•March 23, 2010 • Leave a Comment
Record Store Day 2010 at Vintage Vinyl
•March 23, 2010 • Leave a CommentVintage Vinyl hosts Record Store Day 2010
25 days, 10 hours, 57 minutes, 48 seconds
Instore Performances
Artist: Peter Bradley Adams
Time: TBA
Artist: Care Bears On Fire
Time: TBAMore performances listed as artists confirm.
Exclusive Products
Record Store Day Exclusive items will be available in the store only beginning on Saturday, April 17th. Any product that remains will be available for online purchase on Monday, April 19th. Orders will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. We reserve the right to limit quantities to one copy per title per customer, so please do not order multiple copies of the same title.
Against Me – I Was A Teenage Anarchist
RSD exclusive — only 2500 copies of this vinyl pressing worldwide!
Julian Casablancas – 11th Dimension / Long Island Blues
New 7″ from a founding member of The Strokes!
Gogol Bordello – We’re Comin’ Rougher / Trans-Continental Hustle
7″ vinyl release for Record Store Day 2010!
Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds – Squirm / Lying In The Hands Of God
Record Store Day 7″ of intimate live sessions never before released on vinyl!
Court Yard Hounds / Jakob Dylan – See You In The Spring / Everybody’s Hurting
New split 7″ for Record Store Day!
Sex Pistols – Great Rock ‘N’ Roll Swindle (limited edition)
180g double LP release for Record Store Day 2010!
John Lennon – Singles Bag
3 x 45 RPM vinyl singles + custom envelope + 3 postcards + 24″x36″ poster!
TV On The Radio – Dear Science (Vinyl Reissue + Bonus MP3)
This record store day 12″ includes a limited-release MP3 download!
Them Crooked Vultures – Mind Eraser, No Chaser 10″
This 10″ record includes an unreleased track and an exlusive interview!
Grace Potter And The Nocturnals – Live In Skowhegan
First release of their sold-out 6-8-2008 show — includes previously unreleased “Big White Gate”!
White Rabbits & Antlers – Live from Daytrotter
From Daytrotter Sessions and never released commercially!
Cage The Elephant – Live At Grimey’s
5 songs Live at Grimey’s in Nashville, TN including a cover of one of the more obscure Pavement songs “False Skorpion”
Record Store Day Exclusive items will be available in the store only beginning on Saturday, April 17th. Any product that remains will be available for online purchase on Monday, April 19th. Orders will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. We reserve the right to limit quantities to one copy per title per customer, so please do not order multiple copies of the same title.
Create Digital Music » Record as Record Player: DIY Turntable, Donuts for Serato in New Releases
•March 23, 2010 • Leave a Comment
Record giant Universal Music Group is cutting prices on the CD, as analysts clamor for still-lower prices. But as for actual records – the kind made of vinyl – odder and odder innovations flourish. If the CD is dying, the vinyl record is an undead, sexually-alluring vampire.
Two recent releases not only treat the record as “delivery mechanism,” but also tools for playing the record.
The late hip hop great J Dilla (aka Jay Dee) gets a well-deserved tribute from his label Stones Throw, complete with some fantastic, unreleased instrumentals (“Safety Dance”, “Sycamore”, “Bars & Twists,” and remastered cuts for Mos Def, Q-Tip and Busta Rhymes). But, working in collaboration with Serato, this release also takes note of the people actually buying records these days: DJs. There are beautiful, donut-themed slipmats. (As far as I’m concerned, anything featuring donuts earns automatic bonus points. Mmmmm… donuts.) The records themselves, meanwhile, are dual-sided. When you want to hear the record, play it face up. When you want to use DJ software, flip it for Serato control tone. (Officially, that works with Serato Scratch Live DJ, but it’ll also work with the open-source Mixxx and Deckadance apps, too.)
It’s a fascinating idea: make the record itself friendly to vinyl and digital turntablists. Of course, if you’re a digital DJ, I imagine you already have the control records you need, but — you still get those tasty donut slipmats. And it is a reminder (as if you needed one) that DJs are keeping the record format alive. Massive CD sales may have been the domain of the m
