[Marxism] Forget MP3s, some teens turning to vinyl records

[Greg McDonald <sabocat59@xxxxxxx>]

Along with the contemporary resurgence of vinyl playback technology,  
vinyl as a potentially  enjoyable listening experience still has its  
detractors, who imagine the bad old days of plastic turntables, poor- 
quality vinyl, and tinny, two-dimensional cartridges.  A few people  
quoted in the article below could not fathom the resurgence in vinyl  
sales among the youth, citing static, snaps and pops as a drawback to  
the otherwise enticing ambience of vinyl records. That may have been  
true twenty, thirty years ago, when all people did was swipe their  
records with a discwasher and run their finger under the stylus to  
clean off the grunge. The audiophile subculture has seen marked  
advances in affordable record cleaning technology in recent years.

But most important, cartridge, tonearm, and especially turntable  
design has made a radical leap in the past thirty years, mainly among  
smaller, family-owned, high-end companies such as Thorens, VPI,  and  
Grado.  Many of the recent technological advances in vinyl audio  
reproduction have enabled more affordable components to be passed  
along to entry-level equipment, such as ceramic platters, which  
resemble vinyl and thus absorb and dampen at the same frequency,  
small stand alone motors for quiet and accurate running, and  
incredibly sensitive yet rigid tonearms made out of aluminum or  
ceramic, as well as a shift away from finicky sprung tables such as  
those made famous by Thorens, Linn, and AR, towards smaller tables to  
dissipate vibratory harmonic distortion more quickly, such as the  
earlier Revolver, or the present day Rega, Oracle, and Funk Firm.

Tthe main trend has been among turntable companies such as VPI,  
Clearaudio, Roksan, and a host of others, who go with heavy split or  
single plinth design, sometimes sandwiching steel, lead, or mdf,  
between wood and more mdf, a heavier table designed to dampen  
vibratory response, which of course creates harmonic distortion.  See  
http://www.turntable-kits.com/design_philosophy.htm There are also  
entire tables made out of ceramic, such as the Clearaudio.

Quite possibly the primary cultural aspect of the resurgence of vinyl  
has to do with the spread of Hip Hop culture, where turntables and  
vinyl records become a musical instrument unto themselves.  Direct  
drive turntables such as Technics have seen a steady move upward in  
sales over the years as a result, such that they are also highly  
valued these days even among some audiophiles. The new entry-level  
trend is a meld of TT and computer technology: turntables with usb  
ports so people can download vinyl onto their hard drives and make  
their own mp3's. Of course there are still those Linn fanatics who  
insist that sprung tables are necessary to create both a larger  
soundstage and more dynamic playback, but they are quickly fading  
into a minority fringe in the wake of the VPI's and Clearaudios. Even  
Thorens has a new line based on higher density designs.

Greg McD

Forget MP3s, some teens turning to vinyl records

By RICHARD L. ELDREDGE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/07/08

On a recent afternoon 15-year-old Graham Saylor popped into Decatur  
CD to check out new releases. But he sprinted right past the CDs,  
stopping, instead, at the six bins of vinyl records.

Saylor prefers to listen to his favorite new acts, such as TV on the  
Radio and the Black Keys, on the black 12-inch platters. Some  
classmates at Decatur High School have become vinyl fans as well.

So what attracts the teens to a musical format that was proclaimed  
landfill fodder years before they were born?

"I just dig vinyls more. The tone is warmer. I'm not much of a  
digital guy," explains Saylor.

Building his collection since sixth grade, he bought a turntable on  
eBay for $60 and inherited audio equipment from his dad, Lance.

Saylor, according to last year's Nielsen SoundScan numbers, is hardly  
alone. The retail sales service reported that 990,000 vinyl albums  
were sold in the United States last year, up 15 percent from 858,000  
in 2006. That accounts for about 2 percent of all music sold,  
compared to CDs and downloads. Still, it's impressive for a format  
that began a sales slide in 1983.

Decatur CD owner Warren Hudson is taking notice. In December he added  
one bin of vinyl. By February, he had six and was scouting out space  
to add more.

"I honestly never thought we'd see vinyl in stores again," he said.  
"But a lot of our customers are kids who never bought records the  
first time around. "

Music Direct, which specializes in remastered vinyl and record player  
sales, reports its vinyl sales are up 300 percent since 2005.

"This year, we will see more albums being released on vinyl since the  
year 1980," says Music Direct rep Josh Bizar. "If you're a band that  
skews to young people, a vinyl version is a necessity."

Indie acts such as Vampire Weekend, Cat Power and Atlanta's Black  
Lips routinely issue a vinyl version of their releases, along with  
MP3 and CD editions. Some artists even offer coupons for free  
downloads of albums when you buy the vinyl format.

And while Saylor downloads music, it can't compare to his vintage  
vinyl copy of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon," which had been  
stored in his grandmother's attic in upstate New York.

Last year, Barbara Notaro, 60, a lifelong rock fan who attended  
Woodstock, let her grandson take "Dark Side" and 200 other old albums  
back to Atlanta.

"It's totally my prized possession," Saylor said.

He finds listening to records with friends more fun. "Nobody is ever  
going to look at your iTunes library and say 'Nice collection you got  
there.' "

Lance Saylor, 44, supports his son's vinyl fascination, but says he  
won't be returning to records.

"Why would you go back to listening to static?" he said. But after  
picking up a piece of shrink-wrapped vinyl, the dad's perspective  
softens. "The artwork is what I miss. There would be certain records  
where you would memorize every image, every letter."

Big record companies like Columbia and Atlantic are also getting back  
into the vinyl groove as demand increases. One glitch: Most major  
labels sold off or converted their vinyl pressing plants decades ago.  
So new pressings of their classic catalogs, including albums by  
Aretha Franklin and Bob Dylan, are being licensed out to boutique  
vinyl companies like Sundazed, 4 Men With Beards and Classic Records.

Classic Records is offering detailed re-creations of masterpieces  
such as 1959's "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis, with original artwork.  
Price tag: $30.

At Wuxtry Records in Decatur, owner Mark Methe and employee Richard  
Kuykendall have taken note of vinyl's quiet comeback but point out  
the 30-year-old store and its loyal vinyl-loving customers have never  
gone away.

Most of Decatur High senior Breton Randall Jordan's collection came  
from Wuxtry, including classic albums from Richard Hell, Devo and  
Black Flag.

Jordan cites the shop's "vinyl coolness" and long ties to the Georgia  
music scene as reasons he buys there.

While audiophiles argue that vinyl's sound is superior to compressed  
MP3 files and the sanitized digital mastering on CDs, Methe won't be  
dragged into the debate. "I can tell you this: Vinyl sounds awfully  
good. And we wouldn't be here 30 years later if our customers didn't  
agree."

Customer Andy Forbes, 33, of Little Five Points, has dragged his  
record collection and turntable through various moves over the years.

"It's the sound a needle makes when it lands on an album," said  
Forbes. "There's nothing quite like it."

He also likes the artwork and the lyrics on albums. Notable Peachtree  
Road resident Sir Elton John agrees.

"As a fan, I've always wanted to learn more about the artist and  
where they recorded it and who played on it," John told the AJC last  
year. "I was always sitting there with the gatefold sleeve. I do the  
same thing now with CDs. I just need a magnifying glass now!"

B-52's frontman Fred Schneider lugs vinyl from his vast collection to  
his weekly Sirius Satellite Radio show, where he plays 12-inch  
remixes and collectibles from his rare "outsider music" stash.

"There are just so many things out on vinyl that were never issued in  
any other format," he said, adding that "Funplex," the Bs new album,  
will be issued on vinyl.

Other record enthusiasts are buying turntables with USB cables for  
their laptops. The unit enables users to burn old vinyl onto CDs.

Collector Andy Forbes concedes the result is a little, well, weird.

Says Forbes, laughing: "There's just something a little out of place  
about hearing the snaps and pops of a vinyl recording in your car."


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