Digging the return to vinyl
Vinyl records are making a comeback, and it’s not just nostalgic old fogies who are driving the trend.
According to Readers Digest UK, millennial and Gen Z consumers are digging the distinct sound of vinyl — and especially digging its imperfections and limitations.
The scratch and crackle of a needle dancing atop a record’s grooves is a sound you don’t get with digital music.
The typical LP — “long-playing album” for you digital music people — plays only 22 minutes or so per side, which requires the listener to get up and change records a lot.
Required participation offers the listener a more intimate and engaged listening experience.
The wonderful ritual of pulling an album from a shelf where your collection sits, carefully removing the record from its sleeve, setting it on the turntable and then gingerly setting the needle down… this ancient ritual is just magic.
Appreciating the lost art of album cover designs is another important part of the listening experience — which is why Rolling Stone published a readers poll of the most loved covers of all time.
I’ve had a love affair with vinyl since I was a boy in the ‘70s, the heyday of vinyl LPs.
It was also the heyday of clunky, wooden stereo consoles like the one that sat in my parent's dining room for 30 years or more.
The old oak console contained large speakers concealed by green fabric. It featured a record player and AM/FM radio.
...continued
Copyright 2022 Tom Purcell, All Rights Reserved. Credit: Cagle.com
