My love for vinyl is well documented. Being 47 years old and starting DJing in the early 80s, you shouldn’t expect anything less. But I’m not a blind purist — I do not believe that vinyl sounds better than digital in every instance. And I absolutely get that digital audio is a considerably more convenient medium that vinyl for DJing and indeed listening to. But I do believe with all my heart that vinyl is a magical thing, with a culture, process and experience that digital will never ever have. And seeing as it was Record Store Day on Saturday, I decided to embark on my own vinyl buying experience to support my small but very local record shop.
Firstly, the English pedant in me baulks at the term “record store”. We Brits are, according to Napoleon, a nation of shopkeepers. I go shopping in shops — always have and always will. But seeing as Record Store Day started in the US, and unites small vinyl outlets around the world, I’m going to suck it up for the cause.
So to my own adventures. I live in the outskirts of a small northern UK town called Keighley, and have done on and off for the best part of 35 years. When I first moved there in 1979, there was a solid selection of shops where I could build my evolving collection of Punk and electronica. But in 1982, with the purchase of “Planet Rock”, my entire shift to the new fangled Hip Hop was complete. In the early days, my needs were serviced by the small independents who would generally stock whatever Punk singles I wanted. Our Price did have a policy of not stocking or ordering artists like Crass or Discharge because of their content, but others picked up the slack.
But as my musical tastes developed, and my needs as a DJ became more discerning i.e. paying £4.99 for import 12’s, my need for local shops diminished, and trips to the bright lights of Leeds became a weekly event. And at the same time, CDs began to have an impact, followed by the internet… well you know the rest. Keighley now has no record shops, except one tiny independent that holds a special place in my heart.
Nestling beneath a small camera shop is The Den — a very small audiophile boutique that sells gear of a quality and price that most of us can only aspire to. But back in the day, it was my goto shop for new and interesting vinyl. If I couldn’t order something in the retail chains, Neil Ramsden could get it for me. This was where I laid my hands on early House releases, as well as dipping my toes into other areas on music (Jazz mainly) that were more suited to The Den’s audiophile profile.
Now fast forward 24 years to Record Store Day. The Den is still going, albeit with a vinyl selection that is smaller that what I used to play out with. The audiophile gear is still selling well, but vinyl is a different picture. The proprietor Neil is a specialist — a real vinyl purist of epic proportions. He tells me that it’s near impossible to make money selling quality vinyl in the UK, but when the US exchange rate is better, he’ll stock up again. He does however distribute home-grown vinyl abroad.
His disdain for much of the vinyl that is produced these days is palpable. His passion boils over into anger as he relates stories of studios pushing MP3s to pressing plants. “They just don’t get it” he says, and I have to agree with him. His opinion is balanced by tales of local recording studios who still record entirely in analogue and follow that connection right through to pressing vinyl.
I guess it comes down to why you buy vinyl. I used to buy it for numerous reasons, but mainly so that I’d have hot tracks fresh from the importer. But these days, I’m enjoying the story — the quality, provenance and the journey of new releases, as well as plugging what I would consider to be gaps in my collection. On Saturday, I grabbed a mint copy of Ornette Coleman’s “Skies of America” from 1972. Why that? Well I need more Jazz in my collection, and Ornette Coleman is one of my favourite Jazz artists. But I also got this because it fuses Jazz with Classical. I was recently very taken with Benji B’s urban fusion with a string ensemble, and figured that this particular LP was worth the £12.99 I paid for it. But at the end of the day, I bought this piece for a reason, and I’ll always remember the day I bought it, where I bought it and why.
So this one piece of vinyl has travelled across the ocean from 1972 to 2012, in mint condition, and has been bought for very specific reasons that I’ll always be able to relate to anyone who asks. And that dear reader is the magic of vinyl for me. It is real, touchable, collectable and magical. You pay your money and you get an actual tangible thing in return, in this case including a hand-written receipt that will stay in the sleeve. I know that much of my collection is mass-produced trash that sounds awful, hence me not buying into the sound quality discussions, nor will I be spending £250 on interconnects or £5000 on a slab of wood with a tonearm. These days, I’m much happier with iTunes and having extensive playlists being pumped out through a Focusrite Forte interface to KRK RP6 monitors, if only because it’s convenient. And I really don’t care about the science or anecdotal evidence, because for me and my ears, digital sounds bloody amazing in the worxlab.
Your Say
Did you partake in Record Store Day? Is every day Record Store Day for you? Are you a young buck for whom vinyl is a relic of a bygone era? Or do you have a record buying story to tell?
here in Portugal in my hometown we had a RSD ;)
i bought some vinyl, new and used! the mood was great!
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I agree, vinyl is magic. When I was a kid I spend all my lunch money on records. In every city I travelled to with my school, I first looked for record shops. I remember not beeing able to find any kool keith records in my town, so when I finally found a 12″ in London, it was a very pleasant feeling. I really liked diggin for records. Every record has a personal history to me. Also, I know that my records will probably outlive me, a thing I´m not so sure about my harddrive. It is probably true that not every vinyl record has better sound quality, but personnaly, on the rare occasions I listen to my old records, I´m always blown away by the difference. I think, even if a high quality digital file can sound really good (even better than a bad vinyl copy), digital still lowered the bar in terms of acceptable sound quality. And since I´m now used to this lower average, I can hear a clear difference. No bad feelings for digital thought, it is very convenient and cheaper (I can now afford lunches), but it will never have the same magic.
it is true that vinyl has a more emotional connection…i have plenty of cds, few of which i can remember the moment when i bought them, save for Mars Volta’s first 2 records, Goldie’s Timeless, and Mastodon’s albums since Blood Mountain…
But i can certainly remember every moment when a vinyl entered my life, probably because i have so few and cherish them a lot.
it seems to me that vinyl creates more emotion because the medium itself has so much history and because of the nostalgia that comes with unpacking a vinyl from its sleeve, and putting it on the turntable and gently dropping the tone-arm…it’s like a ceremonial process, like the ultimate ritual of the music lover, because you actually get involved physically with the music.
vinyl = (((((love)))))
I’m 34 and my wife is 27. When we were married a vinyl collection of massive proportions was forged. I started buying vinyl at about 14, when an out-of-towner opened an “antique complex” in the small rural Texas town next to mine. (I grew up in Orchard, TX, Population 303.)
By then CDs were the dominant media format and MP3s were just around the corner. I was attracted to vinyl firstly because it was a way to learn about obscure music (just) before the internet, and secondly because of the cultural artifact of a vinyl album. I think you learn more about an cultural era from its trash (and its commercials) than you do from anything else.
As for the sound of vinyl, I just consider it different. I prefer the way voices sound on vinyl for sure, especially female voices. Deep bass and highs sound better to me in digital.
At any rate, I was thinking the other day if Technics 1200s are going to become an emblem of cheesy old guys, in that same way that perfectly-restored Fender tweed amps (to, invariably, play the blues) have sort-of-become. I don’t think so, though. The connection of a DJ to vinyl is just too special and multi-faceted. I think DJing — the sound, the selections — should be taken on with almost solemn seriousness.
$0.02,
rs
I love your comment “I think you learn more about a cultural era from its trash (and its commercials) than you do from anything else.”
I had a passionate love affair with vinyl. Going out on Saturdays in Bristol trying to find two flat copies of the same hip hop single. There was nothing like sticking some wax on the turntable slapping on those warm worn out headphones with foam sticking out and needle dropping through countless records, while someone else is tutting behind as you go back to the first record again. Sometimes the guy behind the counter would flick through your selection and perhaps end up passing you something else you may like or have missed. Nearly every piece of vinyl i ever purchased this way i can remember and has significance and a place in my heart.
As much as i miss this whole experience i’d be lying if i said i have not been fully converted to the digital ways. Although i strongly advocate buying the best quality digital music available (AIFF Wav etc) I’m just as happy with Serato, Itch, or Vinyl (and cdjs if needs must).
Nowadays I only buy LP’s, classics i’ve missed or ones that have special meaning to me (almost entirely hip hop or soul & funk) My last memorable vinyl purchase of merit was from Replay Records in Bristol (which sadly i believe is long since gone). At this time i was still spending my food money on vinyl every chance i got. Going there on a Sunday afternoon and spotting the New Dangerdoom LP behind the counter at 3pm and knowing full well if i left it till Monday (the official release date) after work, there would be no more copies. Having got to know the guys in the shop a little (purely from my regular visits as much as anything else) i was bubbling with excitement when i got handed a copy discretely with a little wink. (Yep a whole 6-8hrs early!!!) I could not get back to my house fast enough to slap it down on my pearly white vestax and upset my house mates at full volume. Good times, moments in time & fond memories is what vinyl means to me. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like without it.
There’s no way I could remember the “when and where” behind each piece of my vinyl – I’ve got way too much, and most of it was bought in bundles rather than individually. I do hold a special place though for the white labels, some with hand written info, the promo copies and the signed stuff. You don’t get that with MP3s!
Also things like having the Double Dee & Steinski remix of Play That Beat Mr DJ on the original Disconet vinyl from ’83.
Alan Fearnley records in Middlesbrough for me, the guy was amazing. he was easily my dads age and yet once id been in a few times i could ask him what latest promo house tracks were in and he would sift through deciding which ones suited my style and which ones didnt. and also if you requested a track he would be able to tell you how many copies and when he had them in, and there was easily 100000 records on his premises. his assistant in the shop was also the dj in the chill out room of the empire, playing everything from hardcore to bob dylan. the shop is now Fearnleys daughters fashion house where she sells her own clothes (to a few celebs too i think) so at least one art has been replaced with another but i still miss that experience of rifling through masses of records then listening to them on his battered old deck behind the counter. trawling through shit on traxsource is just plain boring. the drive to boro, bumping into other djs, chatting with alan, getting some lunch, a few beers, maybe a new shirt for the night ahead. i cant do any of that sat on my laptop listening to 1 minute snips of some poorly made track from yet another ‘producer’ with a mac pro and ableton. whilst its good to have more access for people to make music, the old way of pressing vinyl kind of made the whole process of creating a track exclusive and therefore much better ratio of quality tracks out there
p.s. i have an original single sided white label of soul central-strings of life. i got it 3 years before it hit the charts and the name of the E.P. is written in byro by the guy who made it. thats my favourite record along with nuyorican soul-runaway, the double promo
I miss vinyl, but I don’t miss lugging it around.