The Vinyl Revolution (Again)

I overheard a report on Marketplace that CD sales are dropping, but vinyl sales have nearly doubled over the last year. The digital age has finally caught up to CD's. Soon they will go the way of the 8-track, LaserDisc, and HD DVD. However, the more important part of the story is the part about vinyl sales souring. Music fans are turning to vinyl in a digital age to fulfill that primal need that cannot be satisfied with more advanced technologies.

And why not? No longer are there the problems often associated with vinyl: portability and availability. The ability to take your music with you has been solved in two ways. First, many record labels (mainly indie, primarily Merge and Saddle Creek) are including codes for download with their vinyl releases. Now one may buy a record and download the album at no additional cost. The second way vinyl has been digitized is through the invention of several affordable turntables that convert the music to digital files. Sure, you may not have one of these turntables yet (if you have a turntable at all), but someone you know will have one soon. Then it will only be a matter of time before everyone is over at said friend's house converting their records to mp3 files.

Availability is really only an issue for true music fans who seek vinyl, but that may change. Indies have long championed vinyl, but record stores who still carry vinyl are either dying out or only stocking a couple of copies in this format. No need to worry. Online outlets such as Insound sell nearly every album on vinyl. Plus, with the combination of greater demand and people like my uncle who sold off his extensive collection of 70's and 80's rock and punk records, used record shops and eBay should be well-stocked for years to come in vintage vinyl.

Current demand is even beginning to outpace current production. Take Animal Collective's much anticipated Merriweather Post Pavilion. The band opted to release the vinyl version (with digital download) weeks before the CD is due in stores. My copy was supposed to arrive yesterday. Instead, I received an email from Insound explaining that they were already out of copies and that there will be a delay on my shipment.

Not to worry, I have an order consisting of albums re-issued on vinyl that should arrive by the end of the week. This is another thing bands and labels are doing: they are re-releasing albums that either never received the vinyl treatment or have regained cult status in a time of a vinyl comeback. This gives me a chance to revisit many of my favorites on vinyl hear them through new ears.

Personally, I prefer to listen to an album on vinyl. First of all, the sound is better. Sure, CD's and digital recordings are sharper and more precise, but you can't feel the music the way you can when the needle is dropped over the groove and it hisses and cracks at every empty moment. Secondly, one is forced to listen to an album in its entirety, or at least a half at a time. Artists record albums for a reason. The intention is not for the listener to skip around and only choose a few songs they like. Enjoy the whole thing the way way you sip a good scotch or puff a quality cigar.

I have made a commitment to share music with my daughter using the format. Of course, my current vinyl collection is about half of my CD collection, but that is changing. I've recently spent a lot of time on eBay scoring albums by Archers of Loaf and Pavement as well as an old Silver Jews 7". Insound now has a vinyl newsletter that updates me on the release dates for vinyl, new and old. So far, all my music purchases in '09 have been on vinyl. I plan to continue this practice throughout the year.

So, go dust off your old records, head down to the local record store (if there still is one where you live), or buy that record player at the garage sale down the block. It's time to join the vinyl revolution. Do it fast. I hear we're running out of oil and we can't make records without oil.

In the meantime, tell me about your vinyl love. Do you have a record that still takes you back to a better time as soon as you hear the needle on the groove?

Do you have a turntable? Do you have a turntable that converts records to mp3's? If so, can I borrow it?

Do you have a record that you're looking forward to buying in the coming year? Is there a great store where you purchase all your records? Or is this the first time you realized people still listened to records?

Whatever your connection, I'm all ears...or eyes as the case may be. Tell me in the comments what place vinyl has in your life.