by Natasa Kvesic |
There’s nothing quite like pulling a shiny record out of its sleeve, popping it on the turntable and hearing the crackle of the needle running over the grooves.
Listening to music on vinyl is like experiencing an album in a completely different way than that is usually heard digitally; each instrument and vocal is exemplified on a completely different level. Records are tangible, they’re like owning a piece of history from an artist. Being able to have the records and throw them on anytime gives a sense of nostalgia that streaming music can’t compete with.
This feeling is what drives a recent movement coined as the “vinyl revival.”
Since 2006, vinyl sales have increased ten fold. People want to be a part of the rich history that vinyls are accompanied by, they want to revert to the retro lifestyle.
Freshman Erik Wingfield is a firm believer and pioneer of this old school revival. He believes that vinyls represent a deeper admiration for an artist, and that the convenience of downloading and streaming music makes it easy to ignore the labor that goes into producing the record.
Wingfield initially caught the collector’s bug from his father, and can now boast of a collection of 35 records in his home.
“My collection encompasses rock legends such as Zeppelin, Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaun, 80s synthesizers and bangers such as Billy Joel and David Bowie, and even some solid 90’s rap such as LL Cool J’s “All World,” he said.
As the vinyl revival has progressed, more and more young people have been the ones purchasing records. This is usually due to the fact that their parents were 70’s and 80’s rockers who had their own weird obsession with collecting vinyl and would spend hours cuddled up to their record player.
For freshman Isabelle Linkous, it was both of her parents who were obsessed with vinyl.
“They had just boxes of them and I would look through them. My dad, at our old house, he had an entire wall of AC/DC vinyls,” said Linkous. “For him, (his collection) is a lot of classic rock like Van Halen.”
Linkous’ collection is full of records that bring her back to her pre-teen angst, with bands like Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy and Paramore.
“It was just what I listened to all the time growing up and those artists have a lot of special releases, like different color press vinyls,” said Linkous. “The special edition is just fun to have and it’s like: ‘Yeah! I have all of these from the music I used to listen to!’ I put them on for some old throwbacks, but it gets emo really quick.”
Like any determined and devoted vinyl revivalist, the need for more records is constantly looming over a collector’s head.
Whether it’s getting the new Kamasi Washington record for a modern jazz trip into space or copping “The Chronic” by Dr. Dre in mint-condition, a true collector never stops looking for the next best buy.
“Being in Portland, I can easily expand my collection. I want to buy some rap vinyls as of now,” Wingfield said. “One of my favorite rappers is Travis Scott from Houston, TX. I saw him live in Seattle this fall and ever since I have not stopped listening to any of the music he puts out.”
But some collectors just enjoy being in a record store. Meandering around, hoping to find a diamond in the rough, while being immersed in a dreamworld of nostalgia.
“I want to keep getting more, I just need somewhere to store them all, especially at school,” said Linkous. “I haven’t gone to any record stores here yet. But even if I don’t buy them, I like flipping through records, just to see what they have. Like when I get ten more bucks, I’ll come back and get it!”
In 2007, the third Saturday of April was established as Record Store Day, evidence that the vinyl revival is a permanent fixture of the cultural lexicon. Vinyl collectors not only pride themselves on the number of records they own, but on their identities as music curators. Natasa Kvesic is a reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at kvesic19@up.edu and on Twitter @NatasaKve.
