Today is Record Store Day. It's a day to celebrate vinyl, to support record stores across the country and to get in on some limited release cool shit.
If you get a chance, go support your favorite store. If you're in NC, stop by CD Alley in Chapel Hill, it's my favorite and they have some Hubski stickers up.
If you did go buy some vinyl today, what was it? If you didn't, but you do collect vinyl --- any suggestions on what to be on the lookout for?
bgood79, you're in SF today, right? Where'd you go? What'd you get?
What is so good about Vinyl? Or, why do people prefer it?
It's a great question, here's a relevant post from a long time ago. http://hubski.com/pub?id=495
Opps, didn't even think of searching for it. Thanks though!
Hilarious. As a counterpoint though, music is, at its core, evocative. Everything about a record, -the giant physical form factor, the art on the cover, the notes inside, and yes (sometimes especially) the damage from playback can be extremely evocative for some people and serve only to enhance the experience holistically. Digital music is the superior format for my collection on the whole, but a track sitting invisibly on a hard drive cannot hold a candle to the ceremony my fiancé and I have of occasionally coming home and surprising the other with a fantastic old piece of vinyl. Putting it on the record player and listening to it together, checking out the cover, talking about the records we used to have, etc. It's awesome. Much more evocative then what the audio track alone provides.
AdSeriatim, Digital recordings can have a higher dynamic range but to most people listening, this advantage is negligible. Vinyl enthusiasts will point out that it sounds "warmer", which is a subjective thing, but it's hard to argue once you've listened to it on a good system. Both mediums have their advantages. Digital is obviously easier to store and more mobile. Vinyl encapsulates a physicality that digital can't. It's tangible, you can hold the artwork in your hand, you can smell the vinyl and the jacket. Collectors will often point to this type of nostalgia -I'm one of them. That said, I have pretty extensive digital music library too. I understand how digital works and the benefits it provides. I also understand why people collect vinyl. I think it's analogous to the e-book vs. physical book thing. Do I read books/text electronically? Yes. But I still have a book shelf at home and I probably always will but only for my favorites. Record collecting is similar for me. People that collect vinyl tend to be really in to sound and audio, to say that they "don't understand how digital audio works," is probably not accurate.
I have a pretty good music library (for what I prefer listening to), but would love to get into the record collecting/listening to records. Do you have any advice as to what equipment or 'things' someone just starting should have or know? Obviously I'll be doing my own research, but it would be nice to get some advice from someone that already know what they're talking about.
Well like any other hobby, it depends on your budget. This seems like a good site to answer any initial questions you might have regarding equipment. I recommend getting a reasonable setup that can be upgraded as your collection grows. You don't want to spend a ton of money on equipment, go buy 3 records, and then realize you're really not into it. Look into record cleaning and maintaining as well. This is crucial as it will prolong your equipment as well as the life of the record. Always keep in mind that record collecting is NOT convenient (as opposed to just pushing play on your iPod), it is NOT cheap (far more expensive than downloading torrents for free), No matter how good your system is or how nice the pressing is, you WILL hear clicks and pops even if the record is brand new, learn to love them. So yeah, figure out what your budget is and maybe I can suggest some equipment options. Other than that, have fun dude!
bgood79 you are much better "equipped" to answer this question. Any suggestions?
Also, not to belabor the question but you may want to check out this podcast comprised of Hubski users around the topic of " collecting" http://hubski.com/pub?id=43335
I'll definitely give that a listen when I have the chance. Thanks!
Some people believe the sound quality is superior. Not so much the clarity of the sound perhaps, but they think it has more soul. Personally I like it because if I spend money on music, I want to able to hold a beautiful piece of art in my hands, not press play on a file. CDs are ok but feel cheap compared to vinyl.
The sound quality is superior. However, you don't begin to notice that until you start to listen to the music on high end headphones or stereo systems.
It should be noted that this is true, but not on those modern 5.1 systems. Vinyl's natural environment is a good warm 2.1 setup. Also, if you're listening on good headphones, take the time to break them in properly and no, there are no quality earbuds.
I don't have a very good turntable or speakers so that must be it. Still, I wouldn't buy vinyl solely for the superior sound quality.
Yeah, I see the appeal. I have always wanted to buy vinyl, but was never bothered enough to buy a turntable. Thanks for the reply!
Nothing this year, I spend too much yearly as it is to warrant picking up a ton of stuff today. Everyday should be Record Store Day.
Same here, I'm holding out for some other albums and nothing really warranted me traveling half an hour to fight the crowds and MAYBE get the vinyl I wanted. I do want to hear Their / They're / There's new album though, bummer.
Sadly, nothing- I'm dirt poor AND the only good record store around me moved to a different city last February. Sigh.
DOH! That's what the dollar bins are for though, right? That said, it's hard to buy anything if the record store moves out of town. Good luck.
I ran in a race yesterday and the streets of Chapel Hill were all shutdown. I ran right passed my local record shop at 8 in the morning and there were already lines outside of it. I talked to the owner later when I stop by and he told me that there were a number of people camped out, ready to buy the limited edition releases for record store day. That's why you can't go the next day, because there are only so many of these things available and they are rather valuable. As bgood79 mentioned, a lot of this stuff will be up on eBay before you know it, sealing for a sizeable profit. But the casual collector goes to record store day to show support for their store.... And to perhaps get one of the many records released that day. It's fun, later in the day when the lines die down, but given the state of the music industry it's cool to see the stores packed again too.
I got to Amoeba Records way too late. All of the soul sucking eBay resellers already glommed onto all of the good limited stuff. I did get a Eno/Grizzly Bear 12" though. No Flaming Lips Zaireeka. That would have been fun to set up 4 turntables/stereos in one room and let 'er rip. Especially on April 20th.
By the time I had gotten to the store, all of the new releases I was interested in were gone. I ended up getting two albums I love but don't currently have on Vinyl: