Among other items of yesteryear making a comeback (go away already high waisted pants – they’re not flattering!), vinyl seems unstoppable. Last year, people spent over $100 million dollars on records, which incidentally, is less than 2% of total music sales. Cuckoo bananas.
You can read the statistics and logical rationale here (is there such thing as illogical rationale?) about how the digital age offers us too much variety and choice, leaving us bewildered as we race through 7000 downloaded tunes. So we turn to analog to slow down – all the way to 45 rpm – and appreciate one band, one side at a time.
But it still doesn’t explain why retro styles are so big. And that’s ok. If you read the rationale, you’ll know we have the attention spans of peanuts. And if you didn’t read it, you are clearly skimming this article, looking for links to click. So here’s my explanation of why vinyl is hot right now. Fill your boots:
Aesthetic appeal of album covers
Bands use sleeve real estate as a visual representation of their musical expressions. Album art looks good. The cover is a perfectly sized canvas. A record collection looks good on a shelf.
It’s also a great way to lend support to other artists and their medium of choice, like using photographers and illustrators.
Or, it’s just an inside joke that allows for hilarious commentary.
Unending hilarious commentary. I love this guy.
Fun with retro-tech
It’s not just vinyl being rebranded in this digital age. Apple spends time and money making the ipod smaller, more compact and easier to carry. Then someone turns around and builds this spectacular ipod ghetto blaster.
Having said that, it would be ideal to cut down on all the electronics waste produced so I really hope someone goes for this prototype of an eco vinyl turntable made of sustainable materials.
Now, take a look at these vinyl jeans. Ok, they’re not vinyl, they’re waxed. But the way they look makes me think of melted records.
* “Moderne” sounds more futuristic with the “e” on the end.