I own very few vinyl records. The ones I still own are gathering dust at my parents house in Southwestern PA. I believe some of the early titles in that small collection include Shaun Cassidy, Donny and Marie Osmond, and the later titles included Rick Springfield and Bon Jovi. It was the 70′s and 80′s and we used to play these gems on my parents hi-fi in the living room real loud when they left us alone.
When I was 19 and backpacking across Europe, I discovered a great little indie shop in Sweden called Dolores’ Records. They had more colored vinyl and picture discs than I had ever seen. I brought home at least 12 pieces of pristine vinyl from that trip and I treasured them for years until I was forced to sell them for gas money to move out of Los Angeles. Dark times.
Regardless I don’t think vinyl will ever lose its appeal. There is something so solid about holding a record, the way it plays, the way it sounds, the way it shatters upon breaking. How a good DJ can make a record sound fresh and new each time he mixes it with others. Its about collecting. It’s about nostalgia. It’s about sound. I think its awesome that they still make vinyl records. I may not be the average vinyl patron, but I’m glad it hasn’t gone the way of the buffalo.
Words by Barbie Brady.
Gotta Groove Documentary by Nick Cavalier.
This is a short documentary about a new vinyl pressing plant in Cleveland Ohio, called “Gotta Groove Records”. They specialize in 7″ and 12″ Vinyl creation/manufacturing using PVC molding. Check them out here:
Dir: Nick Cavalier (Brainfish Studios)
Dir. Of Photography/P.A.: Matt Murphy (Northcoast Studios)
Editor: Nick Cavalier
Gotta Groove Records – “Groove With Us” from Nick Cavalier on Vimeo.
12″ vinyl – as a format, favors the delivery of beautifully considered artwork and packaging… see Hard Format to lose several hours of your day perusing the evidence: http://www.hardformat.org
All tapes and CDs suffer from a smaller and more awkward form factor, making interacting with the packaging and liner notes less fulfilling. Pour over the gate-fold artwork of The Wall as you listen to the record – it’s not an equivalent experience to popping it on the CD player a paging through a little booklet.
The vinyl market’s growth is being fueled in large part by high end special release product from bands that are interested in delivering a richer contextual experience to their fans – and it works! The tactile nature of it, the need to flip the record – it commends attention. Listening to music on vinyl is more of a primary activity – it’s not just background fill shuffling from iTunes.
The value that vinyl consumers place in aesthetics is evident in that Gotta Groove short. It’s essentially a segment from How It’s Made, but it’s shot beautifully with open apertures through the eye of a film maker, not a “video guy” – taking what might otherwise come off like a combination of a sales pitch and a 1970′s BBC special on manufacturing and turning into an artistic product in it’s own right. It speaks volumes about their venture and attention to detail.
Time to start a band, write some songs, and press some vinyl.