Wax and Wane: The Tough Realities Behind Vinyl's Comeback

Nice. Matt has posted here before. I did a small-run with Gotta Groove last year and he's a total pro. Their cutting engineer (Clint Holley) even initiated a dialog with me. I was pleasantly surprised because that's never happened before.

 

That is surprising. St. Vincent seems to have a lot more mainstream exposure (Saturday Night Live, The Late Show).

I'm also really surprised that Arctic Monkeys are #2. Didn't see that one coming. And Arcade Fire aren't even in the top 10?

 

There was also a release by The Flaming Lips a couple years ago with actual liquid blood sandwiched between the sides (think picture disc, but with blood instead of a picture). They only made 10 copies, cost a ridiculous amount of money, and aren't even listed on Discogs.

 

I'm not sure what you mean. Do you enjoy mp3?

 

Lazaretto - in all its 180 gram, hidden track, holographic glory -- is $20 on the Third Man website.

 

Vinyl-gotta get up, break the mood and turn the damn thing over to hear the rest. They also don't play well in a car, do they??? Just sayin'.

 

Perhaps a Record Collector reader can clue us in, but: didn't they do a shootout among albums with identical masterings but different weights recently, concluding that the heavier vinyl had better bass response and a tighter soundstage, or something like that? I just skimmed it at the newsstand and didn't read the full article.

 

Somebody missed my point!

 

It seems like most reissues are like that. There's a company that advertises its reissues in Stereophile and I always go through and check off the ones I got at the thrift store for a buck. I suppose it's a safer bet to reissue an album that sold millions than it is to reissue some obscure jazz album that sold 500 copies.

Chad

 

Man, whatever town you live in must suck. The "few record stores that are left" in Boston (there are eight just within walking distance of my house) that sell new vinyl carry far more indie titles than they do major label, including quite a bit of obscure small press run stuff.

 

I literally only have one, at it does suck, every other little hole in the wall shop only sells uses.

 

To be compared accurately the tonearm would have to be adjusted (height) to compensate for the increased height (thickness) of the record. Most shootouts involve a tail-down / tail-up change to the tonearm. Nevertheless the increased mass of a true 180 gram record will absorb and release the energy being imparted by the stylus differently than a record of less weight or mass. The degree to which this can be heard... I don't know. The mat, platter, turntable, and so on become additional factors. Drives me crazy.

I'm glad someone else does this stuff. At some point the customer just has to play the dang record.

 

I paid less than half the price you are quoting here for the Psychedelic Pill vinyl. It sounds fantastic & Crazy Horse play their asses off. I only wish Neil had taken the time to write some tunes.

 

I gotta say that this thread title is music to my ears no pun intended. Back in the early 90s I thought vinyl was finished; I had decided that I didn't like CD sound and I started to stockpile some cartridges for fear that they couldn't be found in the future. Remember this was in the days before the internet and ebay etc. There were few good used record stores where I was and while people were dumping LPs many were inferior pressings or dreck music. I was fortunate that at that point I started to travel a lot more in my job and so could find some better/earlier pressings occasionally, particularly for jazz and classical. I never thought we would be at this point where there are hundreds of phono stages, cartridges, turntables and quality reissues. Bless anyone who started or kept on buying vinyl in the 90s.

 

I look at vinyl as a huge step backwards (I guess thats stating the obvious), I'd rather see better CD mastering or cheaper Hi-Rez.

 

I think focusing on the limited edition blood splattered clear glow in the dark vinyl as a means to say that there is a vinyl bubble that is about to explode (and spray us all with blood?) is a bit of a red herring. By default, these releases are quite limited (in my experience typically around 1,000 copies), so they are not really having a large affect on the recent upswing in vinyl sales. If anything, the influence they are having is to get some fans and collectors excited about buying vinyl again. The vast majority of vinyl sales are the plain old black slabs of licorice.

I've also said this before, but I feel that vinyl sales will continue to rise alongside digital sales. You're seeing people who could care less about owning the music dumping cds and going over to streaming/mp3s while those of us that do want to be able to hold something tangible move to vinyl. CDs, being digital and only slightly less disposable than an mp3, are going to continue to be pushed to the side. I think today it's probably impossible for a music store to exist on CDs alone, but there are about 4 shops in this city that only sell vinyl and are doing fine.

If you for some reason held a gun to my head and asked what I truly felt the future held, I'd say cds will go the way of VHS tapes (no longer produced and only sold 5 for $1 at the flea market) while vinyl will top out at a respectable 10-15% of the market.

 

Doesn't it bother you having "Driftin' Back" split up into 2 parts (like on an 8-track tape)? I do think it's one of his best albums with that classic Crazy Horse groove. Like a double dose of Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.

 

It's not a case of step back or forward. I've never found another format that reproduces music as believably as the 12" vinyl LP. I am happy to take the credit (at least partially) for it's survival in staying with the format through the 90s. Back then vinyl was cheaper than CD as well as better sounding. The article is fairly balanced until it comes to the assumption that sound quality is secondary for most purchasers and then it came up with the old nice and warm and crackly rubbish. For serious listeners to music on Lp it's a life's mission to have all vinyl that plays without crackles and pops. Hence people buy better cartridges and record cleaning machines.

 

27 minutes is a bit much to cram on a side. It can be done, yes, but the sonics will be compromised. The realistic upper limit for a side is about 22 minutes.

 

"And Arcade Fire aren't even in the top 10"

Because discerning music fans realize that it's a pretty terrible record…Easily the worst of their career that's why!

 

I dunno, they're still pretty popular and I personally like the album. I will admit, though, that it doesn't seem to have been as big of a hit as The Suburbs was.

 

I'd say their popularity is diminishing by the day…case in point:

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Google "Groupon Arcade Fire"…pretty pathetic and oh how the mighty have fallen!!!

 

When you say "people who like music," you make a statement that is overly broad and for that reason completely fallacious. I try not to go around indiscriminately peeing in other people's punch bowls because I have friends who hold opinions different from mine (it's a respect thing). But when you suggest that basically anyone with ears prefers vinyl, I have to step in and correct this blatant untruth. IT'S NOT TRUE.

I have never personally heard a vinyl playback system that is better (warmer, more musical, more detailed) than my current computer-based digital file playback system. I'm not saying they don't exist, I'm just saying that every time a vinyl-phile tries to prove the superiority of vinyl on their personal playback systems, they fail miserably. Often these systems are completely laughable: pawn shop speakers, old slow SS amps, bottom feeder TTs. They only thing they offer is audible distortion, rolled off highs, surface noise and more non-musical sonic information than I can personally tolerate.

I've been around long enough to have owned several very good TT-based systems, because back then that's all there was. I've also heard some very good systems demo'd in stereo stores and friend's homes over the years, and I've done my share of A/B comparisons, as fairly as I can. But, I stand by my assessment.

If you want to believe that any vinyl playback system is inherently superior to any other playback system, you're welcome to your opinion but that doesn't make it fact. Just saying.

 

It doesn't really bother me, no. I have a few albums where tracks are broken up over sides like that and I consider it a pretty minor inconvenience.