Can anyone explain the vinyl renaissance?

[MattHooper]

I do enjoy your new tag line Newman. It's fun. It certainly dispenses with any pretense of "just the facts" impartiality on the subject of vinyl.

 

[MattHooper]

I can't remember if this has been posted in this giganta-thread, but...here is a very entertaining documentary from 2000 that became very well known in the vinyl world and beyond. It's by director/writer Alan Zweig. He was an obsessive collector of vinyl during the days when vinyl had gone out of style.

I met Alan when I worked in the picture department of a feature film he'd written, so I ended up at the premier of this documentary and it was a blast. After Vinyl he became well known for more of these raw, deeply personal, introspective somewhat self-loathing misanthropic documentaries. But this really is a good one. He takes his self-loathing of the way he let vinyl take over too much of his life and turns it on other vinyl collectors, trying to dig under all their wounds:

VINYL:

 

[antcollinet]

I get it that you are doubling down,

He really isn't. He's providing an explanation of the nature of his statement that I (at least) understand. It was use of irony - certainly a form of humour that some cultures don't get. But here's a hint from part of the definition:

1
a
: the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning
b
: a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony

Especially 1a in this case. And the use of the emoticon was intended (I believe) to hint at this.

I note that you are often telling people they mean something other than they tell you they mean. I suspect this is because of a cultural blindness as to how others use words. You should stop to think about this before repeatedly levelling such accusations.

If someone tells you what they mean, believe it: they are after all the only person in their head. It is quite possible that you are simply misinterpreting the intent of the words which, after all, is very easy on an international forum.

 

[Victor Martell]

But now that we both know that I got your tone wrong, I apologise for that. But now I'm left wondering, what were you trying to say? You've got some kind of view about my quoting Eamonn in my sig file....but what is it?

Argument from authority - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[JeremyFife]

I believe I've given a pretty decent account, citing all sorts of factors (and articles/interviews and various realms of support for the account), as have numerous others.



Projection? Seems an odd inference to post that on page 371 of an enormous well populated thread on the subject.




Yes. However we enjoy it!

Hi @MattHooper I was, I admit, poking a little fun at the length of the thread vs the simplicity of the question.

You argue passionately, and that's brilliant. Keep going.

Many of us are also passionate, we do care, and the energy in ASR in general is life-affirming.

Enjoying the thread, enjoying music

 

[Sal1950]

 

[MattHooper]

View attachment 360162

Appropriate, to take this weekend to celebrate Vinyl's rise from the dead ;-)

 

[Robin L]

Appropriate, to take this weekend to celebrate Vinyl's rise from the dead ;-)

Will there be chocolate?

 

[MattHooper]

Will there be chocolate?

Chocolate 45 record adapters wrapped in foil will be hidden around the home on The Day.

Also:

Chocolate LP​

---

Our Chocolate LP is the perfect treat for music lovers. featuring a one-of-a-kind chocolate record design. Its unique design makes it a delightfully original gift for special occasions and a great conversation starter for gatherings. Indulge yourself or surprise a loved one with a sweet and memorable treat.



https://hotchocolates.ca/products/chocolate-lp

 

[Sal1950]

You know what P. T. Barnum used to say ?

 

[Audiofire]

: a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony

Can be tempting in this thread

 

[Robin L]

Chocolate 45 record adapters wrapped in foil will be hidden around the home on The Day.

Also:

Chocolate LP​

---

Our Chocolate LP is the perfect treat for music lovers. featuring a one-of-a-kind chocolate record design. Its unique design makes it a delightfully original gift for special occasions and a great conversation starter for gatherings. Indulge yourself or surprise a loved one with a sweet and memorable treat.

https://hotchocolates.ca/products/chocolate-lp

Those bunnies will wreck havoc on the suspended subchassis 'tables with all their hopping around.

 

[Angsty]

Vinyl lives!

Vinyl sales officially trumped CDs for a second year in a row

Vinyl continues its remarkable recovery in style

www.whathifi.com

 

[Angsty]

Not disagreeing with you, just wondering at the vagaries of production and marketing. Pouring in buckets of soot made them cheaper? Or wear slower? Or people thought black looked better and Jony Ive hadn't yet shown them the aesthetic delights of translucency?

One record manufacturer did a bit of research in the matter.

Why are vinyl records black?

www.furnacemfg.com

 

[IPunchCholla]

One record manufacturer did a bit of research in the matter.

Why are vinyl records black?

www.furnacemfg.com

Wouldn’t increased conductivity only help if the record was grounded somehow? Mine are on a thick rubber Matt when playing and don’t touch anything they could conduct to.

 

[Audiofire]

Wouldn’t increased conductivity only help if the record was grounded somehow? Mine are on a thick rubber Matt when playing and don’t touch anything they could conduct to.

Static electricity is conducted by the hands to a certain extent. There is the triboelectric effect.

 

[Anton D]

Chocolate 45 record adapters wrapped in foil will be hidden around the home on The Day.

Also:

Chocolate LP​

---

Our Chocolate LP is the perfect treat for music lovers. featuring a one-of-a-kind chocolate record design. Its unique design makes it a delightfully original gift for special occasions and a great conversation starter for gatherings. Indulge yourself or surprise a loved one with a sweet and memorable treat.

https://hotchocolates.ca/products/chocolate-lp

Those only play properly on the Finial turntable.

 

[Anton D]

One record manufacturer did a bit of research in the matter.

Why are vinyl records black?

www.furnacemfg.com

Way back in the day I think is was to hide the look of reused record material to get a uniform appearance. Now it seems a tradition, but I have heard the ‘improved durability’ tales.

 

[mhardy6647]

Way back in the day I think is was to hide the look of reused record material to get a uniform appearance. Now it seems a tradition, but I have heard the ‘improved durability’ tales.

FWIW -- I don't think that recycling PVC for (LP) records was much of a thing prior to the Energy Crisis of 1974.
Most vinyl records were black long, long before that -- although translucent red LPs and (early) 7" 45s were surprisingly (and inexplicably, at least by me!) common in the 1950s (for a while).
By the time I came along and got interested in 7" 45s, I think many of the pop records were polystyrene and not vinyl -- and pretty terrible in quality, to boot.

Don't make me go spelunking downstairs for old 12" and 7" disks!

 

[benanders]

Way back in the day I think is was to hide the look of reused record material to get a uniform appearance. Now it seems a tradition, but I have heard the ‘improved durability’ tales.

Close - I also was led to think the main reason was simply for consistency in appearance. While vinyl was probably not often of recycled PVC in the 50’s and 60’s, plastic manufacturing wasn’t what it is today, either. Black would’ve been the most obvious pigment to make for uniform appearance in large press runs.