Vinyl is Neither Dead nor Dying
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 03:56PM
As I start writing, playing in the background is Filter's Take a Picture Remix 12in. This isn't exactly the soundtrack I was hoping would accompany this post, but never the less, the record player is spinning and music is filling the apartment. Before I go into why I'm proud to proclaim that vinyl is still alive, let me tell you about a movie I just finished watching.
I just finished watching Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. It was a cute movie that I had seen trailers for, but never got the chance to see. Since I had the time, I rented it along with Gangster Squad and Lincoln. I've yet to see Lincoln and Gangster Squad was laughablly bad at some parts, and entertaining at others.
There is an underlying theme in Seeking a Friend... where Keira Knightley's character is in love with her vinyl collection. She flees her apartment while a riot is approaching and has a hard time deciding what vinyls to grab as Steve Carell is trying to drag her out the door. Throughout the movie, they are frequently seen carrying these records and about half way through the movie they find a record player. Even at the end of the movie, Steve Carell is seen playing records and laying on his back waiting for the world to end, however the power cuts out and he's left in the dark and in silence. 
It was nice to see this underlying theme shortly after I went to Looney Tunes, an independant record store and spent about 20 dollars on records. This is actually way less than I have spent in the last few days from several different sources.
I've always wanted a record player, ever since Underoath released Define the Great Line with a 7in record included at certain stores. I never got a chance to play that record, but it sure did make some nice decoration.
It wouldn't be until I attended Underoath's farewell tour that I'd purchase my first vinyl, and no it wasn't that 7in I had lost in the storm. It was mewithoutyou's newest release Ten Stories. I had listened to the album on Rdio and thought it was good enough to purchase. When I saw it on vinyl, I couldn't pass it up. But I still didn't own a record player. This was a classic case of putting the cart before the horse. But I'd actually buy another record before purchasing a record player.
My next record was House of Heroes' Cold Hard Want. I purchased this at the Five Iron Frenzy Reunion show at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City. I own their most recent release on iTunes and loved it so I thought it would sound great on vinyl. I bought it, still not owing a record player. It was at this point that I saw fit to purchase a record player but didn't know where to turn.
Looney Tunes sells record players, but I wanted a little more variety and better prices, so I went where both of those could be near guaranteed, Amazon.com. On Amazon I was able to see different record players and choose the right one for me. I went with an Audio Technica AT-LP60 Fully Automatic Belt Driven Turntable(This link is not to Amazon where I purchased it, but to another site where it was $20 less). It is rated the best among other turn-tables and is moderately priced. I have no complaints with this turntable and would gladly recommend it to anyone looking to get into vinyl. Now that I had the record player, it was time to expand the collection.
On Record Store Day back in April, I tried to get a vinyl, but didn't see anything that caught my eye. This also wasn't the day to peruse the shelves since it was one of the busiest days for Looney Tunes. It would take me about a month and some internet shopping to get more vinyls. In fact, the vinyls I purchased next haven't even arrived at my door step. But I'll let you know what I felt was worth having on vinyl.
From Amazon I was able to find a few vinyls for the band Anberlin. I loved their album Vital and I think it would sound great on vinyl, so I ordered it. Also available from Amazon on vinyl is their album Dark is the Way, Light is the Place.
I pre-ordered the vinyl for Currents from the band Eisley. I've always liked Eisley ever since their first album Room Noises(2005). It's been a while since I purchased one of their albums, but since I came across their impending release on Amazon on vinyl, I thought why not pre-order.
From the band merch mini-conglomerate Zambooie I was able to find Relient K's Forget and Not Slow Down 12in Vinyl Combo Package which includes a tote bag, and a photo book all packaged in an embossed wooden box. For the fun of it, here's Relient K's song Vinyl Countdown from the EP of the same name released originally in 2003 exclusively in vinyl.
From the Tooth and Nail Records online store I was able to find two releases that sparked my interest. In fact both of these albums are projects of Aaron Gillespie currently of The Almost. I was able to find The Changing of Times by Underoath on vinyl as well as Southern Weather by The Almost. These were by far the least expensive new full length albums I have been able to find. Even at the live show the albums were going for $20. At the Tooth and Nail Store Underoath's album was 17.99 and The Almost's was 14.99. After shipping, it came to 42.30. Now here is where I kind of go off the rails.
To bring it full circle, Filter's Take a Picture Remix 12in was purchased earlier today along with a few other albums. I was a fan of the song and for a few dollars, I saw it as a worth while purchase. I was able to get Mute Math's Spotlight EP for 8.50 as well. I found a used copy of Neil Young's Everybody Knows this is Nowhere, an album that I had actually bought used on disc a few years ago. For 25 cents each I bought two used Christmas albums, a Chipmunks cover album and an album of church music, should I ever get in the mood.
I should be receiving the albums from Anberlin, Relient K, Underoath and The Almost in a few days. Once I get them, it will only be a few weeks till I receive Eisley's Currents, and at that point, I should be done purchasing albums for now. Then again, I hear that Relient K is releasing their upcoming album Collapsible Lung on vinyl as well.


