Making this thread because i'm curious, does anyone here collect music on vinyl?

I wouldn't say I "collect" vinyl - my collection is very limited, and I don't have my record player in my apartment unfortunately. However I think buying a vinyl album is a lot cooler than buying a CD now, especially because so many artists include a free download coupon with their vinyl releases. It seems to be the way to go. Even if you don't have a record player, some sick album art would make it worth it. That being said, the pillows would have no benefit releasing their last 6 or so albums on vinyl.

Bonnie Raitt - Give it Up
The Ventures - The Ventures
Death From Above 1979: You're a Woman, I'm a Machine
Iron & Wine: The Shepherd's Dog (love this art)
Belle & Sebastian: The Boy With the Arab Strap
Belle & Sebastian: If You're Feeling Sinister
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It's Blitz! (I'd so much rather have Fever to Tell though)
Basement Jaxx: Scars

[quote="GoldenRhino"]The Ventures - The Ventures[/quote]

I only recognize one or two of the others, though.

A big part of why I started looking at vinyl was the album artwork, I also wanted physical copies of certain albums but don't really have an intrest in buying them on CD.
I do play them regularly and have a mid-range setup, but i'm not in the camp that vinyl sounds "better" than CD's do. They have a certain warmth, but it requires alot more hardware, space, money, etc. than CD's or just downloading the mp3's.

Point being, I looked at the artwork first and all the cool inserts and other bits that vinyl records have, before I thought about sound quality.

I have around 20 vinyl records. I'd like more, but I don't have a great sound system for playing them.

I just got In Rainbows.

[img]http://s.dsimg.com/image/R-1187003-1278362118.jpeg[/img]

Yes.

Just listened to Sgt pepper and I've got to say I'm pretty impressed with the sound quality. And I find vinyl hunting to be fun. It seems nowadays Vinyl is the way to go. Too many brick walled cds created today. The pillows should take note of this too though I'm pretty sure they already had but probably they haven't gotten the permission to do so which sucks.

The pillows need to put out remixed albums that don't have that problem. On vinyl.

I have a moderate vinyl collection. My set up is amateur at best, but it suits my needs. I'm more opt to throw my iPod on through my speakers via aux than pop on a record, but when the mood strikes, I have it...oddly, I mostly have older records. The only "modern" records I have are the Stroke's Room on Fire and Tokyo Police Club's Forcefield. Oh, and Beach Fossil's Clash the Truth.

Also odd, is that the majority of my collection is classical, jazz, or some type of foreign instrumental. I feel that they lend better to the vinyl experience. Just my opinion, but if I'm going to listen to any modern band, I'll just pop on my iPod. There's something about throwing on a jazz record though that feels better than putting it on through your iPod. Weird.

For me, the appeal of vinyl collecting is that the format gives some tangibility to the music. The record is an object that makes the entirely non-physical experience of music feel just a little bit more real. It's kind of like a polaroid or a paper book in that way. Artwork's definitely a part of that: it adds a visual element to the sound in a chromesthesiastic kind of way. And of course, the vinyl itself: watching it spin is kind of like watching the music come into existence right before you, at least in a way that's more magical than a digital file playing on your computer. Especially in the digital age, MP3s and streaming can sometimes make music seem disposable, so buying vinyl helps to stave that off.

[quote="dimsim3478"]For me, the appeal of vinyl collecting is that the format gives some tangibility to the music. The record is an object that makes the entirely non-physical experience of music feel just a little bit more real. It's kind of like a polaroid or a paper book in that way. Artwork's definitely a part of that: it adds a visual element to the sound in a chromesthesiastic kind of way. And of course, the vinyl itself: watching it spin is kind of like watching the music come into existence right before you, at least in a way that's more magical than a digital file playing on your computer. Especially in the digital age, MP3s and streaming can sometimes make music seem disposable, so buying vinyl helps to stave that off.[/quote]

Signed. While the digital revolution has been fantastic in getting more music into more peoples' hands, I think one issue is that its intangibility sort of devalues the tremendous effort and artistry that goes into making music. Band X slaves away over their new record for a few years, and your way into engaging with that is through a zipped up folder of MP3s you scored from a torrent? And you'll open it up in your player of choice, and maybe sample around, playing a track, skipping two minutes in, listening for 5 seconds, then moving onto the next track, before (if?) you decide to give the album a full listen. Same goes for music streaming, only more so because it's even more convenient. Even for bands you love, it just seems sort of...I don't wanna say "disrespectful", but it's not a fair engagement with the work. It's too easy to avoid engaging with all the tracks, not letting tunes 'build' properly.

That's what's been interesting about listening to music on vinyl - the inconvenience of skipping tracks, having to flip the record over when a side is done...it makes me listen to tracks I'm not in the ideal mood for, tracks I thought weren't that hot...and I by listening to those, I rediscover elements in them that are strong, that I do actually like. I rediscover the album as an album, rather than it's handful of tracks that are my favorite.

I've gotten "back into" vinyl since my post four years ago. My collection is very small still, and this is what it looks like (aside from those mentioned above):

Dave Brubeck - Dave Brubeck at Storyville [1954]
Vince Guaraldi Trio - Vince Guaraldi Trio [1956]
Bill Evans - Everybody Digs Bill Evans [1959]
Laura Nyro - Gonna Take a Miracle [1971]
Average White Band - AWB [1974]
Earth, Wind, and Fire - Spirit [1976]
Burt Bacharach - Living Together [1973]
Donna Summer - Once Upon a Time [1977]
Ry Cooder - Bop Till You Drop [1979]
The Go-Go's - Vacation [1982]
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands [1987]
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works pt II [1994]
Radiohead - Kid A [2000]
connect_icut - They Showed Me the Secret Beaches [2008]
Veronica Falls - Veronica Falls [2011]
Kishi Bashi - 151a [2012]
Oneohtrix Point Never - Drawn and Quartered [2013]
Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell [2015]

I also bought the Friddman Number Girl Remasters of School Girl Distortional Addict, Sappukei, Num-Heavymetallic. And the Samurai/Way? single was included in that, so that's pretty sick.

Hurray for Dave Brubeck

When I settle somewhere for a while in the US again, a nice turntable is something I want to look into. Like GR elaborates above, music might be one of these things for which technology has outpaced our ability to slow down and do something right. Instant Music indeed.

[quote="GoldenRhino"]-we may be in a vinyl boom, but I've heard directly and indirectly that the quality and production capabilities of existing producers are not where they need to be.[/quote]

This is a reply to a post GR made in the "[i]post your songs[/i]" thread.

Record sales have experienced a huge surge that has only grown larger over the last ~5 years, and while many new manufacturing plants and record labels have sprung up around this resurgence in vinyl, the machines used to make these records are in most cases well over 50 years old. Cutting and pressing the master die for an album is a precision craft that requires specialized machines and a particular skillset, and while new engineers are learining these techniques no one has invested their resources into producing new equipment to cut and press vinyl records. They're being made in old factories on old machines that are simply worn out after a lifetime of being in operation, often with poor service as record sales declined in the late 80's and people were convinced that records were on their way out for good, and that these machines would no longer be needed. I remember reading an article about one small production facility who got their machine straight out of a museum.

These poorly maintained, out-of-spec machines are causing quality problems with off-centre spindle holes producing lateral wobble and poorly placed center labels, among other issues. This also causes problems with 180 Gram "Audiophile" releases because many of these machines were not designed to handle records of that thickness, which leads to grooves that are not pressed properly and warped records.

Which isn't to say it's [i]all[/i] bad, but a lot of indie labels turn to these production facilities to produce their records and suffer from these problems.

I have a small record collection of my own (as well as the ones I filch from my father's crates)-- many of them are new, both contemporary releases as well as reissues of obscure or rare psych titles, but probably equally as many of them are old used ones that I've accumulated.

One second-hand record that I recently acquired is an old Japanese album of Ryo Kagawa. This is my first vinyl record from Japan, and I find it so charming--on the insert, some previous owner wrote out the chords next to the lyrics in pencil. The gatefold itself is neat as it is just the image of the original tape, which is of course a 3M reel, whose headquarters I drive by with great frequency. It's sort of an interesting small-world sort of feel.

[img]http://i66.tinypic.com/2d8ffop.jpg[/img]

[quote="Jomei"]When I settle somewhere for a while in the US again, a nice turntable is something I want to look into. Like GR elaborates above, music might be one of these things for which technology has outpaced our ability to slow down and do something right. Instant Music indeed.[/quote]

I am all for the slowing down of things, truly. I agree that music is one thing that ought to require a little time, and paying attention. When I put on a record, it's a deliberate action for when I really want to listen to that album. I think careful actions like that are important.


[quote="Spike"]something interesting[/quote]

Hm. I hadn't considered or known about this. Interesting.

Anyone a 45 collector? I'm not serious, but I have a nice little stash going.

Bumping this thread in honor of those two bad boys that the pillows have scheduled for release in November.

I'm a newbie to vinyl. I have been interested for a long time, but just recently pulled the trigger and started a setup from scratch. My equipment is a Rega Planar 1, Dali Zensor 1 speakers, and an Onkyo A-9010 receiver.

Currently, my vinyl collection is very small. I just have a couple.

Okuda Tamio - Saboten Museum
Okuda Tamio - Donuts Burn (Single collection consisting of ten 45s)

I'm interested in a bunch. Okuda Tamio releases all his albums on vinyl and I want to collect them all. The Collectors are releasing their first two albums in vinyl format in November (gonna be an expensive November, innit). That first album of theirs, "Boku wa Collector", is one of my favorite albums. I'm tempted in getting the Supercar releases as well.