A ramble about the vinyl revival, published all over the place (in Scotland at least) just in time for Record Store Day…
It’s surely no coincidence that the week before Record Store Day the introduction of a vinyl countdown has been announced by The Official Charts Company.
In 1996 vinyl sales dipped below 1 million, seemingly heralding the end for the format, as CDs and then mp3 took over the mainstream musical world. By 2007 vinyl sales had hit an all-time low of little over 200,000, with DJs – the mainstays of record sales – starting to adopt digital mixing.
There’s even a tale of how EMI shut down a pressing plant in New Zealand, and dumped the machinery into Wellington Harbour to kill off any chances of a revival – the indies once again thwarted by The Man.
However, sales of physical records have picked up again. Dance DJs found you can’t really scratch a virtual deck; old school rock fans, perhaps hitting a mid-life crisis, became audiophiles, while indie kids just seemed to like the aesthetic. There’s the fact that you get a square foot of cover art rather than shrunk down to a miniature with CDs and pretty much nonexistent with digital. And what fun is a dinner party if you can’t leaf through your hosts’ album collection while waiting for the canapes?
The arguments about sound quality rage on – MP3 and even CD are ‘lossy’, that is a fact (how else could you conveniently store 250,000 tunes on your hard drive) while real aficionado cite the “warmer” sound vinyl offers.
Either way, the chart is an odd mix – the big hitters are Arctic Monkeys and Noel Gallagher and reissues from Led Zeppelin, with the odd indie act like The Twilight Sad selling 7” singles, while the first No. 1 single is dance act Underworld, fittingly with a tribute to Chicago house legend Frankie Knuckles.
Saturday will see sales rise more. It’s the eighth UK Record Store Day, which started in 2008 – a whole 24 hours dedicated to the art of, mainly, vinyl releases at over 200 stores throughout the UK. And it is an all-day event – the more dedicated fan will have to get up early to catch some of the more limited editions.
RSD started as a celebration of underground labels, but has now been tarnished somewhat, with the majors adding to the total of 450 special releases with efforts from The Bee Gees and Deep Purple – even our old chums One Direction got in on the act last year. Hard core fans will prize their purchases, while the more ‘enterprising’ will have them up for auction by Sunday morning. Sci-Fi Steven of Scottish indie act Bis (themselves releasing a compilation for the day) described the event as an “overnight endurance test followed by disappointment and harrowing eBay discoveries”.
Still, a trip to your local record shop this weekend could rekindle your love of music. There will be instore shows to see, and the chance to discover new sounds. But just remember – music is for life, not just Record Store Day.
o More at www.recordstoreday.co.uk
Mclusky
Mcluskyism
(Too Pure)
The Welsh language is perceived as softly lilting, most of the time, matching the warm mood of a nation embroiled in poetry and choirs. But get a Welshman angry and it turns into a guttural yowl, if Andy Falkous is anything to go by. The Mclusky frontman seems angry about something – though it’s not always clear what thanks to their abstract lyrics, not-quite submerged in savage guitars and frantic rhythms. Mcluskyism chronicles the band’s singles career, gathered together on vinyl for the first time. They hit their peak around ‘To Hell With Good Intentions’ (engineered by uber-producer Steve Albini), but the trio split (well, imploded) in 2005 so the chance to see them live is gone. However, this high quality vinyl remastering will take you as close as you can get.
HHHH
