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Vinyl, to buy or not to buy that is the question

MadameChaos

By MadameChaos
in General Banter

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ravedamage Community Regular

ravedamage

Posted
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Music & Video Exchange - Notting Hill branch, not the Soho one, as it's gone way downhill last couple of years. The Greenwich branch was alright too, but last time I was there was about a year ago.

 

Flashback up in Islington is not bad...not great, but not bad for cheap second-hand stuff.

 

Phonica and Sisterray for new stuff and Reckless for second hand in Soho...and Sounds of the Universe is always worth a look too.

 

Kristina Records in Dalston is pretty spartan, but has the odd decent new 'un and a fair bit of second hand.

 

There's Banquet in Kingston too, but I've only ever bought online from them.

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danshoebridge Experienced

danshoebridge

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Ooh yeah I really would like to gET more into going to record shops instead shopping online at places like discogs and bleep. Any recommendations fir the London area?

I'd go for berwick street in soho as a first stop, good mix of standard record shops and second hand stuff, there's a couple of other places like phonica nearby too.

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Hugh Mughnus Grand Master

Hugh Mughnus

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lol just buy mp3s why would u buy vinyls they just annoy u and waste ur space

 

especial by the small file mp3 like 48kbps. u wooddn't wahn those 320kbps they r 2 big. they just annoy u and wast ur space

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luke viia Grand Master

luke viia

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vinyl: buy if it you have a decent source of replenishable cash, otherwise don't fret, it's marginally cool and fun but you're not missing that much

 

source: i used to spend at least $100/month on vinyl, usually netting 3-5 new albums. my paychecks and my diet suffered a bit and quite a few of those records are in the great Meh Pile of my mind now. oh well. i switched to buying local cassettes and 7" records mostly and that lightened the load, but despite liking the idea of supporting neighborhood artists, i didn't listen to the media enough to warrant spending any money on it really. i like to create physical media a lot more than i like buying it. ymmv.

 

regarding vinyl and sample digging (big IMO ahead!),

it's kinda more fun on blogs anyway - it's free, for one thing, and you can find weird old radio and TV ads, there's no physical scarcity so anyone who finds it can use it, and the posts usually come with a whole description and links to other similar albums. way better than the scarce, expensive, competitive model of the stores imo. and before anyone gives me hell for "stealing" records for sampling, please remember that buying a record for sampling doesn't support the artist either (only the storefront benefits) and buying the record != buying the rights to sample, so frustratingly the law still sees sampling as 'stealing' even if you own the media. but i may just like blog-digging and chasing empty depositfiles links into the void of yesteryear...

 

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joshuatxuk Grand Master

joshuatxuk

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regarding vinyl and sample digging (big IMO ahead!),

it's kinda more fun on blogs anyway - it's free, for one thing, and you can find weird old radio and TV ads, there's no physical scarcity so anyone who finds it can use it, and the posts usually come with a whole description and links to other similar albums. way better than the scarce, expensive, competitive model of the stores imo. and before anyone gives me hell for "stealing" records for sampling, please remember that buying a record for sampling doesn't support the artist either (only the storefront benefits) and buying the record != buying the rights to sample, so frustratingly the law still sees sampling as 'stealing' even if you own the media. but i may just like blog-digging and chasing empty depositfiles links into the void of yesteryear...

 

 

 

I have to say streaming options have been extremely liberating. I used to spend gigs of space and hours of time downloading music I never listened to or really cared for. The explosion of youtube uploads of things like old and obscure demo tapes and live recordings, as well as unsigned and new artists uploading their best songs and releasing stuff on bandcamp has been a godsend.

 

The only thing that comes close to crate-digging vinyl and tapes IRL is browsing blogs that upload and share obscure, rare, and out-of-print music. WMFU's blog comes to mind but there are (and were) dozens, well actually, hundreds of such sources, of literally every niche genre and scene you can think of: Memphis Underground rap demos underground (often self-released) experimental music from the 70s and 80s 80s and 90s dance releases that never charted African pop music cassette tapes lesser known world music (fusion stuff) underground metal demo tapes

 

Sadly, many took a hit when megaupload was shut down. For me, this has been the main reason I hate the RIAA. Years ago it was a lot easier to find these too, just a google search of "rar" + [insert search term here]: http://www.theawl.com/2012/11/the-rise-and-fall-of-obscure-music-blogs-a-roundtable

 

vinyl: buy if it you have a decent source of replenishable cash, otherwise don't fret, it's marginally cool and fun but you're not missing that much

 

source: i used to spend at least $100/month on vinyl, usually netting 3-5 new albums. my paychecks and my diet suffered a bit and quite a few of those records are in the great Meh Pile of my mind now. oh well. i switched to buying local cassettes and 7" records mostly and that lightened the load, but despite liking the idea of supporting neighborhood artists, i didn't listen to the media enough to warrant spending any money on it really. i like to create physical media a lot more than i like buying it. ymmv.

 

 

I literally own less than a dozen copies of vinyl. My wife gave me Analord 8 years ago as a gift and a copy of 1991's album High-Tech-High-Life on clear vinyl. I got Tomorrow's Harvest on vinyl because I never bought a BOC album before that. New cassette releases in my collection are adding up fast though, when (hopefully soon) I get a better job, I hope to spend far more time and money collecting those. I have to admit to feeling obligated to supporting local artists, thankfully many make music I actually really like. Recently though, despite being told it was electronic music by the stoned record store clerk, I spent $5 on a short-length tape that was pretty mediocre indie rock. Cool case design though:

 

945749_471313709614115_2090479469_n.jpg

 

Part of the appeal of tape labels, (beyond the price, the niche music, and oft ease of digital downloads) is the community aspect. Many artists, especially ambient ones, will seemingly take turns wit the labels they release on. Most releases are hand-labeled and sent from the source. Once I realized I was going to sell a cassette tape shelf/holder to the guy who runs one of my favorite tape labels! It's a small world. It's just such a great and human alternative to the fucking taste-maker hyped music behemoths. I rather listen a tape that a handful of people love than join millions of superficial scenesters who, at best, also casually skim through the latest synth-pop singles being promoted in the last 24 hours.

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luke viia Grand Master

luke viia

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i hope you opted for the digital vinyls bonus package

 

 

edit: @joshua: great post, thanks -- i pretty much agree with your take on cassettes/tape labels - i've met a number of really awesome, inspired people doing small-run labels for modest prices... i still look out for it but i don't make a regular habit of shopping for music in stores anymore - we have some great (seriously independent) internet radio stations out here that represent a lot of that same music, so that's another way i've been able to try to support some local creatives, thankfully

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