Why Vinyl Records Matter

The excitement that comes with going out and getting the record - The act of venturing out to search for records. Whether if be just browsing or on the hunt.

The joy of record stores - The ambiance of a record store is comforting to music people. Rock music posters often line the walls, great tunes are being played through the speakers, and helpful folks from a local business are always willing to help you.

The ability to hold a hard copy of it - To pick up a record album, review it like a book, own it, refer to it.

The album cover art and inserts - Taking in the cover art and checking out the inserts records often come with is an awesome thing. Not only do you have the music, but you have a piece of art with a playlist.

The discipline of listening to the whole record, changing/flipping the record - Currently we're all spoiled by the ability to hear any song at any time. But there is something to be said about putting on an album and listening to it all the way through. Many classic albums are meant to be listened to this way, like Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon." Getting off our butts to flip a record has been and will always be worth it.

Vinyl is making a comeback - Articles about this are plentiful, "In the last six years, vinyl sales have tripled; in the first part of 2014, Billboard counted 6.5 million units sold. Currently vinyl makes up 3.5 percent of overall music sales, according to music tracker Nielsen SoundScan; a decade ago, that figure was 0.2 percent."

Events like “Record Store Day” get the fans out together annually - From Record Store Day is a chance for businesses to thrive; "I think we provide a sense of relevancy in a world of digital," Kurtz said. "When I want to shop for music ... I go to a record store. And Record Store Day basically reinforces the importance of that on the big day."

For the most part, record players are easy to find - You can find record players of many kinds at places like Goodwill, Target and even Urban Outfitters. I got mine from Target, which was a combination player with radio, CD and cassette.

Comments

The album art of Tommy by Mike McInnerney

People often ask me what my favorite album is. Without much thought I am able to answer them. The Who's 1969 album "Tommy" is my favorite record of all time. The album artwork also happens to be my favorite. Recently I was thinking about the album and how it affected me in my life. I decided to look up the Tommy album art and was surprised that I was unable to find any of it. I could find the cover, but never all the album art inside. The Tommy CD comes with a booklet with lyrics and a series of different illustrations. But they weren't on the internet. So this blog will be changing that! I just took out my CD booklet and scanned all the artwork. There are two versions of the cover, one featuring small images of their faces inserted into the gaps in the central sphere. The other is just the original work. Executives at The Who's record label insisted on having the band members pictured on the cover, so that's why there are two covers. Pete Tow...

[REVISED] Eddie Vedder's voice, the most emulated voice in music history?

Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder has one of the most distinct and emulated voices in contemporary rock music. I feel like I spent the entire 90's hearing alternative bands copying Eddie's singing style. Just to show you how many artists have been said to sound like Eddie Vedder throughout time; Creed's Scott Stapp, Fuel's Brett Scallions, The Stone Temple Pilot's Scott Weiland, The Calling's Alex Band, Soundgarden's Chris Cornell, Lifehouse's Jason Wade, and some say Nickelback's Chad Kroeger have a similar sounding voice (don't shoot the messenger). And probably more than I can remember. When I continued to look into this stream of vocals that sounded the same, I came upon a quite obvious realization. Whether they know it or not, they are actually emulating Jim Morrison. It also makes sense that Eddie later played with the remaining Doors members and inducted them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This singing style wasn't just ho...

The Duck Walk

In honor of Angus Young's birthday today I've posted a little bit about his famous stage moves which he channeled from Chuck Berry. Angus, of course had his own more erratic spin on the dance move and made it his own. Check out the difference... "A one-legged hop routine, and the "duck walk", which he first used as a child when he walked "stooping with full-bended knees, but with my back and head vertical" under a table to retrieve a ball and his family found it entertaining; he used it when "performing in New York for the first time and some journalist branded it the duck walk." I love this guy's "Duck walk tutorial". "Just follow these easy steps...literally."

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