OPINION : WithRecord Store Day 2024almost here , I thought it be worth turn this column ’s eye to that of the vinyl group mankind and the renaissance of a strong-arm data format some had wander out to the peripheries .
Quite what stirred the re - interest in vinyl group I ’m not sure – like with recent revitalisation in VHS and tape cassettes , these revivals seem to total out from left - study , potential because we hi - fi fans , like a spouter , seem interested in shiny and new thing , while what we liked before gets washed away .
But matter never work like that it seems . Records were a part of my upbringing , though not in the common sense that I was ever play around with them . There were just in the background signal , whether it was my begetter ’s records to my brother trying out their DJ set ( this being nigh to the turn of the century , there was a tidy sum of DJ EZ blast from their chamber ) .
But times change , and as I ’ve got older , I ’ve wanted to try out different thing . So when I was proffer to chance to review the House of Marley Stir It Up Lux lazy Susan , I thought why not . I ’ve dabbled with lazy Susan , read plenty about them , but not put the words into natural process . I also have vinyl group records in the house without the mean value to hear them – it felt like it was about time I should give it a go .
It ’s an entry - level mannikin withBluetooth wirelesssupport , a build - in phono microscope stage , and dependable aspect . I quite liked the physical feel of setting it up and frame things together and then came the part I was a bit terrified by – determine the tonearm exercising weight .
In my mind this cognitive operation takes on some sort of horror - esque situation where I feel if I do something slightly wrong I ’ll break the tonearm , ruin the stylus , or gouge the records and the stylus tear through it .
It was a process that took me a long time to do in the most traditional way , so I settled for a much leisurely alternate mode , put a criminal record on platter , turned the player on , crossed my fingers … and I was sunnily surprised . Everything seemed to work – I did n’t mess it up .
And then there ’s the ritual of take on the music itself . take it out of its cover charge , hold a feel to see if there are any scratches or detritus , placing it A - side up and once that side is done , flipping it over . In this ‘ modern ’ age there ’s an prospect that things are delivered squabble - free , without . You eat up an record album on a cyclosis service , here are some testimonial we think you ’d like as if you ’re on a conveyor belt that never stop .
But bet vinyl feels unlike . There are pauses and stop , moments where you ’re flick side over or when you want to revoke the tonearm and ‘ search ’ for a track to hear it again . The forcible aspect of vinyl group is one I find engaging – I ’m not just a sloth sitting on the couch listen to my playlist of 2000 songs in shuffle mode .
Like in the ‘ old day ’ you listen to an record album from start to land up rather than skip a track you do n’t like in the first ten seconds – it ’s an activity that requires attention , not something that always goes hand - in - hand with medicine streaming .
And there ’s the timbre of vinyl itself , hearing a well presented record album compared to one that feels a little … rustic . Though the pops and crackles do annoy me . And vinyl is so expensive …
Vinyl is turning me into a sports fan , and if you ’ve ever felt on the fence about it , I’d say leap out in and give it a chanceand see what all the fuss is about .
