Vinyl Lives

The evolution of how we listen to music goes something like this: from the primordial ooze of the phonograph, we came to 8-tracks, cassette tapes, vinyl records then CD’s and finally, MP3’s. Lately, however, we’ve been hesitating on the last step, jumped back over those scratch-prone CD's and landed squarely on the sexy black of vinyl -- and record sales are up big.

There are many reasons for this surge in vinyl ranging from the inane (it is in vogue) to the genuine (there is a distinct sound quality that comes with vinyl that many people prefer) but for me, the thing that has really set it off is with new technologies companies have taken the risk out of vinyl. 

It isn't a question of listening at home or on your ipod anymore, we can have it all.

Take for example one of my most favorite recent purchases, the new record by the band She and Him. This record, titled "Volume Two," comes in a beautiful, art-laden sleeve with vinyl inside, but more importantly, with a code. With this code you can click over to Merge and also download the MP3 version for free. This seems like a simple concept but for years this kind of thing was not offered and you had unappealing choices on your hands (pay for the vinyl and the MP3, just buy one or the other and be tethered to your choice or pay for the vinyl and illegally download the electronic version).

Hardware has also changed to take away the choice between vinyl and electronic. Most companies have begun to produce turntables that can transfer any record onto your computer through a USB cable. This has not only taken the risk out of buying new records that may not have that magical electronic code in the sleeve, it has bumped the value of those three-for-five used vinyl deals you see at thrift stores and in in sidewalk milk crates. You can buy that sweet, old Smoky Robinson record you found at the church sidewalk sale and listen to it on your way to work.

And this, my friends, is how vinyl is still relevant.