Is Vinyl Making a Comeback?

In the recent months, especially with the passing of Record Store Day, I have read and heard many people discussing their vinyl record purchases, the dying art form of music distribution. I mean even Jimmy Fallon's comedic spoof "Tebowie" is available on 7"! Does the new generation of music lovers (younger than maybe 18) even know what vinyl is? Us oldies cannot seem to get enough of it. Even new artists such as the Alabama Shakes are releasing songs on 7" to get into the retro action and many older artists get a reprieve on their vintage albums as this nostalgic way of music distribution resurfaces.

Unfortunately I do not even remember my first vinyl LP received as a child and I know there weren’t many.  I guess there was not really a need to have my own collection since my sister always received the latest copies.  If I ever needed a dose of some vinyl action I would creep into my sister's room when she was not at home and borrow her albums.  My favorites were Michael Jackson's Bad, Cyndi Lauper's True Colors and Tiffany’s self-titled album Tiffany.  I even recall my favorite 45 which was always in heavy rotation in my house - Creedence Clearwater Revival’s "Down on the Corner", which spun on the turntable’s version of repeat (i.e. picking up the needle and resetting it back to the record intro).

Those were the days that if you jumped too high or stomped your feet to hard, you might risk a scratched album. The thought blowing onto the record deck to blast the pesky dust particles away like in some CD players did not yet exist.  Vinyl was the birth of music and created a longer lasting anticipation for your new tunes.  You actually had to wait to get home to play the record for the first time, carefully inspecting the album in the car ride home, reading every detail on the back of the cover and inspecting the cover photos of the artists you looked up to. Now a days you can immediately pop the disk into your car stereo, or download from the comfort of your couch, which the anticipation only lasts minutes if not seconds. And the cover art, forget it; your CD case was already lost in the back seat of your car as it is tossed aside before the first chord was even played. These new age music fans don't know what they were missing!

But let’s get real here and bring you back to today. This is the future and there was definitely a time for these oversized LPs and stacks of 45's lying around someone's house. This rebirth has been a collector dream and gives them the ability to show off their collection to their friends but unfortunately I could do without the constant push for this old style. I prefer my music on the go and small enough to fit into my iPod. I admire those that still trend this refined art form, and I still love the distinct smell of a record store but maybe we could lay off the newbie artists trying to broaden their fan base. Music lovers have and will continue to adapt to any future method of music distribution. My only request is to keep the Compact Disc around....having something physical in my hands coupled with the enjoyment of looking through the random pictures while having lyrics to read is something I would surely miss if the CD ever went away.