Stuck in a groove

It seems ironic, but increasing numbers of the iPod generation are discovering the appeal of an all-but-extinct music medium: vinyl. Advertising their cognoscenti status, young audiophiles now have access to the best of both worlds. Records — with their attendant eccentricities — provide nuanced, high-quality sound at home, while tinny MP3s prove to be perfect for the road. In fact, as CDs continue to plunge in popularity, Wired wagers that LP+mp3 will become the twin format of the future; your dad’s Whitesnake record can now become iTunes-ready via idiot-proof USB turntables.  

You can’t blame the digital demographic for romanticizing this anachronistic format. Compared to plugging in some earbuds and hitting the shuffle button, listening to LPs is a special event, much like reading a book. The old-fashioned inconvenience of taking a record out of a gatefold jacket and setting it on a turntable is exotic, earthy, and therefore cool. Who knew that something so rigid would become so desirable?

I’m A Sleeve 4 U

Records spring to life on sleeveface.com, where vinyl devotees synchronize themselves and their wardrobes to blend in with the image on an album cover. Created by Carl Morris, owner of the independent UK label My Kung Fu Records, the two-year-old site receives hundreds of anatomically appropriate entries at any given time, proof that people across the Net are having fun with the concept. In fact, the goofiness has been compiled into a book, Sleeveface: Be The Vinyl. Photoshop is considered cheating and is not allowed, obviously.    

Vinyl Disciples

DJs are default music connoisseurs and this is what they had to say about the big black disc:

“I think I was 18 when I bought my first record. I was then learning how to DJ using vinyl, which sounds better and has a more traditional feel. I normally buy my records online; I haven’t really counted, but maybe I have about five crates full. It’s really hard to find vinyl nowadays — sad to say it’s slowly dying,” says Jessie Suaco, Spin City DJ Academy.

“My first record was a Herbie Hancock LP, Futureshock. It had ‘Rockit’ on it and my mom bought it for me in ’83. I purchased my first record in ’87, a pre-owned Boogie Down Productions 12”, from my neighbor who was eight years older than me. I was 10. The format is special because of the sound quality — it’s warm and has certain sound frequencies that the digital medium can’t replicate,” says Arvin Nogueras, a.k.a. Caliph8.

“I must’ve been around eight or nine then so it’s a bit difficult to remember what my first record was. It could’ve been Stevie Wonder’s ‘Isn’t She Lovely’, Walter Murphy’s ‘A Fifth of Beethoven’ or Elton John and Kiki Dee’s ‘Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart’. It was more of the music first but the cover art helped me associate the artists with their genres. It’s different when you have something you can touch, feel and smell as opposed to just an mp3 file. It’s convenient, but buying music in a record store and playing it on a turntable is quite different,” says Toti Dalmacion, babysitter to several artists and bands

Crackle And Pop

The allure of LPs has proven irresistible to several characters in film and television. They, in turn, have inspired real-life fans to collect records: 

High Fidelity features Rob Gordon (John Cusack), a record store owner with a rather encyclopedic — and elitist — knowledge of music. In Almost Famous, a young William Miller (Michael Angarano) discovers bands through his sister’s record collection.

Honorable mentions: One Tree Hill’s Peyton Sawyer; Gossip Girl’s Rufus Humphrey

Put The Needle On It

Erin Wasson, model and muse, masterminded an Empire Records-inspired editorial in the April 2009 issue of Elle. Recruiting today’s up-and-comers – Freida Pinto, Anton Yelchin, Rafi Gavron and Krysten Ritter, among others — she channelled the ’90s cult flick’s most memorable style moments and made Doc Martens, plaid, and floral cut-offs totally current.

A Fashionable Pressing

Frida Giannini, Gucci creative director, told GQ in November last year that her Technics SL-1200 turntable was the one thing she couldn’t live without.

“My husband gave it to me as an engagement present, rather than a ring,” she said. “I love vinyl. I have more than 8,000 albums — I can’t stop collecting them. Vinyl reminds me of a different time, when I was sillier and things were simpler.”