Old things can be good. And sometimes Gen-Z recognizes that.
Heather and I went to a folk music concert. The 27-year-old songwriter told of how he was so proud to have his latest recording on vinyl. Cassettes killed vinyl many years before he was born. And yet vinyl records have made a comeback.
I took this photo in Urban Outfitters, a store that’s so cool I should not be allowed inside. The average customer is about 20 years old. They are not selling anything that plays digital music, as all their customers have smartphones that play digital music.
They are selling record players because there is something warm and friendly about listening to the pops and background noise that is integral to listening to a record. Playing vinyl requires involvement. You can only listen to 25 or 30 minutes of music, and then it’s time to get up to turn the record over (unless you have a record changer). It’s a good exercise to turn the record over. You must decide if you want to hear Side B or put on something completely different.
Record album jackets (and sleeves) often offer deeper information than notes on Spotify. It’s also a little harder to see the lyrics on your phone – if they are available – compared to seeing the entire song on a record sleeve. Records often include all the lyrics of the album’s songs.
Many purists will tell you that they greatly prefer analog to digital, hands down.
Think about what retro thing you enjoy and share it as a comment on a post on my Instagram feed.
