I was at the
mall a few weeks ago and wandered into a store called The Rock Shop. I browsed the store's offerings, which by the
way did not include anything which could be classified as igneous or
sedimentary. No, this store has something called vinyl
records on which is imprinted grooves;
which when placed on a turntable and
with the application of a system comprising a needle, an amplifier, and speakers enables one to hear sounds.
I was amazed
at this technology. As I marveled at the
selection of discs - the size of dinner plates - I also saw thin little plastic
boxes about the size of a three-by-five card that contained a thin tape which
when inserted in a specific slot could also yield sounds. The tape was wound around a wheel so that the
sounds could be heard for minutes on end.
What
marvelous devices we now have to listen to pre-recorded sounds! What a wonderful…wait a minute! Vinyl, needle, amplifiers, speakers, tape…all
this sounds very familiar and yet…
Arrrggggh! Vinyl records are back, and with a vengeance! Records that I bought years ago for $7.99 are
now ticketed with tags showing $19.99 to $25.99! The records, mostly produced by independent
producers, have seen sales increase over the past year. One estimate put total sales at 8 million
units!
This is nice
for the record industry, but not good for me.
Back about 25-30 years ago when music technology was changing from vinyl
platters and cassette tapes to smaller laser type technology, I began a record collection in earnest. I was seduced by the allure of the old recordings
which surrounded me in my childhood, and then overwhelmed by nostalgia for the
early rock and roll albums, even though rock and roll as a genre was peaking at
the time.
I attended record
shows every few months when I lived with Warrior Queen in Northern Virginia and
I would come home with an armful of albums ranging from Ray Charles to Nancy
Sinatra. I had excess disposable income at
that time (key words here: at that time) because Warrior Queen paid the
mortgage. Some I
bought to complete my collection of a certain artist, some I bought so I could
actually listen to them. Mostly I bought
them as an investment to fund a comfortable retirement. In those days, the thinking was that vinyl
records - as they became scarcer and rare in the marketplace - would increase in
value from 10 to 20%. Now, since vinyl
is making a comeback, they are no longer scarce, and the value of the old
albums has bottomed out and…my retirement dreams are now SHIT!
Oh, patron
saint of recorded music, St. Thomas of Edison, why have you forsaken us?
Double arrrggh!!!!
My
collection now stands at several thousand and most of these are “cut-outs” - overstock
which had perforations made into the covers (hence the name) to decrease their
value and were bought at bargain bin
prices. A perusal of record collecting
websites advised me that records that are rare have the highest value on auction
websites. Overstock albums are not rare
and therefore not valuable and therefore not capable of buying me a lunch at
Wendy’s when I’m 64!
Triple
arrrghhh!!!!
Of course,
those over a certain age (I’ll go out on a limb and set it at 40) are familiar
with my explanations of the old technology. I mainly described it to entertain those members of the millennial
generation. I blame you millennials for
sabotaging my retirement aspirations! How
dare you get misty eyed about the 70s! What are you thinking?
Abandon the
vinyl while you can! Go back to your iPods
and your downloads! That’s where “the
action is”.
I can only
hope that you’ll spend thousands of your hard earned disposable income on discs
and the market will cycle around again.
I look
forward to the day when your grandchildren make compact discs the next wave of
recorded sound!
(Thank you
for reading! BTW: I asked the clerk at The Rock Shop where they
keep the 8 track tapes. She shook her
head and said they had to draw the line somewhere. Thank you, St. Thomas of Edison; there is a
god after all!)
