With Record Store Day coming to a close, I though it fair to start a thread about what you call those spinning black discs that produce music. I’ve never heard anyone call it vinyl in everyday life, and album could cover tapes or CDs as well. I mostly use the term ‘record’, although I’ll throw in ‘LP’ once in a while.
45s for single songs, 78s for albums.
Aren’t 78’s some sort of prehistoric thing? Albums were always 33.3’s in my lifetime.
For albums, LP, yeah. And singles, 45, probably. I might say I had something “on vinyl” but I’ve never said I was listening to “a vinyl”.
On preview, btw, “vinyl” seems to be one of those words that start to look weird if you stare at them for a long time.
To me, “record” is the generic term that covers everything: LPs, 45s, 78s, EPs.
The term “album” was originally used for a collection of 78s in a book-like thing with sleeves for individual records. It was extended to LPs because an LP can contain a bunch of songs, similar to an album full of 78s.
It’s interesting that people don’t use the word “record” to refer to a CD. An LP and a CD serve the same function, and they’re both round and flat. When LPs and 45s came along, people used the word “record” to refer to these as well as to 78s. I guess CDs are different enough from the flat grooved things that people don’t want to use the same word for them.
It grates on me a bit to hear people refer to 78s as “vinyl.” Most of them were made of shellac.
I think you’re right.
General: Record
Specific: 45, 78 or LP
I’ve never heard anybody outside a story call a record a “vinyl”.
Back in prehistoric times, when calling a record store to check availability on a specific format, I would sometimes ask if a single or album was availably on vinyl, because I didn’t want to waste a trip, and find out my item could only be purchased on cassette or eight-track.
ETA: Of course, my personal preference has always been to call them “musical black spinny things.”
In several Euorpean languages, a record was called a ‘disk’. Those people continued to call their disks disks: ‘compact’ disks. Dunno what they called their music sources now.
Yeah I remember that. Chubby Checker. It was called The Twist.
LP, or 45. I can’t recall if back in the day I used the word “record” in reference to the black round spinny things but I don’t think I did.
I’m 56 and grew up mostly in Europe - I regard “vinyl” as more a US term if anything.
I voted for “records,” “albums,” and “LPs.” The actual object is usually a “record,” but occasionally an “LP.” The creative event is an “album,” but extends to the object in some contexts. If you own two copies of “Revolver,” you have two records, but you would say “Oh, yeah, I have that album,” singular.
I’ve only used “vinyl” a few times, either to feign hipness, or specifically when discussing different formats of the same product ("'Innervisions came out on vinyl in 1973, but they didn’t release the CD until 1990").
I was born in 1984. I call them records.
A buddy of mine had a store back in the 70s/80s/90s called Graveyard Records. He sold used vinyl. At one point he added & Tapes to the name. So, I call them records.
“Records”, normally. Although I might use the word “vinyl” to clarify. The problem is that you can’t say “a vinyl”, “album” or “LP” both exclude other formats like EPs and singles while also including other media such as CDs, and “record” can also include non-vinyl recordings.
The actual physical disk is a record, regardless of the size/speed. If you can play it on a record player, it’s a record. The general format is vinyl. The musical collection contained therein is an album.
It’s not that interesting, actually. You can’t play a CD on a record player.
Etymologically, the word “record” ought to be able to refer to a single instance of any form of media: They’re all records of information, after all. Practically, though, it wouldn’t work, because the word was already in use, and people were using it to refer to a particular thing. It’s like the distinction “Available on video or DVD” you used to see in movie ads: Of course a DVD is video, too, but people took the word “video” to mean VHS video cassette tape, because that’s what they had been using the word for all this time.
Officially, it’s an LP, a “long playing” vinyl recording. I use “album” for the collection of songs, CD or LP for the physical item, and “record” for the performance.
The Grammies still issue an award for song of the year, record of the year, and album of the year, by the way.
I don’t want to get you in trouble or anything, but they’re not all black. That’s a stereotype.
I’ call 'em records.
The Spinners of course
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKbADFJOCkU
It’s called a turntable for Tardigrade’s sake. sheesh.
Record players are those cheapo things that often come in a “changer” version to play your stacks of wax.
OH, and while records players have a “needle” :smack:, a turntable has a stylus.