# I don’t understand the craze for vinyl
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** music
**Created:** [October 21, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923 "2021-10-21T16:34:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 7
### Author:  [@omenran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omenran)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2021, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/121 "2021-10-23T18:26:38Z")
I don’t recall claiming they were first or only ones to do. Just that it’s an example I just recently heard and of something not able to be done on digital.
[\> Our research suggests the earliest use of a lock groove in ‘popular’ music was a flexi disc that came with issue #3 of the short-lived multimedia magazine _Aspen_ in 1966.](https://hymiesrecords.com/loop-grooves/)
Also this little known surf band called The Beach Boys on some album called _Pet Sounds_ did it before The Beatles.
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### Author:  [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2021, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/122 "2021-10-23T21:26:23Z")
The article implies the process is time consuming and materials are expensive. I was surprised to see new records go for $50 or so, but perhaps should not have been given the reasonable charges the industry has always promoted.
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### Author:  [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2021, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/123 "2021-10-23T21:51:50Z")
LPs used to cost $4 when I was young. According to [this inflation calculator,](https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1968?amount=1) that should be about $30 today. The cool part is, I can go to the used record shop and still find something nice for under $10 (and sometimes only $4, as if inflation never had happened.)
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### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2021, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/124 "2021-10-23T23:16:43Z")
I think it’s a bit broader than vinyl; there’s lots of old stuff that younger people have dug up and adopted- stuff like old-timey shaving with double-edged razors and brushes, and the most perplexing one to me, old video games.
I mean, I PLAYED those old games as a kid. They were great for their time, but they’re ancient old junk now. For me, they’re just not enjoyable anymore, and I’ve installed the various c64 emulators a couple of times and given those old games a shot to try it out. They’re amazing for their time, but that doesn’t mean they’re fun to play for anything but just a quick shot of nostalgia.
But apparently the youngsters are about some sort of rituals that go with these things. Which is kind of strange to conceive of; there wasn’t anything ritualistic about playing old NES games or listening to records; it was just how they worked. And to me, then things got better and we didn’t have to deal with record needles or blowing on the cartridge or any of that bullshit.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/125 "2021-10-23T23:29:32Z")
> [@omenran](#):
>
> Also this little known surf band called The Beach Boys on some album called _Pet Sounds_ did it before The Beatles.
That’s not what your link says. It says, correctly, that _Sgt. Pepper’s_ was influenced by _Pet Sounds_ but not that _Pet Sounds_ had a lock groove. The only connection made there was dogs.
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### Author:  [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2021, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/126 "2021-10-24T00:47:34Z")
Well, _someone_ has to drink Pabst’s and Jagermeister…
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### Author:  [@omenran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omenran)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2021, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/127 "2021-10-24T05:22:18Z")
You’re right, I misread that part of the article.
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### Author:  [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2021, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/128 "2021-10-24T06:43:16Z")
> [@Atamasama](#):
>
> I don’t get it either. Every time I hear about people speaking about their love of vinyl, it reminds me of…
My craze for it is confirmed daily whenever I look over at one of my most prized possessions: a stack of 75 7"'s, all grindcore, all roughly from between late 80s and late 90s.
If I’d felt so inclined would’ve left some links of vinyl from shit I was involved in over the years.
In my gardening exploits in a supermarket property about a year ago I found - in perfect shape in a plastic bag, way under a big, dense rhodo - well, [this goddammned thingummy,](https://www.manualslib.com/manual/909407/Sylvania-Stt008usb.html#manual) and was able to fire up a 7" slab on it, back home. Sure, on the nifty side, with USB hook-up. Better coming across something like that, with the constant vigilance of needles in that area. Guessing some dude had to quickly stash it, or who the heck knows its story…
Is it just me or did “The Song Remains the Same” album smell, like, absolutely gross, thanks to this overpowering-smelling ink that was used to print the packaging. I think “Presence” also had the same depressing ass stuff going on, so I’ll blame Swan Song for probably doing that, I’m guessing, with _all_ their stuff.
Not that I’m trying to derail this thread into how albums smell.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2021, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/129 "2021-10-24T06:45:27Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#):
>
> Not that I’m trying to derail this thread into how albums smell.
Hmm, well…
[https://464697-1455876-raikfcquaxqncofqfm.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/na-internetu-niko-ne-zna-da-ste-pas.png](https://464697-1455876-raikfcquaxqncofqfm.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/na-internetu-niko-ne-zna-da-ste-pas.png)
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### Author:  [@Beelzebubbly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beelzebubbly)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2021, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/130 "2021-10-24T06:48:15Z")
Perhaps a lot of oldsters, having a small fortune invested in a big vinyl collection, see no point ins pending the money to replace all those LPs with compact discs.
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### Author:  [@Beelzebubbly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beelzebubbly)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2021, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/131 "2021-10-24T06:51:36Z")
So, headphones then?
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### Author:  [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2021, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/132 "2021-10-24T07:02:31Z")
> [@omenran](#):
>
> I know you’re just making a joke, but that is one thing vinyl can do that CDs and digital can’t. Sometimes people did it intentionally.
Monty Python’s “Matching Tie And Handkerchief” for example, has three sides. One side has two parallel grooves so depending on how you placed the needle you would hear two different sides. In keeping with their general spirit, no notice of this is given anywhere in the liner notes, you had to discover it by accident.
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### Author:  [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2021, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/133 "2021-10-24T07:08:23Z")
> [@running\_coach](#):
>
> Immerses self into the warmer sound of vinyl
> \< click \> warmer sound of vinyl
This brings to mind the John Hartford song “Don’t Leave Your Records In The Sun”
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMI5wR2P9jQ)
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2021, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/134 "2021-10-24T08:31:01Z")
Some may find this interesting:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzRvSWPZQYk)
tl;dw: People can’t really tell the difference between analog and digital (vinyl and MP3). Mostly it is nostalgia that has vinyl making a comeback.
For me, I loved vinyl records for the cover art and liner notes. While an MP3 is great for being mobile, when at home I’d rather have a record player (that said, I do not have one). There’s something cool about the record player that playing Spotify just doesn’t capture.
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2021, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/135 "2021-10-24T08:56:55Z")
I’ll add one other thing.
I LOVE owning my music! I cannot stand this pay every month to listen to your music crap. I don’t care if Spotify has 3 million artists (or whatever). I don’t want to listen to more than a few dozens of them.
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### Author:  [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2021, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/136 "2021-10-24T09:19:00Z")
Youtube has far more than it used to just few years ago, and at decent quality…for free. I used to hate youtube for it’s crappy quality, amongst other reasons. But that is generally no longer an issue.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2021, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/137 "2021-10-24T15:57:49Z")
There is some vinyl I own that can’t be replicated by later releases. I have a 10" edition of _Songs by Tom Lehrer_ and a 10" edition of _Songs for Captain Spaulding_ by You Know Who. Nothing else could give the same feeling of being there in the early 1950s when they were brand new.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/138 "2021-10-24T16:22:08Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#):
>
> I LOVE owning my music! I cannot stand this pay every month to listen to your music crap. I don’t care if Spotify has 3 million artists (or whatever). I don’t want to listen to more than a few dozens of them.
Exactly! Just another fee. A little here, a little there,hey it’s only $5 a month or whatever. D+, Youtube, Hulu, Spotify, etc etc every month. Pretty soon you could have afforded to buy the DVDs or the CDs.
With all my stuff digitized I have 41.5 days of continuous music before it repeats. Getting up to change a record every twenty minutes is nuts!
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/139 "2021-10-24T16:30:48Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#):
>
> Getting up to change a record
…demonstrates that listening to it is worth the effort. I listen to a lot of crap just because it’s what’s next on a playlist I put together years ago. I’m never going back to vinyl, but I can see how certain rituals impose a certain labor to pleasure ratio that doesn’t exist in most audio formats today.
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2021, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/140 "2021-10-24T16:40:24Z")
I just hope that under fair use the Internet Archive or some library is getting their hands on all those rare vinyl records and ripping them into super-hi-fi PCM via a good laser phonograph. Then we can all enjoy them for the foreseeable future.
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