Running the Voodoo Down linked to a recent article in the NY Times discussing the resurgence (again) of vinyl LPs. For all you youngsters, LP stands for LONG PLAYING, as opposed to EP which means EXTENDED PLAYING as opposed to a SINGLE which is… never mind.
It seems that in the ongoing quest for individuality, some have discovered that records are a cool way to say “Look at me, I’m unique!” While I agree that records are cool, this dependence on stuff for distinctiveness is not. If you’ve read some recent posts, you’d know that this kind of thinking really bothers me. Consumerism should not be a requisite of the counterculture (or any culture).Weren’t we supposed to be getting away from all of this? Haven’t we already agreed that rampant capitalistic behavior, if unchecked, is not healthy? Like, in a planetary sense?
Besides, it’s just so corny. All these quotes are straight from the article:
…As soon as she opened her door his instincts were confirmed: she had a turntable. So did he. They both spoke the language of vinyl… There was this immediate mutual acknowledgment, like “we both totally understood what we define ourselves by…” (Honestly, if you heard someone talking like this, would you be able to keep a straight face?)
Remember, its all about money. Do not think for a second that this “resurgence” is some precious underground movement…
“Even if the industry doesn’t do all that well going forward, we could really carve this out to be a nice profitable niche,” said Bill Gagnon, a senior vice president at EMI Catalog Marketing, who is in charge of vinyl releases. He said that people who buy vinyl nowadays are charmed by the format’s earthy authenticity. “It’s almost a back-to-nature approach,” Mr. Gagnon said. “It’s the difference between growing your own vegetables and purchasing them frozen in the supermarket.” (Whaaa?)
If you’re looking for a conspicuous way to advertise your connoisseur status, I guess vinyl is the new Pabst. Just like the guy says:
When I can have all the music in the world in the palm of my hand, what does it say about me that I spend $15 to $20 for this format that is a pain to store and move and is easily damaged?
Let me take a stab at this. What it says, to me at least, is that we are on the eve of the apocalypse and your place in heaven will entirely depend on how you spent all your monopoly money.
Here’s a much more productive use of your time. This link will take you to a nice blog where you can learn how to:
- make glasses from old records
I’m not going to get all preachy (too late?) and sum up this post with a plea for common sense or self reliance. Do what you want, by all means. But if you happen to appear in newspaper articles talking about how you attribute your identity to a fucking consumer product, you can expect at least a little bit of backlash. Peace.
