Vinyl Is Back!

I'm a little late to this, but Wired magazine wrote on October 29, 2007 that vinyl is on the rise. They even reported that Amazon.com has created a vinyl section on its website! Good news indeed -- although I doubt that Amazon will have the kind of records I enjoy, at least I can now put music back on my wishlist.

What did the record industry have to say about this? The typical bullshit:

"Our numbers, at least, don't really point to a resurgence," said Jonathan Lamy, the Recording Industry Association of America's director of communications. Likewise, Nielsen SoundScan, which registered a slight increase in vinyl sales last year, nonetheless showed a 43 percent decrease between 2000 and 2006.

I'll bet that the record industry wants to play down this growing trend of vinyl enthusiasts because the major record labels have invested a lot of money in the production and promotion of CDs, and that's not something they want to just throw away. This highlights the major record labels inability to keep up with new music and trends. Their business model just isn't suited to be that nimble.

And Wired does explain why the RIAA numbers are way off:

But when it comes to vinyl, these organizations don't really know what they're talking about. The RIAA's numbers are misleading because its member labels are only now beginning to react to the growing demand for vinyl. As for SoundScan, its numbers don't include many of the small indie and dance shops where records are sold. More importantly, neither organization tracks used records sold at stores or on eBay -- arguably the central clearinghouse for vinyl worldwide.

eBay.com is possibly the greatest site ever. Through eBay I've found most of my best and favorite records at, usually, reasonably prices (I still think $76 dollars for No Trend's 1984 Too Many Humans was a good deal! Really!) Just yesterday, I found Sightings' debut 7" and the Violent Ramp 7" -- pre-Wolf Eyes noise rock -- on eBay for "buy it now"! Of course, I scooped those right up.

Wired also writes that "the vinyl-MP3 tag team might just hasten the long-predicted death of the CD." As I've written before, Polyvinyl Records has already started offering a free mp3 download of any release purchased on vinyl. Here's to hoping that this practice becomes the norm -- ripping my entire vinyl collection to mp3 will be quite the daunting task!

New Sightings

I just ordered the newest Sightings LP, Arrived In Gold. Expect a review when it arrives in the mail.

I'm looking forward to this one! A sample track can be heard on the Load Records website.

Sightings S/T LP

I apologize to my handful of readers out there for not getting my Sightings LP review up sooner. I have listened to the whole record several times over, and I'm very impressed.

Over at Load Records, you can find the bands page, as well as a sample track from this record, entitled, "Cuckoo."

I really like those record -- unadulterated, raw noise rock, and the record never fails to please. Screeching vocals, overbearing guitars, distortion-driven drums -- it's all there. I think I'll take a chance on the latest offering available on Load Records, Available in Gold, as well. A sample track for that record, "Dudes," can be found on the Load Records website. The sound has definitely progressed and transgressed since that first LP release, and the trance-like, distortion-laden soundscape created on that track is rather compelling. I'm just glad the LP is still available.

If you like that Sightings track on the S/T LP, I'd recommend checking out some of the rock-based stuff from Gang Wizard, another interesting, avant garde/noise rock musical machine. I have the Jeckyll Loves Hyde LP, which has a few very raw noise rock pieces like the Sightings LP, but also some more spacey, experiemental pieces. An interesting record, nonetheless.