I Find This Trend To Be Kinda' Cool

Back in the groove: young music fans ditch downloads and spark vinyl revival

The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited: "The format was supposed to have been badly wounded by the introduction of CDs and killed off completely by the ipod-generation that bought music online.

But in a rare case of cheerful news for the record labels, the latest phenomenon in a notoriously fickle industry is one nobody dared predict: a vinyl revival. Latest figures show a big jump in vinyl sales in the first half of this year, confirming the anecdotal evidence from specialist shops throughout the UK."It comes as sales of CD singles continue to slide - and it is not being driven by technophobic middle-aged consumers. Teenagers and students are developing a taste for records and are turning away from the clinical method of downloading music on to an MP3 player.

The data, released by the UK's industry group BPI, shows that 7in vinyl sales were up 13% in the first half, with the White Stripes' Icky Thump the best seller.

Two-thirds of all singles in the UK now come out on in the 7in format, with sales topping 1m. Though still a far cry from vinyl's heyday in 1979, when Art Garfunkel's Bright Eyes alone sold that number and the total vinyl singles market was 89m, the latest sales are still up more than fivefold in five years.

For record stores, the resurgence has meant a move from racks of vintage Rolling Stones and Beatles releases to brand new singles and younger buyers. "The student population seem to be loving the 7in," says Stuart Smith, who runs Seismic Records in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. He sells 300-600 records a week and is preparing to launch an online store. continued

We'll have to see if this always fun nostalgia trend catches on to the US teens, as there sure is a lot of great music attached to those days of the vinyl that they could be listening to instead of the sh** we're hearing produced today en mass.

I along with many others my age still have my old collection of 60's, 70's, and 80's albums- 45's that just have a different kind of attractiveness to them when played, that is of if coarse they are still playable.

It's just that good old fashioned, unpolished and raw work of the music pioneers of rock and roll, just burning the old hot wax recollecting what sure were great times in this country and in Britain as well that today's teens would enjoy I sure revisiting.

Just as we (35-45 year olds now) did when Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley along with American Graffiti and American Hot Wax were the thing of the day reviving our parents heydays gone by. Lotsa Money to be made there.

I'm truly not one of those "wax poetic of the olden' days" kinda guys, and I love and embrace new musical technology both for listening, physical playing and recording, but the oldies and goodies of Rock and Roll are to me the best years of this genre and I love playing the music myself as well as hearing it.

Plus, resurgence of this music's popularity would mean side work and money for us oldies cover musicians and garage bands that know those oldies and goodies up and down...lol.

Tech Tags: rock and roll, allen freed, laverne shirley, happy days, american graffiti, oldies,goodies, 45's, lp's, vinyl records,nostalgic, nostalgia

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