Right round, round round

Vinyl is on the upswing—and it’s never too late to become an aficionado

Vinyl is back. After two decades of CDs and, subsequently, digital downloads dominating music sales, Nielsen Entertainment reported that as of mid-year, CD sales were down 20 percent, while vinyl album sales were up 40 percent, totaling 4 million units (a far cry from the 62.9 million CDs sold, but still). 

Although this kind of news is enough to send you spiraling into a hazy, Wes Anderson-esque 8mm dreamland where you finally whisk that charming indie dude/chick at your favorite cupcakery off his or her feet while the soothing hum and crackle of a vinyl record mercifully obscures Justin Vernon’s warbling falsetto, you need to slow your roll. Like anything worth doing, starting a vinyl collection is worth doing right, and there are a few things you need to know to keep from looking like an asshole.

Master the basics (music pun!)

First, you buy vinyl or a record, not a vinyl.

Second, records come in myriad sizes and playing speeds resulting from a full-scale format war in the early years of mass-produced recorded music, but unless you’re buying a Jack White album, it’s unlikely you’ll need to know anything more than the following formats: 

• Single – a 7-inch record played (typically) at 45 rpm and containing two songs, a single and a “B-side”

• EP – a record of any size or playing speed that holds more than two songs but fewer than a full-length LP

• LP – a 12-inch record played at 33½ rpm that holds a full-length release, typically more than 20 minutes per side

Third, thanks to some creative manufacturing and marketing, records now come in an endless array of colors and shapes, with everything from glitter to Wayne Coyne’s presumably narcotic-laced blood. But if you’re really in it for sound quality, it’s best to stick with 180-gram black vinyl. Everything else is just for show.

Keep things clean

“Don’t touch the vinyl – that’s pretty easy, but it’s the main thing,” said Jay Hancock, owner of Holy Mountain Music and Oddities, 1416 E. 11th Street. “Pick it up by the label and edges.”

Records play when a needle passes through tiny grooves on the vinyl’s surface. The dirt, oil and barbeque sauce on your grubby mitts can get down in those grooves, obscure the sound and degrade the record.

“You should always use a carbon fiber brush to get the dust [and static electricity] off your records and brush off your needle every time you play a record,” said Curtis Compton, store manager at Starship Records and Tapes, 1241 S. Lewis Avenue. “You don’t have to be precious about it, but make sure there aren’t any dust bunnies.”

Finally, keep your vinyl stored upright and away from the heat.

“Don’t stack them, and don’t sit them in front of a hot window,” Hancock said. “Those are the two things that cause the most warping.”

Okay, so this might seem more complicated than organizing files in your iTunes library, but it boils down to this: treat your records like you’d treat your privates— keep them clean, dry, and out of the sun.

Don’t worry too much

Yes, owning vinyl records sounds like (and can be) a pain in the ass. But as much care as you can put into maintaining your collection, you shouldn’t be losing any sleep.

“There are a lot of aficionados that concern themselves with the care of their vinyl,” said Hancock. “But really, it’s a pretty bulletproof medium. When CDs came out, they were the easiest to ruin – one small scratch and you could never listen to it again. I’ve come across records with a significant amount of wear, and unless you gouge them or have mold growing on them, they sound fairly good—there’s more static and pop, but they’re listenable.”