First published in the 2020 Summer Issue.
There’s just something about vinyl that’s so sleek and sexy. It’s a classy way to play music. I imagine myself as a brown leather jacket and sunglasses-wearing, slightly detached feminist from the ‘70s when I whip out the turntable. When Lana Del Ray sang:
“And my jazz collection’s rare
I can play most anything
I’m a Brooklyn baby
I’m a Brooklyn baby”
I felt that. When I’m playing a record from my substantial Miles Davis collection, I feel like I am one with Jazz. I think to myself (from my humble abode in the lush meadows of Kildare): “I really am a Brooklyn baby”. I am the jazz and the jazz is me.
Playing the ‘Smooth Jazz’ playlist on Spotify isn’t cool enough anymore. Back to basics is in, people want to get back to their roots, and since many are not comfortable abandoning the luxuries they have become accustomed to, buying and playing vinyl is a simple and relatively affordable way to produce a similar feeling to “finding yourself” in Bali. It takes one back to the dark ages when all was unknown and distant. People crave freedom from being constantly aware of everything happening in the online world, and playing vinyl is the absolute minimum effort with a relatively good return.
Why has vinyl remained at the centre of music while the desire for tapes and CDs has withered away? Because they are substantial yet incredibly delicate. They must be cared for and thus you must cherish them. CDs and tapes are much more durable but why spend upwards of €30 on a piece of plastic that arguably gives you the same reward as listening to it for free online? There is something sacred about putting on a record. It is an experience in and of itself. The care and delicacy that must be practiced whilst placing a record down to play is a soothing and meditative practice. The processes of selecting a record from your collection. Slipping it out of its sleeve, glossy and mouth-wateringly beautiful. Delicately holding it and placing it gently on the record player. Switching the player on and watching, mesmerised, as the record begins slowly spinning. Then, concentrating intently, releasing the needle and watching as it lowers itself gently onto the record with a soft thump and it begins. Eyes closed, mind clear, rotating slowly to the beautiful music ebbing and flowing through the room. Vinyl is about the experience as much as it is about the music itself.
A vinyl record is more than just a disk that carries music; it inspires nostalgia. It can encourage an emotional connection through its tangibility and delicacy. The concept of an album has somewhat been destroyed by Spotify playlists and the ability to skip or shuffle songs. Records can inspire nostalgia for the age when it was all about the album, when you knew the track number of your favourite song and flipping the record was a honed skill. Research, however, has shown that nostalgia plays only a part in the resurgence of vinyl. A large portion of those purchasing vinyl records are young people who never had the experience of watching a turntable in their childhood. These youthful music fans may see vinyl as a way to try to experience what life was like before the internet era, or as a way to escape from the constant buzz of social media for a short time. Both younger and older hardcore music buffs are also enticed by the unique audio quality of vinyl. The analogue sound from a turntable has a specific warmth and quality that cannot be achieved with digital sound. I myself listen solely to vinyl as my ears have become so finely tuned that I can no longer stand the mediocrity of digital music.
The slight difference in sound quality comes at a high price, however, not just financially but environmentally too. As vinyl becomes increasingly popular and its production continuously grows in volume, so does the negative ecological impact it causes. Vinyl is made from PVC; a toxic non-biodegradable plastic. Is there a way to make records we love without contributing to the demise of our ecosystem?
Recent innovations have helped to reduce the environmental impact somewhat. A Canadian tech startup Vyril created a steamless press which reduces the amount of water used in production, and could feasibly run on reusable energy alone. The use of green power, recyclable packaging and carbon-neutral distribution also help reduce the (rather extensive) carbon footprint of vinyl production. From a consumer point of view, purchasing second-hand vinyl does no further harm to the environment and is probably cheaper too!
When comparing vinyl versus streaming in terms of environmental damage, it is easy to view streaming as a shining light of ecological purity- no plastic, no packaging, no production costs! What’s not to love? In reality, a physical album has a higher upfront cost of production but has a lower carbon footprint over time, only requiring energy to spin the record and amplify the sound, while streaming has a low upfront cost but over time builds up costs through global file transmission, storage in energy-intensive server farms and various other costs. Because of this, it is difficult to say which has the greater impact.
Long live vinyl indeed! Whether it’s buried intact in a landfill long after the human race has destroyed planet Earth or it sits in a dusty cabinet when we inevitably move to Mars, it will live on forever. The world is slowly realising the beauty of vinyl but will we live long enough to see it take the music throne? Probably not, but a girl can dream.
