The Rise of Vinyl

By Luke Green.

Remember those black, frisbee looking discs in your parent’s loft? The ones with all the lines running around them with the funny hole in the middle, no? Neither did I until about 2 years ago. The rise to stardom that vinyl records have enjoyed recently have been unprecedented. In the early 2010’s you would have seldom heard of someone playing their music on a record player, but now it’s the in thing. If you’re reading this, you too probably enjoy the crackle of a needle on vinyl or the swoosh a record makes when you take it out its sleeve.

There’s something to be admired about how a few grooves on a bit of plastic can blast out the anthems of your youth or even introduce you to some unheard golden hits. In my personal opinion, one of the best things I ever did was take the hit and spend a rather large sum of money on a player and speaker set. Although the pain was immeasurable at the time of handing over the cash, it would all be worth it for the joy this one item would, and still does, bring me. Now, I know what you’re thinking, ‘Why is he talking as if this thing is his child?’ Yeah, I’ll admit, I am a bit obsessed when it comes to this sort of thing and music in particular, but for people like myself, it’s a form of therapy. Feeling down? Whack on Town Called Malice. Need to get hyped? Hit up some Earth Wind and Fire. Feeling too hyper and need to mellow out (we’ve all been there)? Reach for Rumours. The possibilities are endless and there’s a tune or album for any mood you might be in. For me, it always has to be The Beatles, specifically the White album. Just listen to what you love and nothing can go wrong, I can guarantee you that.

Records and vinyl are storming the music charts at the minute with sales at a 25-year high. Artists like Adele, Lana Del Rey and Arctic Monkeys have brought the format into the modern era. It’s no longer something only used by your mum and dad, but with modern artists releasing content on these circles of sound, a new generation is being introduced to the wonders of vinyl. Sales, as mentioned, are on the up and they show no sign of stopping anytime soon. As far as the future is concerned, I hope records are here to stay for a long time, but with a generation who are bored with most innovations in 1-month tops, who knows? All I know is, you’ll never be able to separate me from my rather extensive collection of records and you know what, that’s no bad thing.

Luke’s top albums for vinyl:

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

Beatles - White album

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever they say I am that’s what I’m not

Baby Driver - The soundtrack (trust me on this one)

Police - Outlandos D’Amour

Paolo Nutini - Caustic Love

Oasis - What’s the story morning glory?

Rex Orange County - Apricot Princess

Mac Demarco - Salad Days

David Bowie - Legacy