Is vinyl dead?

I am sure this question must be buzzing in your mind. Is this guy living in the past? you might say "My grandpa used to own something black, round and antique looking" Its dusty, dirty and nobody uses turtablles anymore. But I beg to differ. Why? Well just to share some facts about vinyl resurgence:

Sales of vinyl albums grew by 33%, with 2.5 million vinyl units sold. Many of the top-selling vinyl artists like The Beatles, Michael Jackson and Bob Dylan are household names, but just as many are lesser-known independent artists and darlings of the indie-rock blogosphere like Animal Collective, Bon Iver and Iron & Wine who round out the top 10 with critical darlings Radiohead and Wilco.

The top-selling artists on vinyl in 2009 were:

* Radiohead
* The Beatles
* Michael Jackson
* Metallica
* Wilco
* Bob Dylan
* Animal Collective
* Pearl Jam
* Bon Iver
* Iron & Wine


The above data can be viewed at Nielsen Soundscan 2009 stats

Is vinyl dead?

Some of my vinyl tools

Listening to music on vinyl is an engaging experience. Why you may ask? well, to start off the record is about 12 inches in diameter. It comes in a very nice (usually) cover;which serves as art in itself. Then you would need to remove the record from its record sleeve, then place it on the record turntable. Hence, it involves one to be "involved" before one can enjoy one's music.

Some might say, its a hassle but purists will say " Its not music if its not on vinyl"

For me, these are essentials tools for vinyl playback:

1. Zerodust
This this a must have product from Japan. I used to used a lot of those stylus cleaner with brushes (those look like eye mascara) but swear by this now. Reasons being no harmful chemicals harm the precious stylus, its washable! trust the Japanese to come up with this unique invention.
You can find out more about Zerodust here

2. A camera blower

I used to be an aspirant photographer but since the world turned digital, my analogue Canon EOS50E is now a white elephant. But some of the tools in photography come in handy in vinyl playback. Basically I use this to blow some dust (if I see some sticking on the stylus needle)



3. A Paint brush
A paint brush? Are you thinking 'Did he lose his marbles? Well, my VPI Scoutmaster doesn't come with a cover, so the record platter will attract some dust. So before vinyl playback, I use the paintbrush (acrylic) to brush it off. Cheap tip, rather than those hand held static removers!

So there you have it, some tools of my vinyl playback!

Some of my vinyl tools

How Vinyl Records Are Made PART 1 OF 2

How Vinyl Records Are Made PART 1 OF 2

How Vinyl Records Are Made PART 2 OF 2

How Vinyl Records Are Made PART 2 OF 2

My vinyl passion

Finally decided to share my music passion. Yes, as you can see from the picture, I listen to music on a turntable. something about music from the turntable intrigues me; the sound is like they say "alive". Well, join me on my journey, my vinyl journey, that is.

My vinyl passion