Written on Vinyl

I was recently involved in a discussion on the merits of vinyl records. During which it was argued that an album’s worn scratches being heard in the background is part of what makes it a timeless piece of art. What if our post was written on vinyl?

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With that idea in mind, I am continuing this in a timeless piece format. For future readers who can one day re-read this and see my work for the art that it is.

I would like to start by saying these albums were sold originally for between 2 and 7 dollars for an LP or long play, and singles could be found for less than a dollar, there were other

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and I have owned and played a lot of vinyl in my life, along with cassettes and 8 tracks. I do upon occasion miss a turntable, and the sound of a diamond needle while it carves through the spiraling groves. A process remarkably similar to the earliest recordings, a process that was improved but never

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Apple Records was known worldwide by its logo, founded by the Beatles in 1968 as part of Apple Corps, with a split-half green apple in the center of their albums. We should be clear it was a different apple than today’s Apple, but the Beatles reference is being used here to place an idea of the value placed on vinyl discs. Or my own personal values regarding

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The biggest danger to your favorite album was listening to your album.

There were any number of calamities that could incur from the time you removed an album the first time, and each and every time following. So that album you picked up for ten dollars at the used music shop is a little worn, let’s examine what it has survived.

The first piece of damage to that album was due in part to the packaging. Most albums purchased had the cellophane wrap immediately torn off, akin to a child ripping open his birthday gifts, before being slipped in between other wrapper-less pieces. The cardboard album artwork became worn and faded, the corners turned gray, of course

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The inner sleeve, meant to further protect the vinyl, often was misplaced or discarded, resulting in more damage through use and sliding into its cardboard home.

That was the Alpha and Omega of the album, but the earlier mentioned turntable was the filler. Placing, or dropping the headshell and needle cartridge onto an album, and removing or tearing the needle off is where the most prevalent damages could occur. Resulting in the

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Moderate heat was not good for albums, creating a warped surface that a needle could be challenged to stay flush with. Some used a penny trick to weigh down the needle, adding weight to the grooves and again increasing the wear on the vinyl pressing.

The automatic return allowed albums to be stacked and dropped onto one another, allowing the listener to play one side of multiple records, also adding a bit of vinyl to vinyl contact, and increasing the chance that the album would become “timeless art”. Unless the turntable did not have an automatic return in which case

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